Julie Taylor glided her hand over his arm. "You really want to be with me forever?" She questioned for what seemed like the hundredth time. Matt understood why she kept asking. Like her, he still felt a little incredulous that the two of them finally might have a future in spite of all that had driven them apart.
Matt Saracen flashed that perfect half smile, the type of his smile that crept across his face in his happiest moments. Shaking his head, he answered, "Nah, I'm just using you for your dad . . . maybe even both of your parents. Your mom makes a great casserole."
"Matt!" she goofily shrieked.
Playing along, he nonchalantly shrugged. "You wanted to know the truth," he replied somberly. "And that, Julie Taylor, is the drop dead truth."
Rolling her eyes, Julie grinned back. "Well, you're stuck with me now anyways," she announced. She put her hands on her hips a little bit. Matt half expected her to end the statement with "so there."
He continued to tease her, "Will you at least get the casserole recipe from your mother? You know how I feel about my casseroles."
Giving him a death glare, Julie hit him lightly on the arm. Even as she tried to look serious, a smile still snuck through. She smiled like that whenever she desperately tried to hold in inevitable giggling.
"Hey! What was that for?" He asked through his own laughter. Teasing Julie Taylor still gave him an indescribable jolt of happiness. He felt certain that he never would get tired of the feeling. Every moment that he laughed with her validated the proposal a little bit more. After what took awhile, he finally knew that he couldn't spend the rest of his life with anyone else. For him, the concept of forever often seemed scary enough. He had his problems with the idea of people sticking around after being continually deserted. Julie proved to be an exception. Even when he took off and left her behind, she still came back to him. He imagined their relationship as a permanent fixture in his life; in fact, he couldn't envision himself & Julie any other way but permanent.
"Oh- I don't know," she playfully replied. Her eyes sparkled as she lively spoke back. God, Matt had missed bantering with her. How had they ever been apart so long? The time away seemed impossible now.
Matt smirked a little as Julie tilted her head to the side. She had this expression on her face as if she could see the comeback forming in his mind. "You know what I think?"
"Oh what do you think, Matthew?" She asked, accentuating each syllable.
"I think you're like one of those little dogs that bites all the time except you hit instead," He deadpanned as seriously as possible.
"You did not just call me a Chihuahua," She laughed, the big beautiful laugh that he loved so much.
Matt emphatically nodded. "You are such a Chihuahua, Julie Taylor."
"All because I often find myself needing to hit you. . ." she confirmed, still giggling.
"Because you love to hit me for no good reason!" He corrected. "And because you're small and cute," he added. His eyes twinkled now too.
"Matt, I really don't think Chihuahuas are that cute. Not to mention, they've become associated with Paris Hilton. And as you might remember, I am not a Paris Hilton type of girl," Julie lightly replied, patting his arm in consolation.
Once again, Matt shook his head. "Well, I think they're the cutest, just like my fiancée." He grabbed her now, pulling her in for a kiss.
"I hope you know that I am a strictly big dog type of girl. No Chihuahuas in our future," she announced. "I do appreciate the news though. I can't wait to share with Landry all about how you're a small dog type of guy. I think he'll approve."
"I think I can deal with no little dogs. You're good enough for me," he agreed.
With a sigh, she let him pull her into his arms again. "So, you want to be with me forever because I remind you of an annoying nippy dog that you secretly want?"
"A cute feisty dog is more what I'm going for," he drawled. He slid his arms tightly around her body, "Better reason than using you for your parents, right?"
She paused as if deep in thought. "Better reason than using me for my dad!" She conceded.
"That's what I thought," He answered proudly.
"You're such a weirdo," Julie murmured as he kissed her head.
He laughed, "Gee, thanks Julie. I love you too."
Shaking her head, she looked up at him with a tiny smile. "That's the reason why I want to be with you forever," she declared. "You're my weirdo, Matt."
Never did being a weirdo feel so good. "A Chihuahua and a weirdo . . . I think we're going to last."
Julie gave him a funny look, as if a realization sunk in. In the midst of their silliness, the conversation had reached a point of strange sincerity. "Yeah, I think so too." She answered confidently without any uncertainty wavering through her words.
After that afternoon, Julie never asked him to reaffirm why he wanted to stay with her forever again. The explanation of one Chihuahua and one weirdo made just enough sense for them both.