The Bold, The Beautiful, & A Side of Sushi

December 18th
"Amelia, can you come here for a second?" Graham's voice booms throughout the house.
"Just a second," I mumble before jogging towards him. "What do you need?"
"Would you prefer this jacket in violet or a midnight blue?"
"Violet. It adds more flare to your perfect jawline."
"Thanks babe." he chuckles before he leans down and presses his lips to mine.
"You're welcome."

I smile at him, trying to hide my slightly red face. "I have to go put the finishing touches on myself before we go, alright?"
"Of course, I'll be waiting."
He pecks my lips one more time before turning his back towards me. A year and a half together and our conversations still run like that. I self consciously pull my lips into my mouth as I stare at him. We don't ever talk about anything else but each other and clothing. All we do is argue, make up, kiss each other's asses, and talk about fashion. I know that sounds perfect, finding someone just like you with no difficulties but, all that glitters is not gold honey. Sometimes I just wonder what it'd be like if we did more together you know? Like if we connected on a level so emotionally and spiritually, would we even need to use words to communicate?
Ugh.
Don't get me wrong, I love this boy with all my heart. He's a better version of me, one hundred percent. But sometimes a girl can't help but think about the what if's.
"Are you okay Amelia?" he asks while peering over at me from the kitchen counter.
"Yeah, I'm good."

My legs carry me up my stairs towards my vanity to apply the dark lipstick I know Graham loves on me and retouch my loose curls. I grab my purse while stepping down the stairs to greet my lovely boyfriend.

"You look beautiful Meli," he smiles.
"Thank you, so do you." I reply.
"Are you ready to go?"
"Of course."
"Well then my lady, your carriage awaits."

;

"Would that be all?" asks our waiter.
"Yes." I smile politely before turning back to Graham.

The waiter strides off smoothly, leaving Graham and I alone at our favorite table in Little Tokyo on the Rocks.

"So."
"So."
"Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?"
"About a hundred times," I smile. "You look great too."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Graham smiles at me before looking around the restaurant, probably finding something to talk to me about. How do I know this? Its like I said before, I know everything about this boy and his actions. We're basically the same person.

"Oh here comes our special order of cheesy bread and house fried noodles." he whispers, excitement lacing his smooth voice.
"When did you order that?" I wonder aloud.
"A skilled ninja never reveals his sleek ways." He smiles that wonderful smile of his and runs a hand through his slick black hair.

I just love getting my fingers getting tangled in it.

"Here are your noodles and your bread, specially ordered by the gentleman here." the waiter announces as he sets down the plates. "Your food shall be out shortly."

The tall man walks away, leaving Graham and I together once more.

"Are you going to eat anything?" Graham asks me teasingly while already being aware of my empty stomach. "I haven't seen you eat anything all day."
"True." I mumble before filling my mouth with the cheesy breads in front of me.

Instead of eating his greasy noodles, Graham stares at me with a small smile on his face.

"You okay G?" I ask after swallowing my bread slowly.
"Yeah," he chuckles. "I've just never realized how lucky I am."

I feel my cheeks heat up as he continues to speak softly to me.

"You're such an amazing girl Amelia. You're my girl as a matter of fact. I hope that things stay this way for a long time."

Instead of answering with a simple, "me too", I smile wider and take ahold of his hand on the table.

"Go ahead and finish your bread sweetheart." he smiles.
I instantly release his hand and finish off what's left of my bread. A few minutes later, Graham and I's orders of sushi appear at the table along with our drinks. Now Graham's eyes are even wider once he sees me take up my first roll of sushi. His deep brown eyes watch me put the food in my mouth where I slowly start to chew. As I'm chewing, I feel something harder than my raw fish and rice brush across my tongue. I pull the item out only to find a thinly designed black & silver ring with a diamond in the center in my first two fingers.

S**t.

I advert my gaze to Graham, eyes full of wonder and extreme nerves.

This better not be an engagement ring. If it is, I am actually disappointed at how small this diamond is.

"Graham, what is this for?" I push out cautiously.
"Amelia, as you know we've successfully been together for a year and a half. Things have been going great and I think it's safe to say that I feel very comfortable with you. As a token of our love, I wanted to give you something that will symbolize how much you mean to me. I know it's not much but I felt like the beauty and simplicity of this ring will always be able to properly describe how I see you, my beautiful girl."

Whoa! Who knew he had all of that emotion in him. Oh wait, I did.

"Wow, I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything."
"Thank you for being so thoughtful but I don't think I can accept this."

The smile from his face fades as he wrinkles his furry eyebrows together, creating those wifi lines I hate seeing on his beautiful face. I wanted to reach out towards him and smooth them out until he placed his lips on mine.

"What are you talking about Amelia?"

I'm really not ready to have this conversation. I should've just kept my mouth shut!

"I mean the ring is beautiful and I love you but.."
"But?"

Think Amelia, think! Lie if you have to.

"I just-" I spot one of the waiters carrying the black envelope holding a check to another couple's booth. Seeing that reminds me of the sleek, velvet box that hold a man's watch when you first buy it.

I got it!

"I wasn't able to get you anything. I had no idea we were doing this." I explain, trying to sound sincere.

The relief that spreads across Graham's face is obvious as he shakes his head at me.

"It's okay Amelia." he chuckles and stops to pull at the ends of his hair. "We have the rest of our lives for you to shower me with gifts. Right now, all I need is you in that ring."

With a loud heart and shaky fingers, I hold it out towards Graham where he smiles and slides the ring on my fourth finger.

"Beautiful." he whispers before lacing our fingers together.
"Yeah," I mumble, instantly feeling the pressure and many disputing thoughts in my head. "Beautiful."

;

As our night comes to an end, Graham relaxes himself a whole lot more once I bring up the topic of socks and sandals.

"In all honesty, I'd like to know who even came up with that preposterous combination! Who the hell wants to walk around in open toed shoes with fabric that sucks on to your skin like a f*****g octopus? I mean, come on."

A small giggle escapes my lips while I fiddle with my hands. When the delicate ring brushes against my fingers, I stop my smiling and force myself to stare at this form of extreme commitment to a guy who's comfortable with me. Comfortable huh? What does that even have to do with anything human related? I'm not a six-thousand dollar plush, leather couch made to sit on! Oh, and even worse,

What the f**k does comfortable even mean in context to an almost two year girlfriend?

"Are you okay Amelia?"

Graham's voice breaks me out of my internal raging and brings me back to his external raging.

"Yeah, I'm good."
"You sure?"
"Always."

He reaches over the dashboard in the car and grabs my hand, rubbing his thumb over my tiny fingers, sending chills down my spine. I loved when he did that and he knew I did too. It made my heart flutter.

"Te amo mucho mi amour." he drags out the r in "mi amour" and kisses my knuckles softly.
"I love you too G."

Author's Note

please ignore the possible grammar errors :) thank you!!