He was quiet for most of the drive, occasionally peeking over as his grip on my hand got tighter, sweating slightly more than usual. I couldn't help but wonder what could possibly be making him so nervous. I was the last person who should be making him nervous; he should feel the most comfortable around me.

"Are you okay?" I laughed, pulling his hand up towards my lips, gently kissing the top of it. He finally managed a smile, peeking back over at me, nodding silently.

"Mhm.." He said, despite seeming anything but.

"Are you sure? We don't have to go out tonight if you don't-"

"Oh, yes we do." He giggled to himself. "Don't worry about me. I'm just fine. You.. just worry about you and having the best night ever." I couldn't help but smile.

"Okay."

Finally, we pulled into the parking lot of Amanti's.

Where he had taken us for our first date.

Was he was recreating our first date?

He was adorable.

"My favorite." I whispered. He nodded, smirking back at me.

"Oh, I know." He said softly, putting the car in park. "And I've wanted to do this for you.. for a very long time."

"What? Relive our first date?" I asked. He bit down on his lip, trying to contain his grin before getting out of the car.

"Yeah.. sure."

He quickly made his way around, opening the door for me like always, taking my hand and helping me out, instantly pulling me in closer and guiding us inside.

"Two for Kiszka, please." He said as we reached the front desk. "And.. I had called about-"

"Oh, yes." She said cheerfully, winking at him before grabbing two menus and guiding us through the restaurant and out towards the back room.

It was completely secluded from the rest of the restaurant and entirely made of glass, allowing us to look out on the beautiful lights of the town, and if you looked up, a perfect view of the starry night sky. I couldn't believe he had done this.

He pulled out my chair, helping me in before sitting down close across from me, subtly moving his chair closer towards me. I pulled it in even closer.

"You know this is insane, right?" I asked, unable to contain my smile. He nodded, playfully rolling his eyes.

"Yes." He said simply. "But.. you deserve the best, and.. tonight is special."

"And why's that?" He stopped, holding his stare on me for a moment.

"Because.. tomorrow our life together really begins."

He was right. Tomorrow we were finally leaving this town behind and heading off on our own adventure together, and I couldn't be more excited to start this new chapter with him.

"I love that you care so much about things like this." I said softly, grabbing one of the menus, quickly scanning it. I always felt so guilty when he took me somewhere expensive, but I knew he would fight me on it if I said anything, so I kept quiet.

"Well, I care about celebrating you. And us."

"Me too." I said, leaning in, gently kissing his cheek.

"For tonight's celebration.." I heard, looking back up to see that one of the waiters had wheeled out a small cart with a bottle of champagne, accompanied by a bucket of ice and two glasses.

"You're crazy." I whispered into his ear, playfully nudging him. He nodded, giggling to himself.

"Only for you."

He placed down the glasses in front of us, carefully pouring and then placing the bottle back into the bucket.

"For you." He said. "Congratulations." He then gave us a gentle smile before heading back into the kitchen. I grabbed my glass, watching as the gorgeous golden liquid bubbled so beautifully within its crystal walls. He did the same, holding it up and staring back at me with dazed eyes and that same smile that I already wanted to taste for myself.

"What are we toasting?" I asked. His smile grew.

"Us." He said simply. I nodded, gently clanging my glass against his before taking a sip of the sweetest thing I had ever tasted.

"Do you like it?" He asked. I nodded.

"This is delicious."

"Okay, then we'll get another bottle to go once we're done." He giggled. I shook my head, staring back at him from over my glass as I took another sip. I wasn't going to fight him on it.

A few more of these and I knew we were going to have the night that I wanted.

"What was he congratulating us for?" I asked. He shrugged, looking back down at the menu, taking another sip as I saw his eyes dance around the page.

"Considering everything, I'm sure he's probably just assuming we're celebrating something." He giggled. I nodded, taking another sip. Because normal people didn't just do this every day for no reason.

But as far as I was concerned, we were celebrating something. We were celebrating us; we were celebrating our whole lives up until this moment, everything that lead up to us sitting here together, getting to commemorate a love that began long before we even really knew what love was. We were sitting here tonight as living proof that love always found a way, overcoming every one of life's hurdles to bring us back to the one person who truly held our heart all along, and would hold it forever.

And that was definitely something to celebrate.

Then in the blink of an eye, the night flew by in flashes of laughter and longing glances, always touching in one way or another, now having pulled his chair right next to mine. I didn't ever want there to be a time when he wasn't within arm's length; I wanted him always and forever.

Then he leaned in close, wrapping one arm around me as he whispered into my ear.

"So, as much as I never want this night to end.. there's one more stop we have to get to." My heart jumped, instantly feeling my body get hot with nerves and excitement. What else could possibly top this?

"I don't know, you've set the bar so high, what else could you possibly-"

"Just.. trust me." He said, leaning in, gently kissing my cheek. "I think.. well, I hope you like it."

"You know that whatever you do, I'll love it." I said, slowly but surely feeling my head start to spin, but this time, I think it was just because of him.

He got up, grabbing his jacket from behind the chair, holding his hand out for me.

"But.. don't we have to-"

"No, I covered the bill before we got here." He smirked, helping me up and draping my jacket around me.

"Wow, look at you." I laughed, zippering it up and grabbing onto his arm. He playfully rolled his eyes, pulling me in closer, kissing the top of my head.

"I just want you to know that.. I will always take care of you, Jaime. No matter what happens."

"I know you will." I sighed, leaning my head on his shoulder as he guided us back out to his car, helping me into the passenger's seat again.

Before he could shut the door, I reached out for him, grabbing onto his jacket and pulling him into a long kiss. He gently caressed my face, kissing me back harder, for as long as I wanted before I finally moved away, leaning my forehead against his.

"I really loved this." I whispered. His smile grew as he leaned into another gentle kiss.

"I'm glad."

"Now.. where else are you taking me?" I laughed. He hesitated for a moment, biting down on his lip before nodding.

"Let's go."

He was silent again, squeezing my hand even tighter than before, keeping his eyes locked on the road before finally a subtle smile spread across his lips. Looking around, I couldn't believe what I saw.

He pulled into the parking lot, taking a deep breath as he stopped the car, slowly turning to face me, his face somewhat unsettled, but still with the same nervous grin.

"Ready?" He asked. I nodded, now feeling tears come to my eyes.

"Yeah."

He made his way around the car just like he always did, but this time it felt different, like I was watching him in slow motion, once again, feeling my brain start to memorize every second, somehow knowing that this was going to be important.

When he finally opened my door, I couldn't contain my tears anymore, not even sure why I was crying.

"What's the matter?" He asked, giggling to himself as he took my hand, helping me out and shutting the door behind me. I shook my head, grabbing on tightly to his arm as he began to lead us across the grass, towards the gazebo by the water, now completely lit up with candles, beautifully glowing in the distance.

As we got closer, I noticed a trail of rose petals, slowly changing in colors, just like all of the one's he had gotten me over the years leading us right up to the opening, where I could see the floor of the gazebo was now covered in deep red petals, the candles positioned in a circle, leaving space in the middle for us.

As we stepped in, it felt like we were finally alone, the rest of the world disappearing into the darkness around us, while we were submerged in all the light we would ever need; each other.

"Josh.." I sighed, sitting down on the empty section of the bench, staring up confused as he stopped in the middle, staring down at me.

"J-josh.. w-what.. what are you.."

"Jaime, I-"

"What are you doing?" I asked, feeling more tears come to my eyes. His smile grew as he playfully shook his head, trying his best to hide the tears that were now filling his eyes too.

"I didn't think this was going to be.. so terrifying." He laughed.

"W-what's terrifying?" I could feel my heart pounding against my chest, echoing in my ears.

"Jaime.." He said again, now slowly getting down on one knee in front of me.

In that moment, my heart stopped.

"Jaime, I have loved you.. my entire life, and I can't imagine not loving you for the rest of it. It has always been you, and it always will

And for a quick second, it was as though our entire life together had flashed before my eyes; every touch, every kiss, every moment that made me fall that much more in love with him. Moments we don't even recognize while we're in them, only truly grasping how important they are when you're faced with one of the most important questions of your life.

And I knew.. the answer was simple.

"Yes."

letter from the author:

hello everyone! we've reached chapter 200! I can't believe it, but as we all know (after concluding part 1 of 'you're the one,'') wattpad stories can only hold 200 chapters, so I will be creating another book to continue 'always there!' (don't worry, we're not ending here) so just be on the look-out for when I publish the next 'story' because you will no longer be receiving notifications from this one. see you on the other side!

xoxo,

mahogany.