6. THE PAST 6

Not up to an hour, She got there, parked her car beside his, and went inside. Entering inside, she met him watching TV in the living room, "Baby," She bent toward him to hug him. He hugged her and pecked her lips, "Kitten." She gripped his shirt, dragged him back to her, and kissed him fully on the lips. He raised his eyebrows at her questionably, "You pecked me not kiss." She said to defend her action, looking around to avoid eye contact and trying not to sound breathless. "I knew you couldn't get enough of me." Smirking at her. She scoffs, "Don't flatter yourself, Mr." He laughed and pecked her on her forehead. She smiled, "Have you eaten?" "Nope." He moved his gaze back to the TV. Frowning at him, "Even from home? Why?" "I came here earlier to cool off," He tried not to look at her when replying but instead at the TV, streaming through the channels till it got to a football match, "I was upset." "Upset at? With? Who?" She knew he heard but choose to ignore her question, knowing that he won't answer her, she changed the topic. "I will prepare something for us to eat." He nodded at her, "I will watch this match while you cook." She dropped her car keys, brought out her phone from her bag, and kept them on the center table, she went to the bedroom to change into one of his shirts that reached her kneel. She came back down to the kitchen to start cooking. She had set the pot on the cooker to start when he came into the kitchen. He stood there watching with sadness in his eyes and tried not to make any sound, "She's mine. God, what should I do?" He thoughts. He rested his back on the door frame and stood with his arms folded on his chest, watching her every move. She prepared a simple meal so it took just 30 to 40 minutes. She noticed him as he was coming towards her when she was about to serve their food. She looked up at him, "Have you been standing here for long? Are you that hungry?" Trying to ease his sour mood. He answered quickly, "No, Kitten. Just got here." Avoiding any form of eye contact with her. She tried ignoring his strange behavior, knowing he has been in a sour mood since she asked that question earlier. He helped her dish the meal and they settled down to eat on the dining table in the kitchen. After eating, they washed the plates and moved to the living room. He sat down first then held her down on him, his hands were either playing with the tip of her hair or trailing down her arms. She laid on him watching TV while he kept thinking, he was looking at the TV but not focused on it. "Babe." She tried looking at him as she was not fully turned, "Huh." "Please am thirsty, I need a glass of water." She left to get the water. He took it from her, drank from it, and kept it on the center table. He talked nervously, "Babe I have something for you." "What's it?" She looked around. "It's in the bedroom," He went toward the bedroom to get it. Soon, he came back with 2 wrapped boxes, one small and the other, smaller. He stood in front of her with the two boxes in his hands, "Kitten close your eyes and don't open it" "Ahh... Why? What's that?" She eyed the boxes wishing that if she looked deep, she would see what's in them. She stretched her hand to the smaller box, he grabbed her hand and kissed it, "Babe close your eyes." She groaned and closed her eyes, "Fine I have." He dropped the small box on the table, opened the smaller one, and brought out what was in it, "Open your eyes kitten." She quickly open her eyes, eager to see what was inside. A diamond ring sat right at the center of the box, looking straight at her and glowing brightly. She gasped, looking at it speechless. "Babe." He touched her lightly when she didn't talk. "Is that a...?" She couldn't complete her sentence. He smirked, "Not an engagement ring, it's a promise ring." "It's beautiful." Looking at the diamond ring dreamily. He looking at her instead, "Yea, I know you are beautiful" She turned to him and saw him looking at her but not the ring, "I meant the ring." She looked down and blushed shyly, making the guy laugh hard at her shyness. He went down on one kneel and looked at her lovingly. "My sunshine in the day... My moonlight at night... My starlight that shines... Am glad I am the lucky guy in your life... I love you so so much more than words can say... I want to give you this ring as a symbol of my love, my heart, my world, my everything which will soon be replaced by an engagement ring... I will always love you, cherish you, protect you, anything... please accept it as my wish to make you my only and me as yours... "I... I... I... love you too," She pinched herself, trying to believe it's real and not in a dream. "Kitten..." She looked at him. A tear rolls down, "I don't even... Like... I..." He winks at her, "It's a yes or yes question. Nothing else." She raised her eyebrows at his statement, "I thought It's was normally a yes or no question" "Well mine is yes or yes kitten," Smirks, "So?" Laughing, "Yes, I accept it..." He placed the ring on her middle finger and was about to stand up when she jumped on him and hugged him. He would have fallen if he hadn't held himself. He released them from the hug and kissed her. The kissing lasted for more than 30 minutes, In which the first and second buttons of the shirt she wore, was removed while his shirt was thrown to the back of the sofa, they were lying on. He raised his body from her to lie on the sofa and made her rest on him, holding her close to himself, and watched her stare at the ring as if trying to see through it. "You like it?" She turned to lie properly on him, facing him, "I love it." Giggling. "If a promise ring makes you speechless then what would an engagement ring do?" Blushing, trying to hide her face on his chest, "Leave me alone." He continued laughing at her. "Mercy helped you I guess?" "Yeah, but I chose the color myself." He smiled. She looked at the other box then back at him, "What's in there?" "Open it yourself," Pointing at it. She raised herself from him, grabbed the box, and quickly tore off the wrapping paper, 2 pendants came into her view. One was with a heart and the other with a key. "Wow." She was amazed. "The pendant with a heart is for you while the one with a key is mine. You, with my whole heart and I, holding the key to your heart." Whispering into her ear. She hugged him and whispered, "I love you." "I love you too," He pecked her forehead, "Kitten." He felt contented seeing her happy, looking at her, "You like it?" "I love it, thank you." He became suddenly pale, "Always remember that I will always love you forever and ever, even if we get separated or..." He hugged her without completing his sentence. "I will remember that but why are you sounding like this, what happening? what's wrong?" She noticed his pale face and the crack in his voice when talking. She wanted to release from the hug to look at him, "Nothing kitten," He held her back before she could separate from him, tightly. "Let's stay like this please" She accepted. "You know you can tell me what is bothering you and we will solve it together." "No one can solve this problem for me, Kitten." Not even you when it also involves you, He thoughts. She stopped trying to release from the hug so they stayed like that for some time. After they washed his car which lasted for 2 hours with constant kissing and showering with the water from the hose, they swam and they did every other thing that was fun both in and around the house. Some minutes to 8, she got a call from her mom about not staying out late, Immediately she dropped the call, they both left the house. One of his drivers drove his car which they both stayed in and another driver drove her car. In the car, she couldn't take her eyes off her ring. She was excited and eager to show off her ring to her parents. "Kitten." He called her. She looked away from the ring for the first time, they have been in the car. "Yes." "Would you... Like can you..." He was hesitant to talk. "What is it, babe?" She moved closer to him and held his hand, squeezing it reassuringly, "Tell me." "Kitten, would you like to elope with me?" He said it plain and quick. Surprised at his question, "Elope?" "Would you want to?" He asked, trying not to sound like he was desperate. "What's wrong? Why are we eloping?" He covered up his disappointment with a forced smile, "It's just a joke, Kitten." She knew he wasn't joking but played along, "I was scared you were serious about it" She pecked his cheeks. He squeezed her hand, "I love you My Kitten." "I love you, Heart." He kissed her forehead. Soon they got to her house, he came down to open the car door for her. She gave him a goodnight kiss and pecked him goodbye and waved at him before going inside. She instructed the security to open the gate to let her car in before going into the main house. After parking the car inside, his other driver came back into the car, sat in the passenger seat, and drove off to his house. He thought aloud, "If you had said yes, Kitten. We could have eloped right now, to a very far place where no one can reach or separate us there. Please forgive me, Kitten... I will always love you... It's a promise." He shakes his head in pain and sighed with a heavy heart. At his house, He met his parents and his sister in the living room, his dad was standing at the window, his mom sitting on a couch, reading her favorite magazine, and his sister sitting beside his mom. "Good day Mom, Dad..." His dad went straight to the point, "Have you ended things with her?" "I... I... I couldn't Dad. Am sorry." "You said what?" His dad's voice raised from normal. "Your meeting up with her was for what reason?" "I can't Dad. I love her too much to let her go and break her heart." He slid down to sit on the floor with his head in both of his palms "Well, you have to or else... You know what am capable of doing." His dad left with his Mom to their room. "Sorry, bro." His sister left for her room. He was left alone in the sitting room in tears.