Somewhere In Neverland (Sequel to Oh, Calamity)

Stay Awake (Dreams Only Last For a Night)

Alex's POV:

Marina's head excitedly popped through the front door. "Honey, guess what!"

"What's up?" I asked.

She set her jacket on the hanger and jumped out of her shoes. She bounced on the couch beside me. "Em is pregnant again, and I think Colby and Luke are getting back together!"

"Wait, what?" I asked. Those two statements were enough of a shocker on their own, let alone together. 

"Well, Em told us that she's pregnant again. She and Zack are gonna upgrade to a bigger house. I'm very pumped for them." She snuggled up. "And Colby was talking about how much she missed having a significant other, and how she can't date anyone else until she's over Luke."

"Holy crap. You had a very productive dinner." I put my arm around her.

"Yeah." She laughed. "Now I feel like the one with nothing going on."

I suddenly remembered something. "Oh! The fedex guy popped in today! I think it's for you." I got up, heading to the kitchen to grab the medium sized box. I brought it back to her.

"Oh! I know what this is!" She grabbed the bottle opener on the coffee table and cut the tape. She started to unravel the bubble wrap. Inside was a little blue box, tied with a white ribbon.

"What is it?" I asked. All I could think was that she bought herself something from Tiffany's.

"I don't know if I should show it to you yet." She held it against her heart.

"Why? What is it?" I laughed, reaching for the box.

She held it closer and pulled away, giggling. "Fine, I'll show you. I need to see if it fits anyway."

She sat beside me again, with my arm around her shoulders, gracefully undoing the ribbon. Inside was what appeared to be a ring box. She popped it open, and sure enough, there was a gold band. But it looked far too big to be on her hand. Unless of course it was for her thumb.

"It's your ring. I bought it from Tiffany's, because that's our thing. Try it on." She handed it to me.

It was 18k gold , with no jems. I preferred it that way. It was thick, too. It fit like a glove. I took it off again and examined. It was nearly identical to the one I got her, which would be shipping soon. The only difference was the size, and the engraving on the inside. "Marina, it's amazing. What does it say?" I asked. 

She didn't even need to look at it. "Alley cat."

"You're fucking kidding, right?" I couldn't hold back my grin.

"Why?" She asked nervously. "Do you not like it?"

"No. I sent mine in a week ago, and not only is is the same ring, but guess what it says?"

"You're fucking joking." She laughed. "Is it Big Butt?"

I nodded in laughing tears. "Oh my god, we really are perfect for each other."

_____________________________________________________

"Baby, you should get dressed. We're leaving in twenty minutes."

I kissed her cheek. "Why can't we just curl up in a ball on the couch and eat the amazing pie we just made?"

"Because we're going to visit my little nephew. He adores you, Alex. You're so cool." She said.

It was Thanksgiving, and we were heading to DC to visit her brother, his wife, and their son. Charlie was starting to talk and walk around lately. Charlie was great. "Okay, fine." I let her go and found my clothes layed out on the bed. I stripped out of my jeans and tee, and into the nice button up and slacks. She stepped into her heels and headed out into the kitchen, but not without slapping my ass first. I followed.