He raises his eyebrows insinuatingly. “Well, I think we need to get a lot of practice in beforehand to make sure we’re doing it right. In fact, I think we should start practicing as soon as they leave,” he says, leaning over to kiss me passionately.
I couldn’t agree more!
The next evening, we get a call from Chris, invited us over for some surprise. We get ready, and we head straight over.
Arriving, we let ourselves in and walk down the hall to the kitchen. There are bouquets of red roses everywhere—and I mean everywhere—it’s like a garden in here. When we finally find Chris, he’s in the living room, pacing. I look up at Aiden in confusion, but it seems he’s just as confused as I am because his only reaction is to shrug.
“Hey, Chris,” I say, gaining his attention.
His eyes shoot toward me, and he exhales. “Quick, Sarah will be home soon.” He ushers us into the living room. Aiden and I chuckle. He fusses over a vase of flowers, rearranging them as he keeps looking at the clock on the wall. Chris really does seem out of sorts.
“What’s with the flowers, dude? You trying to outdo me or something?” Aiden asks with a smirk.
“Well, you set the standard pretty high, you asshole. These freaking flowers cost me nearly a whole month’s wage,” Chris says with a chuckle.
“Sarah’s going to love them. I know she’ll feel special after seeing the trouble you went to, to surprise her like this.”
“She better, the surprise is what’s in my pocket,” he says, making me laugh at his innuendo joke. We hear the front door open and the sound of high heels clicking on the floor.
“Oh fuck,” Chris says. His face paling instantly.
What the hell is wrong with him?
Suddenly, he falls to the floor on his knees and grabs a single rose from the bouquet in the vase on the floor next to him.
“Dude, are you okay?” Aiden asks.
“Shut up,” Chris jabs, sounding panicked.
Aiden looks at me with a smirk, and I shrug.
Sarah walks in and stops dead in her tracks when she sees all the flowers. She places her bag on the kitchen table and looks down at Chris who’s kneeling on the floor with the rose between his teeth. She laughs and walks over to us. “Chris, what are you doing on the floor?”
Oh my God, he’s proposing!
A wave of excitement flows over me as I’m overwhelmingly happy for my best friends.
“And what’s with all the flowers, Aiden?” she asks as she glides her fingers over the top of some of the roses.
“Not me this time, Sarah. This was all Chris,” Aiden says.
Chris glares at Aiden. “See, dude, I told you. You set a high standard.”
“Wait! These are all from you, Chris? For me? Who are you and what have you done with my Chris Starke?” Sarah asks, patting him on the head with the rosebud she picked out of one of the vases.
“Okay, everyone shut up. I’m trying to do something here,” Chris berates, making us all laugh. “It’s not funny. This is a serious moment. Sarah, babe… I love you and I have for… well, ever. You’re having our child, and I can’t wait for him to arrive.”
“You mean her?” Sarah corrects as he takes her hand in his.
He exhales and shakes his head. “Whatever! Don’t distract me. I wanna do this right,” he states.
“Yeah, what the fuck exactly are you doing?” Sarah asks.
Chris fumbles around in his pocket and pulls out a small ring box. Sarah’s eyes widen so big I think they may fall out of her head.
“Oh my God, Chris,” Sarah gasps.
Aiden entwines his fingers with mine, and I rest my head on his shoulder.