"Nostalgia is a love/hate relationship"
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| Cold- Novo Amor |
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✩New York:
- Joshua Richmond
- Merlou Zenon
✩Minnesota:
- Meredith Odile
- Rhea Alexander
- Matina Louise
- Vidoa Mell
- Shelly Morgan
- Derek King
- Reniere Damele
✩Florida:
- Avyanna Winters
- Kejirah Atiyeh
- Simone Amores
- Elias Hendwood
- Xavius Woodson
Storytime I suppose
Pressing her head against the woman before her, Meredith smiled softly and locked her fingers with her date’s, letting the morning sun warm her pale skin. The other woman, Rhea, smiled back and placed a light kiss on her forehead as they sat together, cuddled closely on a finely decorated black bench. The smell of coffee and freshly baked bread filled her senses as a cup of cappuccino sat between her legs, the bakery across the street opening its doors to the public, happily greeting the regulars as the small bell rung every time someone entered. Rhea traced circles faintly on Meredith’s arm, enjoying the moment they shared right now, ignoring everything else that happened around them. They had a few glances come their way, but they weren’t malicious, but she wouldn’t care even if they were; this moment couldn’t be interrupted by anything or anyone.
Meredith used her free hand to take one of her girlfriend’s braids between her fingertips, twirling it slowly and listlessly, continuing to smile calmly against her shirt. The breeze blew softly through her hair, the strands brushing against the back of her neck and sending a shiver down her spine, in which Rhea moved her hand and pushed the strands aside and over her shoulder before brushing Meredith’s bangs down, then cradling her girlfriend’s head closer to her. Meredith began humming, positioning herself further up so she could rest her chin on Rhea’s shoulder. Rhea then took the cappuccino and took a sip of the hot drink, not wanting to burn her tongue before setting the cup down next to them and wrapped her arms around Meredith’s waist, locking her fingers together, wishing to never let go.
“Let’s stay here forever,” Rhea mumbled. “I don’t ever want to leave.”
Meredith kept her eyes on the horizon, watching the birds fly in lazy circles. “Then let’s stay. I don’t see any reason not to.”
Rhea glanced at her partner in surprise. Usually she was the voice of reason, so she expected something like, “You know that we can’t stay here. Everything we know is back in Minnesota,” but she didn’t. She wanted to ask more, but all that slipped out was, “Really?”
Meredith laughed quietly. “Well I mean, we both love it here, and we have steady jobs, of course our budget would get pretty tight, but I don’t mind. I also don’t mind finding a new job, I did go to school here anyway. Plus, back home hasn’t really presented any interesting opportunities, but you’d have to sell your gallery, and we’d have to touch up on your French because it’s kinda lacking,” she joked before pausing for a slight second, turning to rest her cheek on Rhea’s shoulder. “Though I’d go anywhere you’d go, Mon Amour.”
Rhea grinned. Mon Amour. My Love. She loved it when Meredith said that. It made her chest warm. “Of course I’d sell my gallery, I can just open a new one, easy-peasy. I’d do anything for you.”
“I know,” Meredith said softly, “And I’d do the same for you.” She definitely wasn’t used to being this...open, but when Rhea was around, she seemed to be an entirely different person. And she liked it.
Rhea hugged her tighter. “And you’re sure? I mean, we aren’t married or anything, so moving to an entirely new-,”
“Then let’s get married,” Meredith whispered, interrupting her. She shifted, cupping her girlfriend’s face in her hands, moving to place her forehead against Rhea’s. “I trust you.”
For a second, or even a minute, Rhea didn’t know how to breath. Or how to respond. She just sat there a bit dumbfounded, blinking a few times.
“Well?” Meredith asked, looking up at Rhea almost expectantly. “What do you think?”
“Ah, er, um, yes.”
“Yes?”
“Sorry, I meant yes, like an, ‘I would absolutely love to marry you, you are the love of my life and I would die without you,’ kind of yes! Like a, ‘You are perfect and nothing else in my life could replace you and-and-,” she paused, taking a deep breath and standing up.
“And?” Meredith tilted her head, raising an eyebrow as Rhea grabbed both of her hands, standing in front of her, a nervous look on her face.
“-And I love you, and I’ve been practicing this speech since we first started dating and I know that sounds a bit weird, but when we went on our first date I knew that you were the one, like, the one, and when you told me about Merlou, I was jealous that she had gotten to you first because you seemed really fond of her and I wanted you to be fond of me instead, so I tried my hardest to be like her, but then I realized that I just needed to be me because I was the one who had your attention and I just didn’t want to mess anything up and I still don’t-,” she said, a serious tone to her voice. Rhea then dropped down to one knee, looking Meredith in her eyes and smiled widely, the nervousness melting away.
Meredith could feel her face heat up as she realized what was happening. Rhea really didn’t waste time, a trait that she loved. “Rhea…,” she said slowly, wanting desperately to just jump in her soon-to-be fiance's arms and say “yes” too many times, but she also wanted to hear what she had to say.
“-But here goes,” she said, taking a breath.
“Meredith...you are perfect. From the way you smile or when you dance whenever a rap song comes on no matter where you are, or when I wake up at three in the morning and find you staring at the stars from the window and you’re just sitting there, and in those moments, you couldn’t be more beautiful, sometimes I just want to either hug you or cry, but most times I just stand there staring like an idiot. When we first met, I admired you very much, and I still do. I admire the way you know exactly what you want to do, I admire your ambition and steadfastness and how stern you can get when people are off task, it’s really cute, but most of all, I love who you are behind closed doors. To others, you can seem really closed off but when it’s just the two of us, you get all cuddly and adorable and sassy, sometimes I don’t even know how to handle it because it’s so different from your public self it scares me. You scare me, but in a good way, if that makes any sense,” she started, tightening her hands on Meredith’s. “Even when I think I can predict what you’re going to do, you do something that totally throws me off and I don’t know how to react, like when you first kissed me that one night, or actually, just now, but I love it and I love you so much. And I know I can annoy you sometimes by getting all clingy, but I just have to reassure myself that you’re still mine and this isn’t some dream. I have to make sure you’re real because you’re my world, and I don’t know where I’d be without you. Definitely not here. In Paris. With you. So, I don’t want to make you wait much longer, because I certainly can’t, though I can ramble on and on about you-,” Rhea pulled one of her hands away and grabbed one of her necklaces that was partially hidden under her shirt. The necklace had a ring on it. “-I know I told you that this ring was my grandmother’s, but it really isn’t. I actually had this made for you awhile ago, just in case there was a moment like this-,” Rhea said, pausing after feeling her hand get wet. She looked up and noticed Meredith, who’s entire face was red and had tears running down her cheeks, though she still had her attention on her partner.
Rhea struggled to find her words for a quick moment, but Meredith just smiled and sniffled, wiping the tears off of her face with the back of her hand, reassuring her.
“-And there were other times where I was going to propose, but I didn’t think they were the right time, so I’m glad I waited, I really am because there couldn’t have been a more perfect time than this, I mean it’s beautiful out here,” and that’s when her own tears began to fall, so for a few moments they were just crying together, but then Rhea shook her head to clear it so she could finish. She reached towards the back of her neck, taking the necklace off and letting the ring fall into her hand where she could hold it out to her. “So Meredith La’Verne Odile, will you be Mon Amour, and will you be my forever?” She paused, watching Meredith’s smile grow wider.
“Will you marry me?”
"Of course. You are my everything."
"Of course. You are my everything."
"If you call me 'Avy' one more time, a certain someone's not gonna wake up with a tongue tomorrow."
