Page 124 of Forecheck
Just like I promised her all those months ago.
And against quite a few walls. I’d never look at that downstairs bathroom the same.
Or the pontoon.
What could I say? Life was good, and it was about to get even better.
“It doesn’t have to be anything fancy,” I said, tugging on the first pair of shorts and shirt I swiped off the floor in the semi-darkness. The sky was rapidly lighting now, and if we didn’t hurry, we’d miss it.
And then all my plans would be shot to hell.
Berkley settled on a pair of panties and threw another of my tees over her head. It was plenty warm already, the mornings a muggy indication of the heat the day would bring. I was glad we were secluded, though. If she wasn’t putting pants on, I couldn’t be held accountable for the shit I’d do to her after I executed my plan.
“Get outside,” I urged her. “The best spot is going to be at the end of the dock. I just want to set my tripod up.”
“You’re such a nerd,” she said, rolling her eyes as she padded downstairs. A moment later, I heard the back door slide open and closed, and then she appeared on the deck, making her way across to the path that led across the lawn and down to the dock.
With her out of the way, I scrambled into my parents’ suite and rifled through Mom’s dresser until my fingers closed around the ring box. It was the only place I could think to hide it because it was the last place Berkley would look. I guess I lied earlier when I said we’ve had sex in every room of this house.
My parents’ room was, for obvious reasons, a nonstarter.
This little ring had been burning a hole in my pocket for three months, since the end of my season, and I’d been searching for the perfect moment to pop the biggest question of my life.
“Hurry up, baby!” Berkley’s voice floated through the window.
After a quick detour into our room to grab my phone and the tripod, I headed outside.
The outline of the box was glaringly obvious in my pocket, and I didn’t want to spoil the surprise, so I took it out and tucked thering back in my shorts. Before meeting Berkley at the end, I knelt at the first wood slat of the dock and clipped my phone onto the tripod, then flipped it to video mode and pressed to record.
At last, I settled next to Berkley, our feet dangling over the water. She shivered and tucked herself into my body.
“Can you believe we’re here?” she asked.
“At the cabin?” I quipped. “Well, yeah. I own it.”
Berkley swatted my stomach. “Okay, smartass. I mean in general. Together. After everything.”
“Well…” I said, trailing off. I wasn’t surprised we were here. I’d move through hell and high water to get to this girl, to keep her, to make her mine forever. “I think any couple goes through their fair share of hardships to get to the good stuff. That’s what makes it the good stuff.”
“How very diplomatic of you,” she said with a snort.
I turned my head and smiled down at her. “I’m just saying. Maybe it didn’t happen the way we wanted it to, and that first year certainly wasn’t easy. But it all happened exactly as it was supposed to. It led us to each other. To right here, to this moment. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”
Berkley grinned at me. “This single perfect moment,” she agreed.
The sun was nearly cresting the horizon. I had only a few moments to get into position so she—hopefully—said yes as the sun rose. Thankfully, her gaze was glued to the lightening sky, and she paid me no mind as I dropped to a knee and grabbed her hand.
“Berk.”
“Yeah, baby?” she said, not taking her eyes from the sky.
“Berkley, look at me.”
Her hands flew to her mouth when she faced me at last. “Brent! What are you doing?”
My lips twitched, and I shook my head. This girl. “You can’t even let me do this without arguing with me!”
“What exactly isthis?” she asked, frantically gesturing at me.
