Jess found himself panicking. Rory wasn't saying anything. She just gawked at everything around her. What was the expression on her face? What if she hated twinkle lights, lace curtains, and white washed furnishings? What if she preferred pink and fluffy (like that fuzzy hammer her mom made her all those years ago)? I've made the biggest mistake in the world. We're too young. We're not ready. It's too soon and too much. It's too chaotic. Too much has happened, he thought, swallowing hard as he wiped his hands against his paint legs yet again. I shouldn't have asked yet. I should have waited. Then, Rory mentioned the lilies that were sitting all around the world. It seemed that the flowers had not been too much, but instead the perfect touch.
"How could I forget that? How could I forget anything about you?" he replied in a voice about as clear as a tree frog croaking deep in the forest. Reaching, he brushed her Rory's hair behind her ear. Cupping her head, he stroked her head. "I love you. I'd give you the world, if I could. I hope this is the world you want and need."
Her favorite flower was something that had changed over the years; even if Jess didn't know that. It used to be the sunflower until something happened to her, something that she had never told her boyfriend, a story that she felt like sharing now. "I think that I never told you why I love them so much right?" asked the brunette with a big smile on her lips, getting a bit lost in the memory. "After the dance marathon, when we started to date I was so nervous. I knew that I wanted to be with you, but everything had happened so fast; the break up, us…it was a bit overwhelmed. But after our first proper kiss, when I was walking I saw someone that was using lilies to decorate the garden and for some reason I stopped to look at them. Don't ask me why but in that moment the fact that us being together was what was meant to happen hit me, that even if the process leading to it had been a bit chaotic it all was worth it."
Rory swallowed, blue eyes looking away. "After you left, there was a time in which I hated them, because they reminded me of you and that first kiss," admitted the girl, stirring not so pleasant memories. "But eventually they became my favorite flower again, because they reminded me of that even if things can be complicated at times, there's always a chance of ending up where you are meant to be, in fact in Yale whenever I thought that I was going to fail for sure an exam I bought some Lilies, because whenever I looked at them they gave me the push that I needed to keep going."
Logan had always bought her red roses; good intentions but the wrong flower. A soft smile appeared in Rory's lips "I have you, mom and Luke, my friends, a house that I love and a job that is quite nice. I don't want anything else."
At the mention of time, he shrugged while offering a sheepish smile. "There were quite a few sleepless nights the last week or two to get it finished. I came and did the work after you went to bed. I'm surprised you didn't smell the fresh paint," he explained. "It didn't cost as much as it looks like it might. The most was the paint and it wasn't that much. The desk was pretty shabby when I got it. The lights were clearance."
When she told him to relax, he exhaled. Her words drew his gaze to her mouth and he studied her lips as she spoke. "I can't help it. I put a lot of work and thought into it. I didn't want to mess this up. Besides, shouldn't I be nervous? This is a big day for me too, you know that right?" he asked, looking at the ring box. "And who's saying I'm rambling now or then? I wasn't rambling. I'm totally cool. I was totally cool then, too. And you still can't prove Luke didn't send that care package? Maybe he denied it so I could look all romantic? Maybe he knew how I was feeling about you?" Jess was, of course, joking. How could he admit it? The truth would ruin his poise.
Somehow this moment felt like their first one. It felt like he was first seeing her. In an essence, he was. He was truly seeing the woman she'd grown into. He was seeing how beautifully she had aged and matured. Her eyes held a wisdom that hadn't been there when they met in their teenage years. As a teen, she'd been his girlfriend and he loved her. But, that love – it had changed in his heart. By his soul he knew he adored her. She was his world, but he didn't expect her to think or feel the same. He loved her. He loved how she looked. He loved her thoughts and her wits. He loved how she touched him. He loved how she knew him and he knew her. He loved that cooking wasn't her strong suit. Everything – he loved the whole package. Jess wasn't sure he could convey those feelings into words. He hoped the actions were enough. He hoped his actions spoke far clearer. "I love you," he whispered, again. "I always have and I always will."
After asking the question, he raised to his feet. He wiped the tears from her cheeks while waiting for her answer. She kissed him instead of speaking. The passion left him breathless. Instincts kicked in and he returned the gesture all the while keeping a tight hold on the ring. Jess didn't want to lose that important piece of jewelry. He broke from the kiss and took the ring from the box. With shaking hands, he slipped it onto her finger. It fit perfectly. "I think that ring was meant for your hand," he whispered. He pulled her forward and picked up the book. "Check out the passage. I didn't plan that. It just opened there. Fate, eh?"
Rory chuckled "Well I am not that surprised, sometimes I can be totally oblivious to super evident things remember? But I really like it; I wouldn't have come up with better gift idea on my own."
She looked at the ring box too, indeed a big day, a day that she would remember forever happily. An eyebrow rose as she crossed her arms, amusement clear in her blue eyes "Yes, Luke totally lied about the care package to make you seem the most romantic person in the universe," said the brunette, her voice dripping playful sarcasm.
"Even when I ruin the dinner and you have to end up cooking because I should not be allowed near the kitchen?" started to ask jokingly as she put her arms over his shoulders "Or when I start to freak out when I get a deadline? Or when I eat all the pop tarts? Or when I steal the covers and refuse to be a morning person with you because I swear I don't know how can you be so awake in the mornings" the smile totally let him know that she was teasing him. In the past she had doubted him when he had declared his love but right now? She knew that Jess Mariano loved her, and she was completely sure of that she felt the same towards him.
Rory bit her lip as she tried to keep her emotions, the sight of the ring on her hand was quite overwhelming in the good way, and she could feel new tears gathering in her eyes. "Yes, I think that it was," she said reminding her of a moment in a music shop in NY so long ago, her voice still chocked with emotions. She cleared her throat before speaking again. "Good proposal book, because if you had used Hemingway it wouldn't have been the same. Granted, I would have said yes anyway. The idea of standing in a pretty white dress next to you while saying I do is very appealing."