Page 37 of What If We Break?
Once again, without a single warning, Reece pressed his lips to mine. “Do we have any classes together?”
“Almost all of them… I chose to study sports management because it seemed like the easiest one.” And if figure skating didn’t work out, I could always become a Coach with that degree; or an agent. “Since I knew your schedule I just picked whatever courses you chose. If I ever need help, I know a guy who can help me study. He happens to be my future husband.”
16
BROOKLYN
Lying on the bed, I held my left arm up in the air, staring at the sparkling diamond engagement ring on my finger.
I still couldn’t believe that happened today. Was it the most romantic proposal, no, but it was pretty on-brand for Reece and me, I’d say.
It didn’t even matter because, at the end of the day, I was engaged to the love of my goddamn life.
Reece was on the phone with me, walking me through the fifth hypothetical situation of how his family might respond when we shared the news of our engagement.
My dad clearly knew it was going to happen soon-ish, and since he knew, he probably told Emory, too. The only people who could’ve been surprised when we told them would’ve been my siblings, but honestly, even they probably expected it.
All of Reece’s hypothetical situations were positive, and frankly, I would’ve been surprised had he come up with a single negative one.
“My mom wasjusttelling me how it’s about time I proposed to you,” Reece told me before hesighed heavily. “I think she might have even placed bets with everyone in my family on when I’d finally pop the question.”
He chuckled softly, and the sound of it could make my heart skip beats even though he wasn’t in the same room as me tonight.
It was strange lying in my bed without him next to me, especially since we had spent almost every night together since we first started dating. His presence was a steady comfort in my life, and the thought of him not being here made the room feel colder, and emptier.
I missed the weight of his body next to me, the warmth of his breath on my neck as we both drifted off to sleep. I always felt far safer in his arms, even though I had nothing to worry about when I was at home. It was just another level of peace that came with knowing he was there.
“If it makes you feel any better, I’m almost certain my family did the same.” I laughed quietly, imagining the knowing looks and whispered conversations between my parents every time they’d catch Reece and me being even slightly affectionate to one another.
On the bright side, it felt pretty great to know that both of our families were more than happy to welcome the other into their lives—not that they had any other choice.
“It does make me feel a little better,” Reece admitted, and I could picture the grin that I knew was on his face without having to see it.
“What are you doing right now?” I asked, finally getting up and walking over to my bedroom window, where I took a seat on that sitting nook my father built me when we moved into this house. My eyes immediately began searching for Reece on the other side of the road, but his lights were turned off.
My bedroom was on the front side of the house, allowingme to look right into my fiancé’s bedroom—if it wasn’t almost midnight and his lights were turned off, that is.
“It’s late,mi princesa. I’m just lying in bed and talking to you on the phone,” he replied, chuckling. It made sense, but it sounded kind of boring. “God, I wish you were in my bed right now.”
“Me too,” I sighed, pulling my legs right underneath my chin. “This was a very stupid idea.”
After getting the ring from his place, Reece suggested that we should avoid staying in the same house for the next couple of nights. We wanted to wait a few days before telling our parents about our engagement. If my parents had seen us together and noticed my obvious joy, I would’ve blurted out the news without hesitation.
It was safer to stay apart until we were ready to tell everyone.
“I was just thinking the same thing.” He groaned in frustration. “It’s alright though, right? It’s just until we’re ready to tell them.”
I leaned back against the window frame, watching the moon casting a soft glow over the neighborhood. It was so quiet out there, so peaceful. Sure, it was a very small neighborhood consisting of four houses in total—all of which belonged to my father and his best friends from college—but it seemed extra quiet tonight.
“I know, it's just until we’re ready,” I repeated, trying to reassure myself more than Reece. The idea of keeping our engagement a secret for a few days felt like an impossible task, especially when all I wanted to do was shout it from the rooftops.
But as much as I wanted to share the news with our families, there was a small part of me that wanted to stay in this bubble of secrecy. It was our little world for now,where it was just Reece and me, and everything was perfect.
Also, I was a little afraid that if we spoke about it, everything would go downhill from there. The world could be cruel once you were happy, so maybe if we kept what made us happy for ourselves for now, we’d be okay.
A slight movement caught my eye from across the street, and I squinted to get a better look. Reece’s bedroom curtain fluttered briefly before falling back into place. A part of me wondered if he was also stealing glances out the window, searching for me in the darkness.
“I wish you were here, too,” I murmured, feeling the weight of his absence a lot more now.
