1975
Annessa sighed and stared down at a shirtless Victor. She crossed her arms on his chest and put her head down, closing her eyes as she prepared to sleep. She could hear Victor's heart beating steadily and she rose up and down as he breathed in and out.
"Annessa," he whispered in her ear as she began to drift off. She lifted her head and turned to look at him, a look of wonder on her face. Victor was staring at her cheekily.
"What?" she asked him when he didn't continue. Victor didn't answer, instead shifting her easily off of him before sitting up to rummage through the drawer of the bedside cabinet. Annessa sat up and crawled over to him, kissing his shoulder lightly as she peered over it. He turned to her, kissing her nose, before continuing to rummage through the drawer.
"What are you looking for?" she asked again, getting steadily more curious and annoyed.
"Here!" Victor exclaimed as he pulled out a square, red-velvet, box roughly the size of his palm. He turned around to face Annessa and handed her the box. She took it, looking up at him in surprise.
"What—" she began.
"Just open it," Victor said, cutting her off.
She smiled and flipped open the box. Inside, sitting on a small red silk cushion sat a gold pendant and matching chain. Annessa's eyes widened as she gazed down at the beautiful pendent. It was in the shape of an oval, with a flower-like shape around it, each petal with a diamond right in the center, and right in the middle of the pendant was a humongous oval opal. The opal itself was light in color, but it still had its signature rainbow colors swirling through it. It was clearly worth more than anything he'd ever bought for her.
Annessa gasped, and looked up at Victor, her eyes still wide-open in surprise.
"Victor," she murmured, unable to finish the thought. Victor's smile broadened as he took the box from her, removing the delicate necklace from the box and fastening it around her neck. Annessa was still speechless as she turned to rummage through the opposite bedside cabinet, pulling out a hand-mirror from the drawer. She gazed at the reflection of the necklace, barely moving, even breathing.
"I take it that you like it," Victor chuckled, shaking his head. Annessa turned to look at him again, dropping the mirror to her side. She grabbed his face, almost knocking him over with the intensity of her kiss as he pulled the blanket over them again.
