Always Remember

there’s anything I can compare your temper to.” His eyes twinkle a little, and I purse my lips. “But it’s why I love you. It’s what makes you, you. And you gotta start listening, ‘cause, babe, when I tell you I love you, I mean it.”
    He stands, tugging me up with him, and gently tilts my face upwards. My hand is still clasped in his, the other holding tightly to the box.
    “When I tell you,” he continues. “You’re the most beautiful girl in the world, that you’re the light in my dark, the only person I’m ever gonna need, then I mean it. When I tell you that I’ll always remember everything we’ve shared, good and bad, then I mean it. I’ll always remember the look in your eyes when you smile, when you’re teasing, and when you’re falling to pieces in my arms. Especially when you’re falling to pieces in my arms.” He grins widely, and I blush a little.
    “I ’ll always remember everything about you, babe, because I love you. I still think I’m a little crazy, but what can I do? I don’t want anyone other than you. You’re the one who makes the day worth getting through and the night worth living. You’re the one who makes a difference. You’re the only one I need. You. Just you.”
    “What if that isn ’t enough?” I ask uncertainly, my heart still pounding inside my chest.
    “Then I ’ll make it enough. I’ll make it enough to take us anywhere, do anything, be anyone. If we believe in each other, in our love, just for a second, it can do anything we want it to. And, Jen… As long as I have you, love will always be enough for me.”
    Tears prick my eyes as he drops back onto one knee, and my bottom lip trembles a little. I ’m not naïve. I know what he’s about to say.
    “I promised you forever. When I promised you forever, I promised to love you forever, too. Now I ’m asking you to let me. I’m asking you to remember all the good times and the bad. I’m asking you to let me hold you each night, wake up to you each morning, and kiss you every second I can. I’m asking you to promise me forever, Jen.” He shuts his eyes briefly, before opening them again, raw emotion emitting from them. “It doesn’t have to be tomorrow, or even this year. It doesn’t have to be in the next five years. Today, promise me forever, and then one day… Marry me.”
    “You ’re asking, right?” I whisper, my chest tightening with emotion.
    “Yeah, babe, I ’m asking,” he whispers back. “I don’t wanna rush you, but your floor is kinda hard on my knee.”
    I smile a little. “Well, it ’s a big decision. I’m gonna have to think on it. You know, it is forever, and forever is a long time, and god knows I can barely get through a day with you sometimes-”
    He leaps up, grabbing me around my waist and tackling me onto my sofa amongst all the boxes. I shriek and hold the ring box to my chest.
    “Answer the damn question, Jennifer, and stop making everything so difficult!” Sam growls playfully, his eyes still uncertain.
    I snake my free hand around the back of his head and pull his face towards mine, pressing my lips against his firmly. “Yes,” I whisper.
    “Yes?” he clarifies, looking into my eyes.
    I nod a little, smiling. “Yes, Samuel. I will marry you.”
    He beams and takes the box from me. His fingers deftly remove the ring from the cushion and he takes my other hand, pausing by my finger. “Are you sure?”
    I look at him earnestly, all playfulness gone. “I ’ve never been as sure about anything in my life as I am right now.”
    The ring slides onto my finger, fitting perfectly, and I stare at it in awe.
    “Damn, she was good,” he mutters.
    “Who was?” I narrow my eyes.
    “Gram.” He smirks. “She picked this ring, and she even got the size right. But that’s a story for another time.” He kisses my finger and flips my hand over, pressing his lips to my palm.
    His lips ghost up the inside of my arm, over the strap of my top, and up my neck to my jaw. He cups my cheek with his other hand and pauses, letting out a long sigh.
    “For a second there, I was kinda scared you were gonna say no,” he admits.
    “Wait – that was an option?”
    “Too late,” he mutters, scooping an arm behind my back and another under my ass. He picks me up and I link my legs around his waist, my arms hooked behind his neck.
    “It is? Damn,” I tease, holding onto him tighter.
    “That’s it.” He starts to move towards my bedroom, fire in his eyes. “I’m