I Hear You

25- The Years

<Matthew Erwin, April 2020>

"That's a good girl, yes, you are a good girl!" I babied Juice, scratching her behind the ears. I snatched a dog treat out of a box and fed it to Juice. She barked excitedly and then ate it quickly like the true glutton she is.

I stood up and cracked my back, looking around our new house, attempting to ignore all of the boxes. There were so many boxes. Too many. The only thing I unpacked was some dishes and Juice's food and water bowl.

I met Lewis in December of 2018, and now almost two years later, here we are. The years had flown over our heads; we've been dating for a while now.

March of last year, Lewis and I decided to get Juice, our dog. She's not a puppy anymore but she still acts like one. She's a beagle mix. I love her so much. She's goofy and compassionate. Every time she hears a motorcycle drive by our house she barks at the window. She doesn't care for motorcycles.

Juice jumps on her hind legs and leans against my legs, wanting attention. "What? What do you want, Juice?" I say in a playful tone.

"Do you need to go peepee?" I point to the backdoor that leads to the fenced-in backyard.

She barks and runs toward the backdoor. I open it, watching her run around, searching for a spot to do her business.

I lean against the kitchen counter, exhausted from carrying loads of boxes. I never realized how much crap Lewis and I had. We did have to sell some things to avoid duplicates. For example, we didn't need two couches. After several hours of compromising, we kept my couch. A Smart decision really.

We did keep both of our beds and will just put one in the guest bedroom.

Yeah, yeah, we sleep in one bed now. It's not that big of a deal. He does kind of snore and he likes to sleep only in his boxers, which is kind of annoying because then he gets really cold and takes up all the blanket or leaches onto my body.

He's such a handful.

But I love him.

Lewis pulls into the driveway in our car.

I sent him to go search for dinner.

He comes in, holding a large box of pizza, "I've got pizza," he closes the door with his foot.

I sigh, "we've had pizza for the past three days, why didn't just go to McDonald's or something?"

Lewis sets the pizza on the counter next to me, "what? I'm not a mind reader!" He says, trying to hold back his laugh.

"Yes you are you goof, I lightly smack his shoulder.

"Ow!" He laughs, pretending to be in pain, "how could you hurt your boyfriend?"

I roll my eyes, pulling him close, "it's pretty easy," I say sarcastically.

"Is that so?" He whispers, squeezing me closer to his lips.

"Bark!" I yell, imitating Juice, running for the door to let her in, escaping Lewis' kiss.

"Oh no, you're not using that excuse again," Lewis chases after me, chuckling.

Juice runs back inside and I run after her, hoping if I keep up with her Lewis can't catch me. Although, I hope Lewis will catch me.

"Onward!" I shout at Juice, racing around the house with her.

"God damn, you're fast," Lewis slides around the house, trying to reach me. 

Thanks, high school baseball for making me fast. I owe it to you.

I speed towards our bedroom and close the door, slamming the door, pressing my body weight against it so Lewis can't get in.

Lewis pushes against the other side, trying to break in, "I'll get inside, you may be fast, but I'm stronger!"

I struggle holding back the door, my socks are making me slide on the wooden floors.

Juice jumps on the door, barking at me. She's cheering on me. If she were human she would be shouting "you can do it, Matthew!"

Lewis swings the door open, flinging me to the bed. I gasp for air, laughing hard.

Lewis throws his hands on me, tickling me. His soft fingers tickle my armpit and chin, my weakness.

My laughter fills the house, struggling against his tickles.

"Stop," I chortle, "I can't breathe."

Lewis stops and then kisses me while he's sitting on top of me, holding my arms down.

"You may run, but I will always catch you, Matthew," he taps me on the nose, teasing me.

"I know," I slowly pant, accepting my future and past defeats.

"That reminds me," he slides off of me, walking to the closet.

I sit up at the edge of the bed, curious of what he's doing.

He opens it and he grabs something, twisting around hastily, hiding something behind his back.

"What do you got there, Lewis?" I giggle at his funny facial expression.

He steps closer to me, sighing.

"What's the matter?" I ask with concern.

"How long have I known you, Matthew?"

"For about two years," I hesitate.

He stared into my eyes, softly smiling, "those have been the best years of my life," he sniffled.

"Are you crying?" I stand up from the bed, but he nudges me to sit back down.

He lowers himself, getting on one knee, still holding one hand behind his back.

"With you," he wiped a tear from his eye, "I've made the best memories of my life," his voice shakes, pulling a felt box from behind his back, "Matthew Michael Erwin, will you make more memories with me and make me the happiest man alive?"

Tears form in my eyes as Lewis proposed.

When I was younger, I always thought I had to do the proposal since I was the guy in the relationship. I would watch cheesy romance movies as the man proposed to the woman, listening to the corny line. My sister and my mom would sniffle and smile and I would just roll my eyes.

I stared right back at him, "you idiot," I snicker.

He grins at me, waiting for an answer.

Water begins to poor from eyes like a waterfall, "yes." My voice cracks.

He gasps, crying and laughing, placing the ring on my finger. He jumps up and hugs me.

I hug him back, holding him tightly and not wanting to let go of him.

"I love you so much," he sniffled.

"I hear you," my voice continued to crack, "and I love you too."

For that moment, we held each other for what felt like a second. But when I think about it, we'll always hold each other as long as we live.

***A/N***

Well, that's the end, folks!

Thank you for reading this story if you've been sticking with it along the way. It took longer than I anticipated but I'm glad it got to the resolution I would have wanted.

I hope I see you in my other stories or my future stories. Thank you and I love you!

-MissyKZV