Jett

 

“You seem nervous.”

I look over at Keanna, who’s watching me with a frown. “Like…really nervous,” she says. “You’ll totally bounce back from that last race. I don’t think you should be so worried about it.”

Right. Tomorrow’s race. That’s what she thinks I’m nervous about. I take a deep breath and try to let some tension in my shoulders fall away. Now that she mentions it, I am nervous. My foot is twitching and my hands are tapping the steering wheel and there’s not even any music playing on the radio. I probably shouldn’t be driving right now with now nervous I am.

There’s something in my pocket that Keanna doesn’t know about. If she did, she’d probably know why I’m so nervous.

We’ve spent all day exploring Vegas and stopping at famous stores that have their own reality TV shows. We’ve eaten the famous cheese fries from that food show we like, and we took a trip through the famous pawn shop on the outskirts of town. The cupcake place was closed, but all in all, we’ve had a great day of being tourists. I haven’t even thought of the race tomorrow because I’m not worried about it. I’ve raced hundreds of times in my life.

But tonight’s event—I’ve never done it at all.

I know Keanna’s hiding some of her pain through a fake smile, but I think she’s feeling better. I did my best to make the day fun and eventful, and I’ve been careful not to mention anything that would make her think of Twitter. We will get through this tough time together and it’ll blow over eventually. I think it’ll really blow over after tonight.

Things are going to be perfect tonight.

The sun is starting to set, casting a beautiful glow on the city as I drive us back to the hotel. I’m running through the list of things in my head, hoping that the hotel’s staff was able to set it all up like I’d asked them to. It was difficult planning something this big in secret, and I did most of it through text and when Keanna took a shower this morning. I want everything to be special for her. I hope I did this right.

I grab her hand as we walk in through the hotel’s large lobby doors.

“We should go to bed early tonight,” she says. “That way you can be fully rested for tomorrow.”

“Mmhmm,” I say. “Sounds like a good idea.”

Little does she know, we probably won’t sleep at all.

My pulse races as we step off the elevator and head toward our hotel room. I’m about to find out if my plan has been put into place by all the people I recruited to help me.

I drop the key card when I go to open the door, and Keanna bends down to pick it up for me. “You okay?” she asks.

“Perfect,” I say. I slide the key into the lock and wait for the green light. I look at her as I push open the door. She smiles up at me. I draw in a deep breath. It’s show time.

The hotel room smells like roses and vanilla, which is better than I’d imagined it would be. Every piece of furniture is decorated with dozens of scented candles, all lit and casting a romantic glow in the room. The bed has been sprinkled with rose petals, and a beautiful red rose bouquet sits on the table next to her other flowers. Soft music plays from a radio in the corner, and I grin when I see the centerpiece on our small dining table. A dozen Vegas cupcakes, bought in advance by me, and arranged in the shape of a heart.

Keanna gasps, her hands going to her mouth. Then she turns around. “What is this? It’s not my birthday.”

I can’t hold back my grin even though my heart is pounding a mile a minute. I reach into my pocket and pull out the little velvet box that’s been patiently waiting all week. I drop down on one knee, so unbelievably nervous, and open the box.

Keanna almost looks scared at first, and then tears fill her eyes, and then she covers her mouth and I can’t read her expression.

“Keanna,” I say, swallowing quickly to get my voice back. I’m so nervous I can barely function. “You are the best part of me. I love you with all my heart and I want to be your husband for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”

The next few seconds seem to slow to a crawl. Tears fall down her cheeks, and I think they’re happy tears, but I’m not so sure. I’m so nervous that she might say no, and all I want is to hear the yes. My hand shakes as I hold up the ring I picked out months ago. Finally, her hands fall from her face. This is it. Now she’ll say yes.

“I was going to break up with you,” she says.

My whole world seems to crack in half. “What?” I say, still on my knee, my heart rocketing around in my chest. This can’t be happening.

She shrugs and another tear rolls down her beautiful face. “I thought you deserved better than me,” she says, looking at the floor. “I thought it would be best to break up with you when we get home, and now you just proposed and I don’t even know what to say.”

“Oh my God,” I stammer. “Why..? I—”

She chokes back a sob. “I want to marry you more than anything, Jett,” she says as she wipes away tears. “I just feel like you can do better. I know you can do better.”

“I don’t want anyone else,” I say, the words tumbling out of the deepest parts of my soul. “I only want you. And anyone who thinks differently can piss off. You are my angel and my soul mate and I just want you.”

A soft smile breaks through her tears. “Are you sure?”

I hold up the ring higher as if this shiny huge diamond is all the proof I need. “Yes.”

She smiles. “Are we doing this?”

I grin back at her. “Well, you haven’t said yes yet.”

She drops to her knees in front of me and throws her arms around my neck. “Yes,” she whispers. That single word wraps up all the pieces of my newly shattered heart and binds them back together. I hold onto her tightly and tell her how much I love her. When she pulls back, I take her hand and put the ring on her finger.

“Thank you,” I say. “For the most terrifying few seconds of my life.”

She chuckles, her gaze focused on her new engagement ring. She looks just as I pictured she would look when I bought it. “I can’t believe you want to marry me,” she says softly. “After all the drama…”

“That was nothing,” I say. “You and me, we’re perfect. We don’t have drama. Let others create whatever they want to make their lives more miserable, but when we’re together, we’re happy. And we’re all that matters, babe.”

I dry her tears with my thumb and pull her closer, placing my lips on hers. “For better or worse, I want you Keanna. Especially in the worse times. When everything else goes wrong, you are the only person I can count on.”

She climbs into my lap and now we’re both on the floor, clinging to each other like we can’t possibly stand to let go. It’s the best place in the world to be.

“Jett,” she says, peering at me with those eyes that melt my heart.

“Yes, love?”

“Will you take my phone and delete the Twitter app?”

I laugh. “Sure. I’ll delete mine, too.”

“Perfect.” She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me up against her. “For better or worse,” she says.

I kiss her hair. “And forever and ever.”

***