Chapter 15 #2
I put the mic back on the stand as soon as the song ends, and I watch as Bellamy stands, clapping his hands.
I start to move toward the lip of the stage to exit, but Bellamy surprises me, joining me on the stage.
Confusion is an understatement. I look to the side at him, stepping back as he steps up to the mic, bending down to it considering I adjusted it for my height.
He waves to everyone who has now gone silent.
“Um... Hello,” He waves, and silence is still washed over the once loud bar.
“This is my girlfriend Kamryn... I’ve been dating her for four years now.
.. We’re high school sweethearts... Give her a hand,” He motions behind him toward me, and I have never been so confused in my life but I smile at the cheering from the crowd.
He just blatantly lied, and he looked really good while doing it.
“She’s pretty, isn’t she? Can I ask all of you for a moment with her... She loves karaoke, and she also loves me, and I love her, so I figured this would be the perfect place for this. Is that okay?” He asks, and I’m not only confused but instantly nervous.
Him saying it, saying he loved me did something to my stomach, and now my ears are ringing. All of this is some joke, he’s playing everyone, but it sounded… The crowd cheers, and Bellamy pulls the mic from the stand and puts it behind his back so he can lean into me, his lips against my ear.
“What are you doing?” I whisper first and feel his lips curl into a smile.
“I told you to just go with it. You trust me don’t you?”
“Always.”
He backs away, completely shocking me as he gets on one knee right in front of me.
I don’t hesitate to cover my mouth with both of my hands, genuinely shocked at this moment.
I know he’s joking. Everything is clicking in my head.
Fake proposal, free drinks. Bellamy Archer is not only hot, but he’s also a fucking genius.
Everyone around us is cheering and whistling now, excited as Bellamy brings the mic back to his lips, his eyes locked on mine.
“Kamryn Hart, you always know how to have fun, and to just go with it. You never back down from a challenge, and you really have put up with far too much of my shit already in what feels like the short time we've been dating,” He winks at me, and I laugh, watching as he reaches into his pocket.
Confusion washes over me again when he really does pull out a ring, it’s not an engagement ring obviously. But it is pretty, dainty, and small. The tiny jewel is an amber color, it almost looks like a cat eye.
“Will you marry me?” He asks, and I nod, pretending to be awestruck by him. Everyone screams, and Bellamy stands up, wrapping me in a hug that could probably win him an Oscar. What a performance.
“You have a fuck ton of explaining to do,” I whisper in his ear as he hugs me, and I can feel a rumble of laughter as I’m pressed to his chest.
“I’m very aware,” He slowly lets me slide away from him.
He leans down, kissing me softly, and we move from the stage. There’s chatter throughout the entire place, and I can’t help but notice all their eyes on us. He doesn’t let his hand slide from my side as we get back to our table. The second we sit down a waiter approaches with two drinks.
“A couple at the bar sent these over.”
I smile, taking the drink. Absolute genius.
“Thank you so much,” I tell him, and I look at Bellamy who has a smirk on his lips.
The waiter walks away, and my jaw drops.
“Told you,” He brings the drink to his lips, basking in his master plan, and I drink my drink as well while also looking at my hand.
The ring is incredibly beautiful, but I can’t shake the questions. Did he have this planned? Did he know he’d do this, or was he just going to give me the ring? Is it even meant for me? I have no idea…
Bellamy only has one, and I only have a few drinks, but plenty of water.
The mixture of great singers, and tone deaf people who are trying their best is unique, but incredibly fun for us to watch.
Part of me has a hard time focusing on the singing from the way he runs his fingers over my hand, my fingers, and my arms.
Bellamy seems to always be touching me, reminding me he’s here, right next to me.
It’s incredibly comforting. I look over at his smiling face, feeling warmth crawl up my throat as he smiles in my direction.
He’s cute. There’s just no other way to put it.
.. But there's a duality, because the minute he’s on the field, or removing his shirt, cute is the last word I would use.
“Are you ready to head out?” He leans over the table to ask me, and I look out of the tinted windows of the bar.
It’s later now, and in perfect Washington fashion, I can hear a soft patter of rain on the tin ceiling of the karaoke bar.
It doesn’t sound harsh, but just enough to make our clothes damp, and our hair frizzy.
I turn back, and nod. He takes my hand and we stand.
Bellamy opens his wallet and leaves cash on the table which is very common from what I’ve noticed.
Another thing I’ve noticed is just how much I loved being here with him.
This night has been something different…
“It’s raining,” I exclaim even though we can both see the droplets hitting the windows.
He holds my hand now, walking me to the front of the bar.
“I guess I should have parked closer... I can pull around... Unless you don’t mind the rain.”
I smirk at him, raising my eyebrows. It seems he might have forgotten about the list altogether because that was a very big task on it. Though in so many ways, I’m not looking forward to it. To be rained on, to get soaked just for a kiss that could happen indoors... But I made the list, didn’t I?
“I don’t mind the rain,” I lie to him, and he opens the door for me, revealing the rain drenched sidewalk outside of the crowded bar.
I’ve hated rain since before I could even remember.
It used to upset me as a kid. The only good thing about rain is the romance, and I had never experienced that so it made me hate it even more.
I’m not sure what it says about me that I hate the rain and live in one of the rainiest places, but I do.
The street is empty of people but scattered with cars rushing past, eager to be somewhere else.
Bellamy holds my hand, both of us still covered for the time being.
“Ready?” He asks, and I nod.
“Ready!” He pulls me, trying to move quickly, but I slip my hand from his.
He turns back from me as I stand on the sidewalk, if I’m going to be rained on, I’m going to do it right.
I spin around, and I look at him again. For once, trying my best to not mind the rain, putting up with it.
Liking the feeling of being stared at by him.
I lift my hands up to the sky, and look up too, feeling the cold rain stick to my skin.
“Are you crazy?” He asks over the rain, raising his voice as it starts to rain harder.
“A little!”
He runs back to me and takes my arm. He hoists me up and onto his back, and runs, both of us fully drenched now from the rain.
He moves quickly down the sidewalk toward the beat up Jeep, and I laugh at the feeling of chaos but also comfort meshing in my chest. Bellamy slows down, and I jump from his body.
He turns around, and reaches down, his hand connecting to my lower back to pull me into his gravity.
Our chests crush together, and then he looks at me, taking me by surprise.
When I expected his lips, I received his eyes, and my breath caught in my chest.
It feels better than I thought to be in the rain like this. To be feeling so many things in my chest, and my mind, and all over my body too. It feels like a movie. Like a cute scene I wrote about on a list I never wanted to complete. Thank god I am.
Bellamy has wet messy hair hanging over his forehead as he stares down at me, rain falling over him.
His shirt clings to his body just like I do.
Just like my dress to my body. My shoes are now filled with water, and puddles are forming around us.
I might be imagining the feeling of his heart beating, but I swear I can feel it.
Like it might come right out of his chest..
. It could be mine, but my head is far too cloudy to make sense of the harsh thrumming.
“I really want to kiss you right now.”
Bellamy has kissed me plenty before this moment, but he’s never told me outright like this.
It’s different. It feels like he needs to make it apparent, like he needs me to know that he wants me, and my touch, and my kiss.
That he needs to feel my lips on his. I have no idea what my face reads, but I do know I’ve never felt the rush of warmth through my body that I do right now.
Like a wave of fire running through my chest and my stomach. Like a rollercoaster, but... More.
“I really want you to kiss me right now, Bell,” I feel like my voice is hardly audible over the sound of rain around us.
He kisses me anyway. Part of me knows he would have either way, part of me knows he wanted to kiss me just that much, and part of me feels a need for this feeling.
He kisses me, our lips slick with rain water but still clinging to each other like nothing else in the world is as important as this kiss.
Part of me wonders if that’s true. That nothing could be as important.
.. But I can’t comprehend that, I can’t think of this being something that is important to me.
.. But it feels that way... It does, despite how short it feels.
Despite that him pulling away is already leaving a heavy feeling in my chest. I want to tell him that.
But I don’t know how. I can’t... So I let him open the door for me and I get in.
I realize then just how much I love the rain now.