“Spot, be for real. Bianca can say what she wants, but I never lied to her about you or who you were to me. Her ass was picking because she bought herself that ugly ass cluster ring.”
“And now that bitch is plucked like an annoying chin hair.” She cackled. “Buh bye.”
“Goofball, I swear.”
“But mystery woman,” she said, almost to herself, and then laughed, short and private, like she was the only one in on the joke.
“You want me to clear it up?” I asked.
“Tonight? No.” She smoothed the front of her dress. “Let’s just eat and maybe go dancing after. We can figure out the rest later.”
I pulled her chair out. She sat. And I took the seat across from her.
The chef appeared right on time. The hibachi setup went between us, and the flames went up shortly after. Skye’s eyes lit. She clapped and danced in her seat.
“Ducane, I’ve had such a good time with you. Dinners, swimming, watching movies, all of it has been exactly what I needed.”
“What’s been going on with you? Why do you keep saying that?”
She picked up her chopsticks and looked at the grill for a second, jaw tight, eyes wet, before she blinked it away.
“I’ve just been tired,” she said. “Doing a lot alone for a long time. This felt like permission to breathe.”
She wasn’t lying. But she wasn’t telling me everything either, we both knew it.
“And?”
“And I started school again. I want to… no, I’m going to finish this time.”
“I support that. I got you. Let me help.”
“I’ll try,” she said.
I left it at that. I knew Skye well enough to know that when she was ready to tell me what was really going on, she’d tell me.
The chef plated our food, and we ate in silence. The only sounds were the crackle of the candles and the water.
I refilled her glass and looked at her across the table.
“What happens when we go home, Skye?”
She set her glass down and looked at me.
“Our time is coming to an end,” I said. “And I don’t want that. I need you to know that before we get on a plane and go back to our separate lives. This was more than just a trip to me.” I leaned forward. “Fuck the family obligations. Fuck the distance, the time, all of it. I want you in your rightful spot. In my life. In my name.” I held her gaze. “My wife. My forever. You said yes before. I need you to say it again.”
I reached into my pocket and set the ring on the table between us.
It caught the candlelight immediately.
Skye looked at it.
“Are you asking me to marry you, Ducane?”
She reached out and touched the stone with one finger, turned it slightly so it caught the light from a different angle. “It has a flaw,” she said. “It’s beautiful.”
“Inclusion,” I said. “It makes it one of a kind.”
She looked up at me.