Disclaimer: See previous chapters. I don't own the song "Penguin"…Christina Perri does. I'm so jealous.

Arizona

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Chapter Sixteen – I Think I Wanna Marry You

"Well that trip was definitely worthwhile." Shane said pulling his car into the garage of his home. He and Mitchie had just gotten back from Dallas and were sitting in his car talking, which was something they seemed to be doing a lot of lately. "I can't believe we got back home before five o'clock. I think our pilot had a need for speed."

"Yeah well I can't believe how much fun it was. I was thinking the whole trip would go horribly wrong considering all the things I neglected to tell them. By the way, I'm so sorry about that. It's not like I was ashamed of you or anything it's just with Ken and everything–"

"Mitchie," Shane rested his hand atop of hers and asked with a smile, "When will you finally realize that you don't have to explain yourself to me?"

"Sorry, it's just a habit." She apologized sheepishly.

"I meant to ask this during our flight but I forgot, did you ever tell your mom and dad about Ken? About what he used to do to you?" He asked hesitantly.

She nodded, staring down at her hands, one of which was intertwined with Shane's. "My mom cried and my dad just cursed and swore to give him a taste of his own medicine." She said with a dry laugh. "But I told him there was no need because my own personal knight in shining armor already did."

A huge grin grew on Shane's face. "Well, I was only a knight in shining armor because you were a beautiful damsel in distress. But even if you weren't, I would still be your knight."

Mitchie smiled and leaned over to place a kiss on his cheek before opening the passenger door and exiting the car. She was halfway to the door before she looked back realizing Shane wasn't following.

"Are you coming?" She asked.

"Um, I actually have something to do. Would you mind doing me a favor?" He asked. She shook her head. "When you get inside, could you tell Nate to come out here for a few minutes?"

"Sure," With that Mitchie entered the house and a few seconds later Nate came running out. He ran over to the passenger side and hopped in.

"Did you get it?" Shane asked nervously rubbing his hands together.

"Did I get?" Nate repeated loudly. "Of course I got it!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small blue box that was wrapped in a white bow, the signature of Tiffany & Co.

"And it's the one I told you to get? The Soleste?" Shane asked as he took the box from Nate.

Nate nodded, a satisfied smile on his face. "1.5 carats, twenty-two thousand smackers, it's the exact one you wanted."

Shane gently placed the box inside of his leather jacket's breast pocket. "Thanks for doing this for me, bro. Now, keep her busy until I call, okay? That shouldn't be too hard seeing as how she's gonna be busy with Hayley and stuff but just make sure when I call, she comes, okay?"

"No problem. You just go, set up and make everything perfect. You only get one chance to do this." Nate reminded him.

"Oh, thanks for the extra added pressure." Shane said sarcastically. "Now go back inside before she gets suspicious."

Nate nodded and exited the car, running back into the house. Just as Shane predicted, Mitchie was already wrapped up in some game with Hayley. When she saw him run by, though, she paused to talk to him.

"Hey Nate," She called out to him. He stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. "Where's Shane going?"

"Uh," Nate searched for a feasible place Shane would be heading. "Shane is going to the grocery store for some…oranges."

"Oranges?" She repeated suspiciously.

"Yeah, its weird. Ever since we were kids he's had this weird thing about oranges. I'd love to tell you all about it but I'm kind of tired so I'm gonna go take a little nap." Nate said quickly faking a yawn and running off into the guest room. Mitchie shrugged off his strange behavior and went back to playing with Hayley.

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Shane stood outside of the outdoor floral shop waiting to purchase the bouquet of yellow roses he had picked out. Just as the shop owner was about the ring his items up, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He quickly turned around to see who it was.

"Shane, hey." The familiar voice greeted him.

"Ashley, what are you doing talking to me? I thought I made myself pretty clear when I said stay away…" Shane muttered turning back to the shop owner, paying for his flowers.

"It's been weeks. I thought you were over it." Ashley said honestly following Shane, who was walking back to his car.

"Actually it's been more like a week and a half. And besides, you gave out confidential information about my family to some sleazy TV host. Its gonna take a little longer for me to 'get over it'." He said mocking her nonchalant attitude.

"So you're really gonna let that come between our friendship?" She asked incredulously.

Shane nodded getting into the driver seat. Without warning, Ashley got into the passenger seat. He looked over to her and groaned.

"What part of stay away from me are you not understanding? The stay or the away part?" He asked harshly.

"I messed up, I completely understand that, but why can't you just forgive me? I know what I did was wrong and I really don't know how to make it up to you besides letting you know how sorry I am." Her apology didn't faze him. He was still upset and it'd take more than another apology and a week and a half of not talking to her to fix things.

"Eventually, I'll forgive you," He said not bothering to look at her. "I just need more time, alright?"

"I can totally respect that." She exited his car but before shutting the door told him goodbye. Shane watched her walk down the boulevard thinking about what he told her. He wasn't being untruthful, he really would forgive her but it wouldn't come easy. He trusted her and she broke his trust. He couldn't worry too much about the Ashley situation, though; he still had some things to do before sunset.

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Shane pulled his Range Rover into one of the parking spaces near the seawall of the beach. He got out of the car and walked to the back, removing a picnic basket, a red and black checkered blanket, the flowers he bought earlier and his guitar from the hatchback. He locked up his car and juggled the items up to a small beach house that sat on the beach, overlooking the ocean. He sat the picnic items in the kitchen area and rested his guitar on the couch before gently laying the flowers on the bar counter.

He tapped his jacket pocket making sure the box he placed there earlier was still there. When he successfully felt it, he checked his watch, 7:20 p.m. He had about twenty minutes until sun set. He pulled out his cellphone and dialed Nate's number.

"Hey, Shane, are you ready?"

"Yeah, tell her you're taking her and Hayley to In-N-Out and detour to the beach house. I'll be waiting outside and I'll just take it from there." Shane instructed him.

"Alright, you got it brother. See you in fifteen." With that Nate hung up the phone and Shane tucked it back into his pocket. He ran upstairs to one of the guest rooms to change out of his plain white V-neck, leather jacket and jeans and into some board shorts, a white wife-beater and a zip-up hoodie. He checked himself in the mirror, fixing his hair and making sure there was nothing in his teeth. He reached into his leather jacket's pocket and grabbed the Tiffany & Co. box and placed it in the pocket of his shorts. He jogged back downstairs and grabbed all of the items he had previously brought inside and carried them out to the beach. He hoped what he had planned would go off without anything going wrong.

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"Nate, where are we going? I thought In-N-Out was the other way?" Mitchie asked looking in the rear view mirror at the strip of fast food drive-ins Nate had drove past.

"Oh we're going to In-N-Out. And by 'we' I mean Hayley and I. You on the other hand have a beach date to attend." Nate explained.

"Beach date? What are you–" Mitchie stopped her sentence short as Nate pulled up to the seawall. She looked to her left and accompanied with the impending sunset, she saw a figure in the distance, sitting on the sand with a guitar in hand. "Is that Shane?"

"Yep. Oh, here," Nate reached behind him in the backseat and grabbed a tiny blue bag. "Here's a swimsuit. You might need it."

"Nate, what does your brother have planned now?" Mitchie asked almost playfully as she exited the car.

"Why don't you go find out?" Nate said playfully shooing her towards the beach. She said her goodbyes to Hayley and watched as the two of them drove away. She peaked inside of the bag and saw the yellow bikini swimsuit and tiny jean shorts inside. She figured she should change out of her jeans before meeting up with Shane so she ran inside a nearby bathroom to change.

Shane lightly strummed a melody he had made up minutes prior and watched as the sun began to start its descent into the horizon. He was so preoccupied with his playing and his thoughts about what he was about to do, he didn't even notice Mitchie walking up behind him. When he turned to look at her, a smile was instantly brought to his face.

"Wow," He said standing up to greet her. "You look amazing."

"Thanks. You don't look too bad yourself," She complimented him glancing over the outfit he was wearing.

"Well I guess we're just one good looking couple, eh?" He joked before stepping aside so they could both comfortably sit on the picnic blanket he had laid out on the sand.

"So," Mitchie started to say sitting next to Shane who had picked up his guitar and rested it on his lap. "What is this all about?"

"Uh, this blanket is red and black." He pointed out ignoring her question. "I remember once you told me red and black were your favorite colors."

"Very observant, Shane. Now, why are we here?" She asked once again. "I wouldn't think you'd want to be out in public like this since the whole Conway incident–"

Shane laid his guitar next to him and pulled the picnic basket closer. He reached inside and pulled out two bottles of root beer and a box of Sour Patch Kids.

"I also remember you told me root beer was your favorite drink and you'd eat Sour Patch Kids all day if you could." Shane handed her a bottle and the box of candy before picking up his guitar again.

"Shane, you're kind of scaring me. What is this all about, seriously?"

"What, you don't think this is romantic?"

"Oh its romantic, I'd just like to know why you're being so spontaneously romantic." Shane crinkled his brow at her and suddenly stood up. Mitchie followed him with her eyes, wondering what he was about to do now.

"Love like this, may come once." He began to sing, "Baby its fate. Like a soul mate, I'm your penguin. Baby its fate, not luck."

Shane stopped playing, signaling Mitchie to comment on what he just sang. When she said nothing he figured she didn't understand. "You know once penguins chose a mate, they stay with that other penguin for life. Here," He held out his hand to her and helped her up as he placed the guitar back down on the blanket. He took a deep breath. He had been practicing these words in his head all day but they seemed so much easier to say in his head than to say aloud.

"Shane…" Mitchie spoke breathlessly as she stood up.

"When I first met you, at the bar all those years ago, I got this feeling in my stomach. And I know I probably told you this that night but you probably thought I was just trying to smooth talk you in to my bed so I'll say them again. When I saw you that night, your hair in a messy ponytail, your makeup kind of worn out from working all night, your shirt stained with little spots of beer, you looked…amazing. Seeing you stand there like a real life angel made me forget the faces of every other girl I've ever been with. But I don't actually like to think about that night because once I do, I start to think about how I left you." Shane paused trying to remember how exactly he had planned to say all of this. Mitchie just stared at him, intently listening to his words. "I was always mad at myself for doing that because I always wondered what would have happened if I stayed. Would we have been celebrating an anniversary of some sort? Would you have ever met Ken? That one bothers me the most. If I had stayed, maybe you wouldn't have met Ken, which means you would have never had to feel what it was like to have a man hit you. And then we met up again and it was like…fate. When I saw you for the second time, I still felt the same. I had butterflies in my stomach and I felt like an awkward high school boy who was trying to talk to the popular cheerleader. Even though it was a little rough, the road we took to get here, I'd travel it again and again as long as the destination ends up being you."

Mitchie felt tears in her eyes. She didn't know why Shane was saying this, she had no idea where it was coming from but she didn't care. He was being sweet and sincere, something not totally out of his character, but with the beach and the sunset behind them, everything felt like a fairytale.

"So, with that being said," Shane took a deep breath before performing the action that surely told Mitchie what was to be said next; He bent down on one knee. He reached inside of his pocket and pulled out the little box he had been carrying with him all day. He opened it to face her, revealing the diamond he had picked out himself. "Michelle Torres, yeah, your dad told me your real name," He joked before continuing. "Anyway, Michelle Torres, will you marry me?"

Mitchie stood in front of him, looking down at him and the ring he was presenting to her with a hand over her mouth and tears streaming down her face. She opened her mouth but nothing came out so she placed her hand back over it. She waited a few moments before trying once again. And once again, she failed so instead of verbally telling him her answer she just nodded her head.

"So, that's a yes?" Shane asked not to sure of her answer.

"After all this, do you really think I'd say no?" She managed to say. Shane smiled taking the ring out of the box and slipping it on her finger. Once it was on, he stood up, grabbing her by the waist and spun her around. Everything he planned, the beach, the sunset, the proposal everything had gone perfect.

"We need to celebrate," Shane said placing her back on the ground. He pointed to the beach house behind her. "The beach house is all ours tonight."

A mischievous grin grew on Mitchie's face. "Race you!" She said before taking off running toward the beach house.

"Wait, no fair! I have to carry all this crap!" Shane called out behind her, grabbing his guitar and the picnic basket, fumbling the items in his hands.

"I'll be waiting for you!" She yelled out to him from halfway across the beach. He just smiled and shook his head, giving up. He carefully placed the items in such a way he'd be able to carry everything back to the beach house. During his walk to the beach house, what he had just done sunk in. He was engaged. He'd be married soon. For some, that can be a scary thought but to him, he welcomed it. He thought about the one thing he had always wanted to give Mitchie but never had the chance to. Now he would. He'd be able to give her his last name. And that was a gift he had been waiting to give since day one.

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Wow. That was a lot…but very fun to write! HAHA. I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter might take a while since I have finals for school coming up (Yuck.) so I might not have much time to write but I shall try my hardest to update! Leave me some awesome reviews!

Thanks for reading! :]