Pieces of Forever

31 - MELISSA

Melissa

I angrily snatch my hand from Jason's. I turn around to look at Aaron, and he turns around, shaking his head. I watch him walk away towards the direction of his car.

"You're an ass, Jason."

Kerri and Terrance follow us to the car leaving a good amount of distance between us and them.

"Oh, you are also." He grabs my hand again in frustration with how the night ends. "You know, I'm going to have to put a time cap on how much time you spend with Kerri. For real."

I smile at his comment. "I know, right?"

His face softens, and he puts his arm around my waist. "I think we should look for a new best friend."

I giggle and move closer to him as we walk the three blocks to his car. "Naw, I think I like her."

"Yeah, she's not causing trouble for you."

"Aww Jay boo boo feels Kerri is being disruptive?" I giggle as he gives me a look of annoyance.

We continue walking with his arm around me. I turn around to see Kerri and Terrance laughing at something. I look up at Jason's face, and he smiles down at me. Damn, it makes me weak each time he gives me that special smile. He never stays upset with me too long. I love our relationship. Relationship. Just the thought makes me smile.

*****

I gasp loudly, covering my mouth with my hand. "Oh my . . . " I bend down and pick up the ring that fell out of the box. I'm doing laundry in the basement and a ring box fell out of Cameron's jeans. The diamond is shining so damn brightly that it's enough to blind me. I pick up the box off the floor and look at it as tears well up in my eyes. Cameron is . . . I think going to propose to me. I quickly put the ring back in the box and set it to the side, trying to decide what to do now. I take his dirty jeans and put the box back in the pocket that it fell out of. It seems like a good idea to throw his jeans back in the laundry basket and hopes that he remembers to find it later.

I don't know what to think about the possibility of Cameron asking me to marry him. I look down at my left hand. I can still see the imprint from Jason's ring. I stopped wearing Jason's ring a month after I returned to Chicago. I didn't want to be disrespectful to Cameron. So, I keep Jason's rings on a gold chain in my drawer. I just don't want Cameron to have ill feelings about me keeping the wedding band, the engagement ring, or the promise ring.

After dropping Cameron's jeans into the laundry basket, I walk back up the stairs, thinking about the ring. I do love Cameron, and I have told him that I'm in love. I'm just not sure if I'm ready for marriage with someone else. I'm glad that we're doing great together, because I didn't expect us to do so well as a couple. Especially, when I first came back to Chicago with a broken heart. He took it all like a champ.

I walk through the living room to find Cameron, laying down on the couch. When he sees me, he smiles and moves to the side a little to give me room to lay with him.

"Come join me in watching t.v."

I sit down on the edge of the couch, rubbing my stomach. "What are you watching?" I look at his face, while he stares at the television set.

"Law and Order." He smiles a little at me. "In a little bit, I'm going to get out of here. C.J. asked me for a favor, so I have to go pick him up."

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah. I think so. He might be here for a couple days. I guess some shit went down at his house with him and his brother. He needs to get away, before his brother kicks his ass." He is just staring at the television.