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With the beginning of November arriving, David was spread thin. Work was taking up so much of his time that, as the week after Halloween came to a close, he was spending nearly 60 hours a week in the office. Mitchell was the kind of man that expected perfection from his employees and, with his law school application still out there, he didn’t want to give Mitchell a chance to give him a bad review. Along with work, he was trying to make sure he was giving Carrie the right amount of attention, but he knew he was falling short. Well, not according to her anyways.
“Your career is really important to you. I will take any time that I can get with you. Don’t worry about me,” she told him.
He almost couldn’t believe how perfect she was. It just made him feel all the worse when he couldn’t spend time with her outside of a few phone calls and texts. He was also doing the same to his friends and family, who were also understanding. He made a promise to himself that over the holidays he would spend some much-needed time with the people he cared about most. Even if it was just for a few hours.
That’s why he was glad when John called him that Thursday to see if he would be able to make it to his house that next night.
“Sure. Barbecue again?” He was surprised. With the chill that had come through Minnesota over the last few days, he thought that their barbecues at John’s house would be moot.
“Yeah, but we’re going to be eating inside this time. This is actually all for Simon.”
David's eyebrows furrowed when he heard that. “What’s going on with Simon?”
John laughed on the other end of the phone. “I guess he finally thinks it’s time to pop the question with Luna. He thinks that she’ll be less suspicious if he asks when we’re all around.”
“Oh, God,” David groaned. “Knowing Simon, this could go really well or absolutely horrible.”
John agreed. “He said that Luna’s no longer pestering him about getting married, so it’s perfect to surprise her... but I’m pretty sure that her not asking anymore isn’t a good thing.”
David couldn’t help but agree. Regardless, if Simon truly thought it was the right time, then nothing any of them said would change his mind.
“Is Carrie invited?” It would be nice to spend some much-needed time with her while they spent the evening with their friends.
John hesitated. “Yeah... Should I be expecting something between the two of you?”
David couldn’t help but smile. “Yup.”
It was John’s turn to groan. “Just keep the PDA to a minimum. Better yet, none at all.”
“We’ll be appropriate,” David promised.
John was silent for so long that David was starting to think he hung up. “Everything’s going well between you two then?”
The fewer details John had, the better, David thought. “We’re great.”
“That’s good.” He was quick to change the subject. “So we’ll be seeing you Friday at about... six?”
“I’ll be there.” David couldn’t be paid to miss what would no doubt be a huge spectacle.
The moment he hung up with John, he pressed Carrie’s name.
“Did John talk to you about this Friday?” he asked her after he said hello.
“Taylor did. I’m pretty sure this isn’t going to go the way Simon thinks it will. Luna is really convinced that he doesn’t want to marry her. The last time I talked to her, she was starting to think that they were on two different paths... Simon really has no clue what she’s thinking.”
David sighed. He had a feeling that it was going to be like this. “Well, no matter what we’ll get free entertainment. Can I pick you up at about 5:30?”
Carrie hesitated. “Are you sure? John’s completely fine with this, right?” He could picture her chewing her lip in nervousness.
“He’s fine. He even just asked me if we were doing okay. It’s going to be a little strange in the beginning, but he’ll get used to it.” He would need to because David wasn’t letting Carrie go for anyone, and the sooner John realized that, the better. “I’m assuming you told all of the girls?”
“Yeah. They’ve known about my crush on you forever. They’re happy for us.” David was glad that Carrie had people in her corner and that no one was doubting them. For him, he hadn’t really talked to the guys—besides John—about asking Carrie out. He was certain that the girls had told them, but they would surely be shocked when they saw the two of them arriving at the party together.
~~~
HE WAS RIGHT. WHEN they came into the house holding hands, the guys all had their eyebrows raised in shock. David couldn’t stop a large smile from forming on his face with how identical all of their expressions were. John, however, was the only one pointedly not looking in their direction, like he thought they were being indecent.
“What’s new, everybody?” he asked them as he led Carrie towards the two available seats. “Where's the little man?”
Taylor answered, “He’s actually at a friend’s sleepover.”
David was shocked. To his knowledge, this was the first time they were letting Christopher out of their sight for an entire night since the devastating events with his paternal grandmother. John seemed to read his mind.
“We gave him an emergency phone so he can contact us and vice versa. He’s instructed to keep it on him at all times.”
“How are you two doing with him being gone?” Carrie asked Taylor concernedly.
Taylor sighed. “It’s hard, but I know it’s the right thing for him. He’s pretty much put the entire thing behind him. With her finally behind bars, I feel like we can let him be a child again. It helps that I’m close to the mom and she’s giving me updates throughout the night.”
David sympathized with them. He remembered how hard it was on both of them when they had to wait for news on their son. He was proud of his friend for putting his feelings aside and letting Christopher enjoy being a kid.
John went out to flip the burgers, and David decided to join him.
“So when is this going to go down?”
“I don’t know. I think he’s wanting to do it while we’re eating or something like that. He told me how he thought of maybe putting the ring in the food for her to find.”
David tipped his head back. “Oh, God, please tell me you talked him out of that.”
John laughed and nodded his head. “Definitely. I told him that if he wanted her to choke on the ring, then he should just propose at the hospital. Save some time. He figured out that wasn’t the best idea, but he didn’t tell me what his final plan was going to be.”
They were silent for a few seconds while they stood in front of the grill. John was the one to break the silence first. “She looks happy.” David didn’t have to ask who he was talking about.
“I like to think she is. Her happiness is all that matters to me.”
John gave him a small smile. “That’s good.” He hesitated before continuing. “You look happy too.”
“I am. She keeps me sane.” It was true. Without her, he didn’t think he would be as comfortable in his job and in his life as he was.
“That’s good.”
They settled into a comfortable silence for a few moments before they were joined by Simon and Jace.
“How are you feeling, Simon?” he asked.
“Good. She’s not going to see this coming. At all.” His voice was full of pride at his plan. David didn’t have the heart to burst his bubble by questioning him. Jace didn’t seem to feel the same way.
“And you’re sure this is the right way to go? What if she doesn’t appreciate the ambush?”
Simon waved away their concerns. “She’s going to love this, I promise.”
~~~
“HOW ARE YOU AND SIMON doing?” Carrie asked Luna once it was just the four girls.
She sighed. “I don’t know. I’ve given up asking him if he wants to get married. It just leads to disappointment.”
Rory placed a consoling hand on top of hers. “Have you really asked him about it or just hinted towards what you wanted?”
“I’ve been hinting,” Luna admitted. “But you know me, my hints are anything but subtle. He would need to be both deaf and blind to miss what I was trying to get at.”
“Things are going to get better,” Carrie tried to tell her, but she didn’t seem to believe her.
She knew that the other girls wanted to tell Luna about what Simon was planning, but she wasn’t sure if that would be the best way for her to find out. Hopefully, Simon would ask soon, and they wouldn’t have to sit with this for too much longer.
“How about you and Jace?” Taylor asked Rory.
Since she’d kept silent about this conversation the last time they talked about it, Carrie was surprised when she actually gave them an answer.
“We’re happy with where we are. We talked about it not long after you two got engaged, and we both think it’ll be better to wait until after your wedding. That way we don’t take any of the attention off of you.”
“Ah, thank you, but you don’t have to do that,” Taylor told her.
Luna seemed to want completely off the wedding-marriage topic. She turned to Carrie. “How are classes going?”
“Good. I’m really liking my social work classes. I’m nervous for whenever I get my first case, but I think I’ll be good at it.”
“Definitely,” Taylor told her with a gentle grin. “You’ll be the best social worker Minnesota has ever seen.”
~~~
SIMON CHOSE TO POP the question while they were eating. Perfect timing, Carrie thought sarcastically to herself. While Luna was busy talking to Rory, Simon dropped his fork on the ground, but when he knelt down to pick it up, Carrie saw him reach into his pocket for the ring. As a hush filled the room, Luna seemed to realize something was up. When she spotted Simon on one knee in front of her, she gasped and almost threw her plate to the ground. Thankfully, Rory had quick reflexes and put it on the table in front of them.
“Luna, baby, I’ve never not wanted to marry you. You’re the best part of me, and the day that we met was the greatest day of my life. I want to spend our entire lives making your dreams come true and showing you that I’m just the right guy for you. Will you marry me?”
The surprise seemed to wear off, and Luna dropped her hands as her eyes darted around the room before dropping back to Simon.
“You really picked now of all times to ask me? When I’m eating a burger and probably have ketchup on my fingers? What happened to you not wanting to get married?”
Simon shifted on his knee uncomfortably as he seemed to realize that Luna wasn’t jumping with joy.
“I wanted to surprise you, baby. I didn’t want you to see it coming,” he explained.
“Well, you sure did that. I was starting to think that we weren’t right for each other. You made me doubt us!” Her voice rose on the last word as her eyes narrowed.
“That wasn’t my intention. I just wanted you to not see it coming,” he explained again.
Luna looked at all of them in surprise. “You knew, didn’t you? All of you?” When they sheepishly nodded their heads, she rolled her eyes. “God, what am I going to do with you?” she asked him rhetorically.
“Marry me?” he suggested halfheartedly.
There were a few tense moments before Luna looked back at her boyfriend. “Of course, I’ll marry you, you dumbass.”
They all laughed as Simon sighed in relief before sliding the ring on her ketchup-less finger. Carrie’s heart swelled as she saw her friend kiss her now-fiance and show off her new ring. All the tension that Luna had been carrying around seemed to be gone in the blink of an eye now that she understood where they stood in their relationship.
With all of the love and joy that was in the air, Carrie couldn’t help but look next to her at where David was sitting. For the first time in so long, Carrie felt completely content in her life. She had great friends, an amazing brother, and a boyfriend that would move the world for her. What more could she ask for?
~~~
“SO TONIGHT WAS AN INTERESTING night, that’s for sure,” David said as they were getting ready to go to bed that night. It was soon becoming a habit for them to spend the weekend together at his place. Carrie loved being able to spend the night with him and then wake up in his arms. She never could sleep as well during the week when she was away from him.
“Yeah, I thought for a second that she was going to turn him down,” Carrie responded.
“She did not seem happy, but I’m glad that she said yes eventually.”
As they were lying in bed just a few minutes later, David asked her, “How would you want to be proposed to?”
She froze in his arms. They had only been together for a few weeks now. Was he already popping the question? He seemed to read her thoughts before she could say anything.
“I’m not asking right now, but I thought it would be a good thing to know. I’m not going anywhere; you’re it for me.” Her heart filled with love at his words
“I’ve never really given it much thought, to be honest. As long as the man that’s asking loves me and I love him, then I don’t see how there can be a wrong way to ask.”
She felt him smile against the back of her neck, but he didn’t say anything more.
As she drifted off to sleep, she thought about what she’d told him and what he’d said before. She knew that he was the one for her too. Her heart skipped whenever he smiled at her, and she never felt complete unless she was in his arms. Was it too soon for her to be in love? Would people think she was crazy?
She knew the answer to that, but she didn’t let it stop her thoughts because she knew, without a doubt, that she was in love with David Clarke. She’d already been half in love with him for the last four years; it wasn’t that hard for her to fall completely.
The real question she needed to ask herself was... could he possibly feel the same way towards her?