A Storm Is Brewing

The Question

Leah and I spent the rest of Friday lounging about the apartment, with I love you becoming our new favourite phrase as we both cherished our freedom to say it. We ordered takeout and played board games, laughing at our weirdly similar interests.

We slept until 10 a.m. on Saturday, both of us chuckling at the time when we realised we had contently slept on, something neither of us were used to. We couldn't do much; Leah was still in a fair bit of pain, so we drove to the shop once we were ready and bought ingredients to bake a cake. Doing these silly things with Leah, which other people our age may find boring, made me feel happy. Leah's ability to make anything feel fun made me feel lucky.

As I placed the cake in the oven, Leah wrapped her arms around me from behind. Her hands were covered in cake mix, as were mine. She began to giggle like a kid as she acted like she was being affectionate and then smeared the cake mix across my face, knowing I couldn't break loose from her hold. I slowly turned around, reaching up to kiss her. I watched as a smile grew on her face and her eyes closed in preparation for the kiss she thought was coming. I saw this as my opportunity to clean my own hands on her face.

"I have to give it to you; that was well played." Leah laughed as she opened her eyes.
"I know." I smirked back at her.
"I wish this was our life all the time." She smiled.
"It will be. One day. Maybe not cake every day, though, but this." I smiled back.
"I can't wait for a lifetime of you rejecting my kisses to rub cake mix on my face instead." She laughed.
"I would never reject a single kiss from you; just delay them." I laughed as I reached up and pecked her lips, letting out an 'mmm' as I tasted the cake mix, making Leah laugh and roll her eyes.

Shortly after 6 p.m., Leah started to shuffle on the sofa. She was exhaling deeply, and I worried she was in pain. She explained that she had a surprise for me, but now she was worried that it wasn't something she should've kept as a surprise. She made me promise that if it was too much, I would tell her and that I wouldn't allow myself to feel uncomfortable or awkward.

I headed to get ready. Leah had told me to wear something for dinner but to just be comfortable. I liked that, and I liked how Leah was about appearances. Despite her love for dressing up, she loved me just as much in a tracksuit as she did in a dress. Love. That word still gives me goosebumps.

As Leah and I stepped into the taxi, she gripped my hand tightly. I couldn't tell if she was more nervous or if I was. We pulled up to a restaurant. I let go of Leah's hand as I noticed a group of people standing outside, but she smiled at me and reached for mine again, interlocking our fingers.

"I love you. Let them talk; I won't deny you to the world anymore." Leah smiled.
"You are amazing." I smiled back.

We walked into the restaurant, Leah still clutching my hand. The waitress led us to a private area; Leah thanked her just before the curtain and stopped me in my tracks.

"You mean the world to me; I know I have made you feel like a secret. I wanted to prove to you that you aren't, but if this is too much, you just say the word, and I'll say I'm sore and we have to go. Promise me?" Leah said, looking firm.
"I promise. Is someone through there?" I asked.
"C'mon, you, let's do this." She said, pecking my lips.

Leah led me through the curtain, my heart beating out of my chest as I realised that the people I had heard her talk about and seen pictures of her with were here. I noticed Amanda first; she embraced me immediately with a tight and calming hug. One by one, people came over to speak to me. Leah protectively wrapped her arm around my waist, gently stroking the side of my stomach as we spoke.

"You're the famous Sophie, then!" A voice said.
"Keira, right?" I smiled.
"I am indeed. It's so nice to finally meet you; Leah has done nothing but talk to me about you since New Year's!"
"Keira was the first person I told." Leah chirped in, noticing my confusion at the fact that she knew.
"I didn't know anyone knew." I smiled, my internal happy thoughts coming out.
"She's always been private with people, but she can't hide her feelings from the ones that know her best." Keira smiled.

Everyone was lovely, making me feel extremely welcome. They greeted me as if they had known me for years. We talked over dinner, with Amanda telling everyone about our Christmas together and Leah proudly telling them about her visits to Ireland and my visits to London. I noticed that when she talked about those times, her eyes lit up and her face couldn't help but smile, warming my heart.

As the rest of the group danced to the music, mingling with each other, Leah pulled me to the side. I had thought she was checking if I was okay, as she had done many times throughout the night.

"Soph?" Leah smiled.
"Yes, Le?" I said, pecking her lips gently.
"God, how do you still make my stomach erupt with butterflies with a simple kiss?"
"You do the same to me."

Leah leaned forward, resting her forehead on mine. In that moment, the rest of the world seemed to fade away. I knew there were other people there, but I felt like Leah and I were wrapped in our own little bubble of happiness.

"I realised something." She bit her lip gently.
"Which is?"
"So we've spent Christmas together, maybe not planned but still happening; we've recreated New Year's Eve in New York; we've got over our first hurdle. That's a lot." She smiled.
"I know; I'm proud of us." I said, wrapping my arms tighter around her neck.
"It's a lot for two people that haven't even put a label on things yet, isn't it?" She giggled.
"I suppose so. I'm ready when you are. Just know that." I said, reassuring her that I was willing to wait.
"I'm ready now. I've been ready for a while, but when you said you felt like you were my secret, I wanted to disprove that before I asked you. So, in front of everyone that means the most to me, it felt like the right place. Be my girlfriend, Soph? Please?"

Leah's face was smiling, but I could see the fear in her eyes. She had allowed herself to be so vulnerable right now, asking me a question like this in front of everyone that she loved. The idea that I could be special enough for someone to do something like that brought tears to my eyes, but I swallowed them back.

"I would love to be." I said softly as I gently pulled her into me and kissed her.
"She said yes!!!!" I heard Ella shout across the room.
"They knew? Even though you didn't know if I would say yes?" I giggled.
"They knew. If you'd said no, I would've just waited until you were ready to say yes." Leah said, into another kiss.

We rejoined the party, with Leah's teammates spinning me around and congratulating me on my new relationship status. After a few more hours of socialising, we were getting ready to leave when Amanda came over and hugged me goodbye.

"There's no one I'd rather see her smiling over." She whispered in my ear.
"I'll love her for the rest of my life." I whispered back, gaining a right squeeze from the mother of my girlfriend.

As we got into bed that night, Leah and I couldn't keep away from each other, our bodies intertwining and our bare skin warming each other as our lips refused to part.

We lay in each other's arms as we fell asleep, Leah placing soft kisses on my shoulder as my eyes began to close.

"I feel like I'm living in a dream with you, Le." I whispered.
"I'll never stop trying to make you happy, Soph. I can promise you that." She whispered back.