Caught Red Handed

Chapter Seventy-Three, Next Step

Some mysterious amount of time later (come at me about the timeskips and I'll delete the book-)

Tord's Perspective

My nerves were dancing on a wire. My heart was pounding in its little bone cage. My mind was racing and my pores were threatening to drench my suit. What could make me so nervous you might ask? Well, normally I would joke around a bit about it being boiling soup on a stove, or frying a perfect egg, but this moment was crazy serious. I was about to propose to my boyfriend. I was in that beautiful little baby turtle restaurant my soon-to-be-fiancé loved, and he was squealing girlishly while holding a baby turtle and petting the shell. I had waited to take him here again until now, because I was certain it would make him in an ecstatically good mood. This was almost the perfect time to make my move. I just had to wait until they brought out the cake. Why is the cake so important you may ask? Well, it's a small moist expensive chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream smothered between every layer and a thin sheet of dark chocolate to give it a delicious crunch upon every bite, but the more important part was that I had a ring box in the center of it. Well, not particularly the center, the bottom center, but that isn't important right now. That, and it was covered in little turtles, which was a must given where we are.

I watched my boyfriend baby talk to the turtle and suggest silly little names like Shelly or Sandy or Oyster of Clammy, until the server along with a second carefully slid the turtle cake onto the table. Tom's eyes immediately tore away from the adorable baby turtle to the adorable turtle themed cake. There was a small yellow sugar beach with a blue sugar ocean, with turtles swimming around or doing silly things on the beach. One was even wearing sunglasses and tanning. "Ooohhh it's so perfect! I love it!" Thomas exclaimed and clapped happily as the baby turtle was removed from his lap. "Yes, it is very lovey isn't it? Shall I do the honors of cutting it for you my love?" I asked and he smiled sweetly, neatly folding  his hands in his lap. "Yes, go ahead." He verbally consented as I was handed a cake cutting knife and a fancy plate. It too had a delicately painted turtle on it. I carefully sliced the cake, wary not to touch the ring box. The knife's edge only had to slightly tap it so I knew of its location. I set the slice on a plate and handed it to him, and the server have him the appropriate fork. My heart raced more as he began eating and curiously glanced at the visible tiny box at the bottom of the cake.

"Is that a support for the cake or something?" He guessed and I shrugged. "Well there's no use for it now. Would you take it out for me dear?" I asked with a lovely, innocent smile. He stared at me with suspicion and set down his plate and fork, wriggling out the tiny box while being cautious not to knock down the cake in the process. He brushed off some off the crumbs and examined it further. "You know, this looks awfully fancy for just a support." He said with a growing smile. I continued to act innocent as he opened the small box to reveal the hidden jewelry inside. His eyes lit up at the sight of the beautiful object, taking it out and examining it in the soft light of the restaurant. "Look at how it sparkles and shines." He whispered in awe and took off his decorated gloves, sliding the bedazzled metal onto his right ring finger. "How lovely. Oh, and yes, I'll marry you of course." He said with a calm expression. His eyes twinkled with joy and swam with hidden desire for the future. My chest was so tight, I could barely speak. I was so happy and relieved. And a little confused. Usually proposals are so crazy and loud and exciting, but he made it so cool and calm and collected. I liked it. It was very him.

"Your face is so lame right now. You didn't even ask the question." He scoffed. Oh yeah, definitely him. I held his hands and kissed his nose affectionately. "Sorry my love, I guess your beauty overtook me." I purred flirtatiously. He grinned and shook his head. "Oh you big goof. At least come up with a better excuse than that. Well come on, I want to eat this delicious looking cake." He said before pulling his hands away and taking in another bite of crunchy, creamy deliciousness. He let out an audible hum of satisfaction as he continued to eat. I chuckled and cut myself a slice, continuing on as if nothing had ever happened. Leave it to my new fiancé to take the cake when it comes to chill moments. We ate in comfortable silence, both thinking about the cake and our future.