Z is for Zone
"Grace!" Augustine Sycamore shouted. He smiled and got up from his desk to give her a hug.
"Hi, Augustine," Grace said, laughing and returning it. "What's this for? We just talked over the phone a few minutes ago."
"Can I not give my girlfriend a hug?" Augustine asked, stepping back and staring at her in adoration.
"You can tell your receptionist to let me up," Grace said, her eyes flashed. She quickly shook her head and stepped back, creating a space between herself and her boyfriend. "But I didn't come here to say that. Augustine Sycamore, I need to do something and I need to know that you'll not kick me out when I'm done."
The black haired man looked taken aback. He leaned against his desk, expecting the worst but nodding for her to go ahead anyway.
"Alright." Grace took a deep, steadying breath. She squared her shoulders and looked up into the man's grey eyes. "Augustine Sycamore, I'm not good at being romantic so I'm just going to say everything. I love you and I don't want to spend a day without you." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small box. "So, I want to ask you something. Something I've wanted to do for a long time." Grace flipped open the box to reveal a ring with a rainbow jewel built in. She went down on one and held out the box. "Augustine Sycamore, will you marry me?"
Augustine stared at her for a while. Grace's arm started to lower, a mortified feeling creeping over her. Augustine stared at her with a mixture of wanting to cry and being shocked speechless. When he finally did speak, he strangled out, "Why, Grace?"
Grace flinched back and hesitantly said, "Why what? I told you -"
"Not that," Augustine replied, waving his arms frantically. He desperately dug through the pockets on his lab coat. When he finally found what he was looking for, Grace was standing straight and holding the untouched ring in a box in her hand. He held out a box, flipping it open and revealing a ring with a pure white crystal in the center. "I was going to propose to you. I was going to tell you how I love you. How you remind me that my greatest accomplishment is falling in love with a woman that loves me for me. How I only want to be a better man for you. How you are the stars that linger throughout the night, making the world seem more beautiful even when it is dark. You are the sun that brightens my day. I was going to sweep you off your feet, so that there was no way you could have said no. But you stole my moment. Why, Grace?"
Grace was trying to hide her smirk. She didn't succeed, and simply told him, "Yes."
Augustine blinked in shock. "Yes what?"
"Yes, I will marry you."
Augustine gasped. His face broke into a smile and he lunged at Grace, effulging her in a hug. Grace tightly held him back, smiling into his lab coat.
Augustine muttered into her hair, "Yes, Grace. I will marry you."