Page 187 of Never Not Friends

I look over at Vinny. “You did a big Valentine’s Day surprise, didn’t you?”

He shakes his head. “So cliché, right?”

“But I do happen to love cliché.”

“And I happen to know that about you, so close your eyes.”

I smile back at him before sinking farther into the couch and closing my eyes.

It’s been a completely normal night. Dinner. A walk in the park. Sugar buns for dessert, and now we’re back at my place, hanging out.

With my eyes closed, I hear Vinny moving around. A cabinet opens.

“You’re not letting Chili out, are you?”

“I wouldn’t dare.” His voice gets closer, then something heavy-ish lands on my lap.

“Can I open my eyes?”

“Yep.”

I look down at the box sitting on my legs. Not a jewelry box. Just a regular box.

My eyes shift to Vinny.

“Open it,” he says.

Slowly, I lift the lid and notice the stack of random things inside. I pull the first one out—a receipt from Joe’s Farm Grill.

I look at him. “Our first official date?”

He nods, and I dive back into the box for the next item.

A Polaroid we took last summer of us with my nieces.

I keep digging.

A ticket stub to a haunted house we went to together. A picture we colored together when he came to visit my students. A napkin from Thanksgiving that I traced Vinny’s hand on to make it look like a turkey. The card I gave him with his Christmas present. Our Ella Langley concert stub.

I smile at him. “Why did you keep all this?”

“You kept twelve years of us in a box. So I decided to keep things too. Except, your box represented all the years we missed. Mine shows the life we’re building now.”

I throw my arms around his neck, hugging him to me. “I love it!”

“There are still a few things in there.” He laughs. “Don’t miss the best part.”

I pull back and glance back down at the last item: the shirt from Last Chance with the pink sailboats.

“I can’t believe that, instead of wearing this iconic shirt, you put it in the box.” I lift the shirt out, but there’s something else there.

A tiny black velvet box is tucked underneath.

I stop breathing.

For one second, I don’t move.

“Vinny!” I gasp, looking back at him.