Page 53 of Knot Enough

“If I fall, I’m going to blame you,” I commented. I didn’t mean it, but I’m still a bit hangry. We walked a few more steps before we finally stopped.

“Well, good thing we’re here,” Gabriel chirped with poorly hidden excitement. I remained still as Gabriel’s hands disappeared to unwrap the blindfold. After several seconds, I could finally open my eyes. My vision blurred momentarily from the brightness before registering what was before me.Taylor’s Gaming Barwas written on a large sign at the top of the building. I blinked, trying to figure out why we were here. I glanced over to Gabriel to see him buzzing with excitement.

“Well? Do you like it?’ He asked with wide eyes and a grin. I look back at the building and back at him with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m assuming it’s a lovely place, but why are we here?” I questioned.

“You’re cute when you're dense,” Sorren said, pulling me into his chest from behind. He entwined his fingers around the front of my waist, caging me in. I looked up at him, confused.

“Today’s your birthday, Lydia,” Finn said. He stood next to a Graham who was trying his best to hold back his laughter, but failing terribly. I furrowed my brow, thinking about today’s date. It was indeed my birthday today. The last few days have been so full and fun that I forgot my own birthday.

“Ohhhh! So is this-” I started to ask, but was cut short by Graham, who had finally collected himself.

“Yes, we organized a surprise birthday here, now come on. I wanna go inside.” He explained, taking my hand and guiding me towards the building. Sorren’s hand separated without any resistance. My eyes were wide as I let Graham walk me to the front doors of the building. We stopped momentarilyso Graham could open one side of the double doors for me, Gabriel took the other side. I remained in shocked silence as the doors parted to reveal the inside. My breath stopped in surprise as another person stood in the middle of the bar.

“Corretta!” I yelled out. When I called her name, a wide smile spread across her face. Without thinking, I ran to her. She opened her arms wide, and we both met in a tight hug. “I missed you so much,” I said, still hugging her.

“I know, girl! It’s been so long!” She said with excitement. We separated, but still remained at arm's length from each other. “How’s pack life been?” She asked, leaning in to whisper to me. I looked from her to the group of men standing behind me.

“It’s great. Corretta, I think I love all of them.” I whispered back to her. A melancholy expression flashed across her face, but she quickly replaced it with a bright smile. I was just about to ask her what was wrong when Gabriel appeared behind us.

“Enough chit-chatting, there’s a dancing game I’ve been dying to play. Come on! I can’t wait to beat Corretta while you watch.” He said as he wrapped his arms around our necks and directed us to a flashy dancing platform game. I laughed as Corretta rolled her eyes.

As predicted, Corretta, the ballroom dancer, managed to beat Gabriel with a score difference that would make an old man cry. I was still comforting Gabriel from his distraught state when Finn pulled me away. Further in front of me, the bar was a large free space where random songs would play for people to dance along to.

“Are you happy with the venue we chose?” He asked before he pulled me into a twirl. The song playing was slow, yet lively enough that the mood didn’t feel odd. My smile widened.

“Yes, I love it, actually. Gabriel was the one who chose it, didn’t he?” I remarked as Finn pulled me closer to him again. His eyes widened.

“How’d you know?” He asked.

“I may have mentioned on our first date places I’d have loved to go with a pack if I ever got one. I didn’t know he still remembered that.” I said, feeling a slight warmth that he remembered something so small from so long ago.

“He does some surprising things, doesn’t he?” Finn replied, his eyes shifting to where Gabriel was for a moment. Warmth filled his eyes, the same warmth he showed me. Watching him, a question formed in my mind. I wondered about it, but I didn’t have the courage to say it till today.

“Were you disappointed?” I asked, looking away to stare at a painting behind him. Finn returned his gaze to me.

“Disappointed with what?” He questioned. I took a deep breath and explained.

“When you learned about how I felt about sex and being physical. Many people from my experience aren’t necessarily excited by the fact I’m not comfortable with it.” I explained. He took me into another twirl before he answered.

“No, I wasn’t.” He moved his head to look me in the eyes. “Intimacy should not be the main requirement for a partner. It’s definitely a perk or bonus, but a partner or mate should be someone you look to for trust, love, comfort, and companionship in whatever state that is. You love someone and you want to be with them, no matter what, even if that means I’m not allowed to touch or kiss that person. So, no, I wasn’t disappointed. I'm just grateful I’m even allowed to touch you right now and breathe in your scent and feel your warmth.” He finished. My body felt hot after his declaration. Now I couldn’t look in his eyes for a different reason.

“I see, that’s.. good to know.” I finally managed to say. He laughed at my shyness before he removed his hand from my waist.

“I have one more surprise for you.” He said, bending down onto one knee. My eyes grew wide at him kneeling in front of me. Proposing has gone out of fashion within the last couple of years, but it was still something I always wanted to experience. “Would you accept this ring?” He asked, holding out a small, dainty-looking band with a pink stone in the middle. My eyes zeroed in on how shiny the stone was, and my hands went to my mouth to hide how big my gaping smile looked. Not trusting my words to their job, I nodded once. Finn, looking relieved, took the ring and put the ring on my ring finger. Bringing my hand up, I looked at it, mystified.

“Did Gabriel tell you?” I asked with a grin, still looking at the ring.

“Maybe,” Finn admitted before turning me around. Graham was now in front of me, holding his hand. I took it with a bright smile.

“Should I also be accepting a ring from you?” I asked with a teasing grin. Graham just smiled, not confirming or denying my statement. We walked a little way to two dartboards.

“Ever played before?” He asked, taking a blue dart in his hands and twirling it around. I picked a red one up and looked at it.

“No, not since I was a kid,” I answered. I didn’t want to admit I was terrible at it.

“I’ll teach you a bit then.” He said, turning me around, so I could see the dart board and he was standing behind me. I felt one of his hands hold me at my waist, and another grab the hand with a dart in it.

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