Thirty Kisses
Kiss #25
Mai Valentine raised her shoulders, tilting her head to the side and shrugged with an apologetic expression on her face.
Joey Wheeler stared at her, a hurt and bewildered expression on his face. "What?" He said.
"I'm sorry, Joey. I just don't really believe in marriage." She attempted a smile which turned out to be more of a grimace.
"What?" He repeated. "What? How can you not believe in marriage? Look Mai, you don't needa make stuff up you can just give it to me straight if..." his voice broke, "...if you wanna break up. Just tell me." He swallowed hard.
She could literally feel his heart, and therefore her heart, breaking. "Oh, no honey, no." She said as she knelt down beside him. Joey still looked dejected. Mai put a hand on his face, directing it toward her. "Listen kid, I love you. I love you more than I love duelling. More than I love shoes. I love you more than myself." Despite himself, Joey grinned. "But marriage," she continued, "I just don't... I mean, what's the point? We already have each other - what more do we need? I just don't see how it will change anything. And... And how many marriages last these days? Look at your parents. Look at Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston! I'm just saying that I don't need a big ring to prove how much you love me because I know, I really do." She leant forward and kissed his cheek.
Joey still looked a bit confused. "Will you ever changed your mind? I mean, I got ya this nice ring and everything..."
She took his hand and stood up, pulling him with her. "Maybe."
"When?"
"When I'm ready. When I've done everything I want to do."
"When you're ready?"
She smiled and kissed his other cheek. "When I'm ready."