Our Chemistry || ✔️

- 1 -

The Proposal which swept me off my feet...

I sat on the sand and felt the hot wind fan my face. The small waves slightly dipped the wet sand, then retreated from the shore. The peace of the beach made my whole body feel utterly relaxed. 

I needed this vacation badly. Last year of college was seriously stressing me out, and when Alec suggested the idea of a two day holiday, I jumped with joy and kissed the living daylights out of him.

I turned around, behind me, where Alec was. He was playing volleyball with a bunch of strangers. So typical of him, I thought as I giggled to myself. Just leave it to Alec, the goof-master, to make life buddies with a single conversation.

Just like how he made you his girlfriend with all those pickup lines? 

I stared at Alec and smiled. Yes, how could I ever forget? Gosh... 

I looked back at the ocean, away from Alec, as I suddenly turned emotional. I mean, I was 17 when we met. Just seventeen. And right now, I felt so blessed to be with him like this. Of course, it was hard. We fought a thousand times. 

We even broke up once. But... thank god. Thank God he didn't leave me. I wiped a tear and inhaled a long breath. I was never gonna break up with him ever again. 

"Hey, beautiful," Alec's voice suddenly reached my ears, as I sharply turned to find him against my back. He hugged me tightly from behind, "I just noticed you noticing me. And, well, I just wanted to give you notice that I noticed you too." 

I laughed at his silly line, "Oh sorry, I think you misunderstood. I was noticing the guy with the red underwear." 

"Oh, you mean superman? Yeah, he decided he needed to get rid of the navy blue spandex suit – on the beach, at the very least," His voice was so serious I almost believed him. 

Our chests vibrated as we chuckled in sync.

We both stayed in that position for a while, until I felt something riding up my butt. My face turned red, and I laughed heartily, "Oh my. Got something, haven't you?"

I felt his arms slowly kneading their way, touching my waist, and riding down to my thighs, "Damn, Harper," He whispered, "You know that I love you, right?"

"Yeah," I whispered, looking up at the sky, "Yeah, I know..." 

"Do you love me?" He asked.

A laugh bubbled inside my chest, and I smiled in a lazy way, "Excuse me for laughing at that stupid question. Of course, I do, Alec. I love you."

His shoulders drooped with relief, and he took a deep breath, "Okay. Then please don't be mad at what I'm about to tell you." 

I frowned, slightly turning to face him. He was bright red. My frown deepened, "What do you...? Alec, what did you do?"

He licked his lips and pulled his hands away from my stomach. Reclining back, he sat in a position facing me. I stared at him with puzzled eyes, "Alec?"

He fumbled with the backpack on the straw mat beside our feet, and he took out a tiny box. My eyes widened slightly, and I felt my heart skip a beat. Wait. Wait. Wait. 

"A-Alec, what is—" My eyes were so wide, and my cheeks were beginning to get extremely red and puffy. I could feel myself floating with happiness. What is that, my ass. OF COURSE it's got to be what I know it was. 

"Harper Mae Chase," He smiled, "I know our relationship has been kind of fast compared to other couples, and that we don't really have the best track record at dating each other... but I love you. I fell in love with you on our third date, and that's saying something because I didn't really see myself loving someone after – after all those past relationships and... and I just want you to know how extremely special you are for me.

"You make each day better, and I love to see you smile from beside me. You've supported me all throughout the past six years and I just wanted to ask you, will you—"

"YES!" I jumped up from the straw mat we were sitting on, my eyes were flooding with tears, "YES! Oh my goodness, YES! FINALLY, you asked me! So you did notice all those magazines I left around inside your condo! Oh my god, Lacy thought that you'd never ask so I would have to ask but I told her it would come! Oh my god, YES, Alec, I will." 

I was jumping... in my bikini... on a beach... with tears in my eyes. If I had a shred of mindfulness left inside, I would slap myself for acting so emotionally out of character. But goodness, fuck my dignity. Alec just asked me to—

"Wow," He laughed, happiness radiating off him in waves, as he stared up at me, "I didn't know you wanted to move in that bad." 

It was like the car that was my fantasy suddenly screeched, skidded, whamboozled to a stop. I stopped jumping like a maniac and looked down to the little box in his hand, which he had opened now, and which held a key. 

My first thought was, Where was my ring? 

Then my second, wait, was there even a ring?

The third, finally, oh my god, there was no ring? — which, I admit, was more of an incredulous question rather than a statement I realized. 

I mean, come on. I'd been dating the same man for more than 6 years, and he asked me to move in with him now? He was like 4 years too late; I lived in a fucking dorm right now, and I planned to move in with Lacy after college. 

I stared at the box with wide eyes and a wide-open mouth. At this rate, what, would he ask me to have his baby after my menopause?

I quietly sat back on the darned straw mat where he was grinning like an ass. This called for a beating. I want to wipe that smirk out of his face. (He wasn't smirking, but at the moment, I just really wanted to hurt him).

"Haha..ha..ha, yeah..." I picked up the box from his hands, examining the silver key. Part of me wondered if it'd be rude to chuck it into the ocean. 

I sucked in a deep breath, staring at the man in question, who was now drinking some water from his bottle. God, he was handsome. God, he was stupid. God, I want to kiss him. God, I want to kill him. 

I put the box back down and snatched the bottle away from his hands. It was interrogation time. 

"Huh? What?" He asked confused, staring at my hand that snatched away his bottle. 

"Alec, marry me," Was all I replied with; my voice impatient yet soft.