Sunsets and Shades

by Erica Lee

I smirked over at her. “Lucky for you, I found some new category cards online and printed them out.”

  Grace laughed and lifted an eyebrow at me. “Wow. And people say that I’m a dork.”

  “You are a dork,” I corrected her. “But you’re my dork and I love you.”

  Grace rolled her eyes and picked up the dice with the letters on it. “Fine. Let’s do this.”

  I grabbed the dice out of her hands. “It’s my turn to roll.”

  I threw the dice hard enough for it to roll right off of the coffee table and under a chair. I picked it up and sat it on the table with the letter “K” showing.

  “That was super shady,” Grace pointed out. “Are you trying to cheat?”

  I scoffed at her accusations. “If I was trying to cheat, would I really choose one of the worst letters in the game?”

  Grace studied me for a minute, then threw her hands in the air. “Whatever. You’re never going to beat me, even if you do cheat.”

  I smirked at my beautiful girlfriend. “Trust me. I have no question that I’m going to be the winner this time.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Grace joked as she reached out and turned the timer over.

  Instead of looking down at my own card, I focused on the girl next to me. Grace was laser-focused, chewing on her pencil and pushing her glasses back up her nose every few seconds. I found her perfect in every way possible and it was killing me to wait for her to figure out what was happening.

  ——Grace——

  I studied the category card in front of me and wondered where the heck Kinsley had found it. Pizza toppings, types of Chinese food, ways to get over an ex… I continued to scan down to the bottom of the card. Something you borrow, something blue. I gasped as my eyes landed on the last category. It couldn’t be, could it? Was this seriously happening? The words seemed to pop off of the page at me: Name of a girl who wants to marry you.

  Tears were already starting to fall when I looked up and saw Kinsley down on one knee in front of me. I could tell by the glisten in her blue eyes that she was also trying to hold back tears. Kinsley pulled the ring out of the box she was holding and took a deep breath. “So, here’s the thing. About two years ago, you put this hold over me. It’s a sex hold, and I don’t want to have sex with anyone else for the rest of my life.”

  I started to laugh through my tears. “Are you seriously proposing to me using this speech?”

  Kinsley looked at me as though I was crazy. “Do you mean am I seriously proposing by bringing up one of the first conversations we ever had together because I’m romantic AF? Then the answer is yes.” She smiled at me in the way that still made me go weak in the knees. “So, what’s your answer? Will you marry me?”

  I stood and pulled Kinsley up with me. “Yes! Of course I’ll marry you!” I wrapped my arms around her neck and kissed her a few times, before she pulled back and used a shaky hand to slide a beautiful engagement ring onto my finger. I admired it quickly, before pulling her back in to resume kissing. Kinsley had just pulled me in tighter when there was a knock on the door and loud voices on the other side.

  I pulled back and lifted an eyebrow at her. “You told our mothers about this, didn’t you?”

  Kinsley rolled her eyes. “I asked my mom for help picking out the ring, and she, of course, told your mom since they’re besties. Then they insisted that I let them come.”

  “Kinsley Laurel Scott, answer this door now,” Mrs. Scott’s voice boomed from the other side.

  “Yes, listen to your mother,” another voice piped in.

  “Leah too?” I laughed.

  “Yes! Leah too, you asshole,” her voice shouted from outside.

  Kinsley laughed as she reluctantly pulled away from me and opened the door for them. Tons of shouting and hugs ensued as soon as they were inside. When the initial excitement finally wore off, we all sat around talking about the proposal and already discussing wedding plans (thanks to our mothers).

  “Now you guys have to fight over which one of you has me as your matron of honor,” Leah joked. She had chosen to have two maids of honor in her wedding with Liam just a few months prior.

  “She’s all yours,” Kinsley shrugged. “I already decided that Lenny is going to be my chin of honor.” Her face became serious, and she added, “he’s also going to be the ring bearer. I hope that’s ok.”

  “You got it, babe,” I agreed. I was just excited that Kinsley wanted to marry me. She could have said that she was going to walk down the aisle wearing a chinchilla costume, and I still would have been OK with it, as long as it meant that I got to spend the rest of my life with her.

  After a few hours, our mothers announced that they were going to go back to the hotel they were staying in for the weekend (thank God), and Leah followed suit, announcing that she better get home to Liam. Once they were gone, I took Kinsley back into my arms and leaned my forehead against hers. A sigh left my lips as I stared into the beautiful eyes of my perfect fiancée, feeling more love than I had in my entire life. “And they lived happily ever….”

  Kinsley pulled back and pointed a stern finger at me. “Don’t you dare say it.”

  I threw my head back in laughter, so thankful that this crazy (and slightly infuriating) girl was mine. “Sunsets and shades, babe. Sunsets and shades.”

  Acknowledgments

  I wanted to give a big thank you to all of my beta readers who helped in producing the final draft of this book. I am filled with gratitude for all of your hard work and dedication. A special thank you to Ivy for helping me out along the way. Your constant encouragement and input made this book possible.

  Thanks again to my beautiful wife for putting up with me while I wrote this. I know that I was in my own world most of the time and I appreciate the fact that you didn’t kill me for that.

  And to all of my readers - thank you so much! I can’t even begin to put into words how much your support means to me.

  About the Author

  Erica currently resides in Pennsylvania with her wife, dog, bunny, and chinchilla. She spends her days checking eyes and her nights snuggled up with her furry family.

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