VIRAGO

parastin

[ Time to add some drama... have fun! ]

parastin (v.) - to keep safe; to protect

She looked at him then back down to the ring and back up to him. He had asked the question that had been looming over them since they graduated, and she only had one answer for him.

"Yes! A thousand times yes!" She told him with a huge smile, chuckling as tears came to her eyes. He slipped the ring onto her finger and stood, hugging her tight and kissing her a dozen times.

"Wow I love you." He told her as he looked into her eyes, and she grinned, putting her hands on his cheeks and pulling him into a passionate kiss.

"I love you too." She answered when she pulled away. "So, inviting all of my friends and your friends?"

"I was hoping you'd say yes, so an impromptu engagement party." He answered as she looked at the ring on her finger in awe.

"You're very sneaky, Cowboy." She chuckled as she finally stepped away to get dressed in the outfit he had picked out for her.

"I'm sorry I didn't plan an extravagant proposal or anything..." He trailed on as she pulled the cardigan over her tank top.

"Nash, it was perfect. Like you said, I hate being the center of attention." She quickly interjected as they heard the doorbell ring.

"Either that's pizza or it's our friends." He said, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her on the cheek. "Bye bye alone time."

"It'll be back some day." She chuckled, and they both went out of his room and into the rest of the house. They walked hand in hand out into the living room, and parted ways for her to step into the kitchen to make sure everything was cleared off for the pizza buffet that was about to take place. A few minutes later, with the help of the delivery man, boxes on boxes of pizza and breadsticks were placed out and ready to be eaten. Like clockwork the doorbell rang again, and this time she answered the door, being faced by a dozen of her teammates.

"So this is his place?" Bethany asked as they walked in.

"Welcome to it." She chuckled. Nash had went ahead and gotten the music started as their teammates started wandering in, making their way to the food as well as mingling around with one another. After everyone had settled in, eating, drinking, and socializing, Nash grabbed her hand and went to stand at the front of the crowd, turning down the music.

"If we could have everyone's attention." Nash said, and everyone's eyes faced them. "First, I would like to thank you all for coming, and although they are the enemy on the field, congratulations on your win today. However, that is not the only reason I invited you all here today." He paused for a second.

"You're not pregnant are you?" Sofia called out, everyone laughing.

"No, but I did say yes!" Samantha answered, showing them her left hand with the ring on her finger. The room exploded in excitement for the two of them, everyone congratulating them on their engagement. The rest of the evening was filled with celebration, loud conversations and music, and a lot of alcohol, and luckily Uber existed for everyone.

--

The next five months were filled with plenty of soccer, private tutoring lessons to make some extra money and use her degree, and wedding planning. They knew they wanted to have the wedding on Nash's farm, for it was far less expensive than renting out a place. There were countless FaceTime calls and flights back and forth to see each other and plan their wedding. She had been starting in more games due to her first performance, and she had finally broken through her rookie status on the team. She was now a core member of the starting back line as they moved on through their season, and by the time they were reaching postseason, going for the National Women's Soccer League Champion title, she was a full starter.