Chapter 4 Question Mark

• EMMA’s POV :
• We got lunch at this place called Sushi Seki in the heart of the city. It was a warm spring day in mid May, so we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and sat on the outdoor patio. Tristan was right about the place, it was probably the best sushi I’ve had in my life.
• After we finished lunch, we decided to take a walk around Central Park before driving back since the weather so nice today. Okay, so my heels were not made for walking, but big deal. I liked how butt looks with them heels on, and plus, I had Elliott and Tristan with me so I was pretty much putting my body weight on them. I was walking in between Tristan and Elliott, my left arm was linked around Elliott’s waist and my right hand held onto Tristan’s arm.
• “So this is New York City,” Elliott’s eyes were wide in wonder as he took in all the sights. The buildings were tall, the trees were green and full, the flowers were blooming, people were out enjoying the sun, and the sky was a gorgeous shade of blue.
• “Can’t believe you’ve been in Philly for almost a year and you never visited New York City. It’s only a one hour train ride,” Tristan said.
• Elliott shrugged and looked at me for confirmation, saying, “I guess we just never got a chance?”
• A nervous laugh escaped my lips. Yeah, it wasn’t that we never got a chance to come visit, there were plenty of chances to come visit, but I never wanted to. The last time I was in this city, I saw my fiancée kissed another girl and we broke up in the middle of the streets under the rain. It was traumatic, to say the least.
• “Why haven’t we come here before?” Elliott muttered casually.
• “Well, you know… I was busy with school…”
• My eyes darted to the side to avoid eye contact with Elliott, but I caught Tristan’s eyes instead. That look on his face said it all. Tristan knew exactly why I never wanted to come to the city. Our eyes met and it was like we were having a telepathic conversation.
• “You never told him about Ian, didn’t you?” he asked with his eyes.
• “No, and don't you say a word!” I warned him.
• We stared at each other in awkward silence for a few more seconds before Tristan coughed and shuffled away.
• “I, uh, I’m gonna go get some of those hot dogs. Sophie asked me to get her some. Be right back,” he said as he headed towards a hot dog cart. I let out a small sigh of relief as I watched him go.
• Elliott was oblivious to everything. I had never told him about Ian, the topic of ex lovers never came up anyway. Elliott never liked talking about the past, so our conversations were always about the present or the future.
• “So, tell me, when you get that job…” Elliott said suddenly.
• “If I get the job,” I corrected him. “There’s still a chance I might not,”
• “When you get the job,” He insisted, emphasizing on the word ‘when’. “Does that mean you’ll be moving here?”
• “Well, yeah. I can’t be taking the train from Philly every day,” I laughed. “Why?”
• “Nothing, it’s just that, I wanna be near where you are, that’s all,” he smiled sweetly.
• Elliott still got another year of contract with the school he was working for. If it wasn’t for that, he’d probably want to follow me to the city too.
• “It’s okay if we don’t live in the same city for a year, right? We’ll figure it out,” I said, pausing for a moment before continuing, “And like Tristan said, New York is only an hour train ride away,”
• I gave him a reassuring smile, but he didn’t smile back. Instead, he stopped our tracks and turned to his side to face me.
• “Emma, do you see a future for us?” he asked in a serious tone.
• “What do you mean?” I looked at him quizzically.
• “I have left everything behind for you so I’m sure you know that I’m very serious about our relationship. We’ve been together for almost a year now and I need to know if you’re on the same page with me on this. I’m talking about taking the next step with you,”
• “What are saying, Elliott? You want us to move in together?”
• “Yes, but not exactly,” his hand went to his jacket pocket and he fished out a small velvet box. Slowly, his hand pulled the box open and he said, “This is what I’m saying,”
• My eyes widened instantly and my jaw fell to the ground. Inside the box was a little diamond ring, and it was shining bright at me under the sunlight.
• “Oh my god!” I gasped.
• “Oh my god,” I heard Tristan’s voice as he was coming back towards us.
• Elliott took my hand in his and said, “I’ve searched my whole life for someone like you, Emma. You complete me. When I look into your eyes, I can see a reflection of the two of us and the life I hope we’ll share together. This past year with you has been the best time of my life. You’ve made me the happiest man alive and I promise I will do everything in my power to make you happy,”
• I couldn’t say anything, I was completely caught off guard. I looked at the ring, then at Elliott’s nervous face, then my eyes darted to Tristan who also had the biggest look of shock on his face.
• At that moment, it was like Tristan and I were having another telepathic conversation with our eyes.
• “What the fück is happening, E?!”
• “I don’t know, T! I don’t fücking know!”
• “So, will you marry me and be my wife, Emma Sinclair?” Elliott said again. His voice pulled my focus back to him. His eyes looked nervous, but they were also hopeful.
• My mouth fell open as if to speak, but there were no intelligible words coming out of it. “E… Elliott… I… uh… I…”
• Knowing that I wasn’t able to give him a complete answer right away, he smiled and said, “Don’t say anything. Just smile for a yes or kick me in the nuts for no,”
• He was using our little inside joke. That was cute so darn smooth. And dammnit, I almost smiled!
• Oh crap… what am I gonna do?
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• - - - - - To Be Continued - - - - -