Page 50 of The Score

He pushes the ring onto my finger. "Imagine we're at the lake. Mix the memories in your mind. That would make it more special, I think."

"This is special." My throat tightens. "It's… us."

Through the emotion clogging up my system, I search for better words. This moment is simple, the way our friendship has always been. Easy. Warm. Domestic? Fuck, I can't name it, but it glows inside.

It's real, spontaneous, and… secure. My friendship with Bear is where I find protection from the unpredictability of life.

"It's perfect, Leon."

His eyes, until then staring at the ring on my finger, with its stones glinting in the bedroom light, lift to me. The blue irises glint in exactly the same way.

"This may be unconventional," he says, "but it feels right."

I didn't expect it, but to feel the ring slide on and sit perfectly on my finger, it made the fit right at many levels. He's spot on. Maybe that's why emotion swells in my chest.

"It is right," I whisper. "Even if it's not everything it's meant to be for other people… it's right for us, for now."

My hand remains in his. The new stones I wear blink and tease me, asking me to stare at them some more, but I don't. I'm caught in the soft way Leon looks at me, and the small smile tilting his mouth.

"I'm proud to be the one you marry, Pen. I've been thinking about it. Of course, part of it is because you're my favorite human but, if I think more about it… it's because I admire who you are. So unapologetically yourself. Determined. Adventurous, and loyal too."

I gulp. A new wave of feeling rises in my chest, collecting in my throat, threatening to overflow. I think it's gratitude. Tenderness. Something sweeter mixes with it, like golden veins in ancient marble.

His smile widens somewhat. "When you gave up on dating, you said 'fuck what people expect of me.' In a way, we're saying 'fuck the script' together this time, getting married as friends. I love that I get to be a part of it. That we get to do this for your parents together. And I love that I get to prove somehow that you were right. When the men you dated tried to tell you that you were the problem, you didn't believe them. You went for the life you wanted. You still do. What a badass."

I snort, but it comes out a bit watery. "You know the worst things about me. You've seen me ugly cry and held me anyway. Don't you think I'm the lucky one here?"

"No." He smirks. "But I'll leave the rest for my vows."

I shake my head. "You have to promise you'll keep them simple."

He raises an eyebrow at his watch and doesn't respond.

"Bear…"

I may not hold it together if his vows are more of the same.

He closes the velvet box in his large hand. "The car is here. Gotta drop this in my room, but let's go."

"Leon Karlsen!"

"Come on. We don't want to be late to our own party, do we?"