The Fighters Girl

21.

"So, what did you say?" Cece breathed.

Hazel bit her lip.

"Um, Cece, he didn't exactly ask," she said with a small smile.

"What do you mean?"

Hazel flashed back to the car with Hawk.

Hazel stared at Hawk after his declaration and shook her head.

"Hawk, we...it's way too soon, we're way too young, and-"

Hawk scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion then they smoothed out and he chuckled.

"Oh, no, baby, you misunderstood me. I'm not asking you to marry me."

Hazel raised an eyebrow, hating the slash of disappointment that cut through her.

"Then what-"

"I'm telling you, you're going to marry me."

At that, her jaw fell open slightly and she narrowed her eyes.

"Excuse me?" she asked in a dangerously low voice that should have warned Hawk to.Shut. The.Fuck.Up.

He did not heed this warning.

"You're marrying me, Hazel, because the thing is, I can't live without you. It's not a matter of wanting you by my side, it's a matter of needing you there. When you're around me, I breathe easier, I laugh easier, I'm definitely less shitty to everyone around me. You can't leave me, Hazel. You just fucking can't. So, you're marrying me."

When she stared at him for several seconds, he grinned his dimpled grin and added, "Oh, and of course, I love you. That's a given."

She released a short puff of breath and turned her face to the front windshield, chewing on her lip. When she turned back to him, her eyes were soft and warm and Hawk felt like beating his fists on his chest because he saw in them what he had been dreaming about ever since they split.

He saw that she loved him.

"Well, I guess if you're not giving me a choice, then my input really isn't required, huh?" she said quietly.

He grinned fiercely and hooked the back of her neck with his hand.

"No, it's fucking not," he mumbled on his way to kiss the shit out of her.

Cece sat there staring at Hazel for a while before she busted out laughing.

"He-he told you that you were going to marry him?" she gasped, clutching her sides and collapsing on the bed into giggles.

"Mmhmm," Hazel hummed, smiling softly, thinking that while totally primitive and totally alpha, the move was also totally Hawk, so she loved it.

Cece finished giggling and sat up, a bright smile still on her face and she grabbed Hazel's hand from behind her back where Hazel had been hiding it.

"Ooh," Cece sighed, fingering the diamond. "That's real, isn't it."

Hazel bit her lip and nodded. Her man went all out. He had been so proud of himself when he told her that he picked out that ring himself.

"It's beautiful," Cece whispered.

"Yeah," Hazel breathed.

The front door opened and loud heavy footsteps came trumping in and, before Hazel had a chance to shout it, she heard them stop, then continue on softer then before.

She turned her head, waiting for him to appear at the doorway to the living room and when he did, as always, he took her breath away.

His hoodie was pulled up over his head, probably due to the weather, but right as he made his entrance, he ran his fingers through his hair, pushing the hood back at the same time. His emerald eyes were warm on Hazel, and they melted even more when he saw Cece admiring the ring. His lips spread into a broad grin, and both of those damned dimples made their appearance and just like that, he went from sexy to adorably sexy.

He made his way over to the couch and swiftly picked Hazel up like she weighed nothing, sat down, and placed her on his lap.

"Hey, baby," he murmured, tilting her head towards him and taking her mouth for a short, open mouthed kiss.

"Hey," she breathed.

Cece giggled and Hawk scrunched his nose up at her.

"Whaddup, squirt," he said, tweaking her nose.

"Whaddup, Devil," she said back in her best nine-year old white girl gangster voice.

He chuckled and leaned back into the arm rest of the couch, bringing Hazel with him.

"Were you two discussing my insanely romantic proposal? Well, don't stop on my account, I don't get uncomfortable with people lavishing compliments on me," he said with a charming grin.

Without delay, Hazel turned to Cece.

"So, as I was saying, it was a total caveman move, and I plan on making him get on his knees and beg me to marry him until I agree," she said.

Hawk tucked his face into Hazel's neck and bit down softly.

"You want me to beg, baby girl?" he said in his deep, rumbling voice.

She shivered, but made no response.

Hawk picked Hazel up again and deposited her on the cushion next to them then he got down on one knee. Hazel and Cece's eyes widened, but Hawk ignored this and took Hazel's hand, thumbing the ring but not taking it off.

"In the cliche movie proposals, they always start out by saying the girl's full name. So, if I was going to be cliche, I would start with...Hazel Catherine Somers," he began.

Hazel's nose started to sting with oncoming tears, and she couldn't help but think that that was an excellent start.

"In the cliche movie proposals, the first thing after the name is always when they fell in love with their girl. If I was going to be cliche, I would tell you that I've been in love with you ever since you threw your covers over me to hide me from Amber that morning after we stayed up all night talking. In the cliche movie proposals, the men always talk about how they're a better person because of their girl. If I was going to be cliche, I would tell you that every morning, I wake up wanting to impress you, every day, everything I do is with you and your amazing fucking heart in mind, and every night, I go to sleep hoping I did an all right job. If I was going to be cliche, I would make sure that you know that no one will ever, as in never, make me feel the way you make me feel. If I was going to be cliche, I would tell you that you are the only person I will ever love with everything inside of me, that I will ever protect with all the violence in me, which is considerable. If I was going to be cliche, I would tell you that every day, for the rest of my life, I want to see you, smell you, feel you, before I go to sleep, and ditto for when I wake up. But, as you know, I'm not cliche, so I won't say any of that shit. But I do need to make abso-fucking-lutely sure that if you know anything in this jacked up life, it's those things, so you're just going to have to give me the rest of our lives to teach you."

Hazel used a trembling hand to knock away the traitor tears that escaped and she nodded wordlessly.

"I need the words, baby," Hawk gently prodded.

"Yes, I'll marry you, of course," Hazel whispered.

Hawk planted his hands on either side of her face on the couch and leaned in until they were less than a centimeter apart.

"Cece, sweetheart, would you mind going to your room?" he asked gently without taking his blazing green eyes off of Hazel's.

Cece, who had big happy tears streaming down her face with abandon, nodded easily and practically ran to her room.

And, without delay, Hawk kissed his fiance.