"This one, huh?" Nick pounced on the bed, landing next to her, and pulling her close to him. "Hey, this is very nice.."
She giggled and kissed him, "Yep, this is the one."
Just as Nick went to kiss her back, he heard someone clearing their throat and looked up to see a salesman standing next to the bed, appearing somewhat displeased.
'May I help you?" the man asked.
"In a second." Nick said, and kissed Rusha like he wanted to before turning his attention to the salesman.
Rusha lay on the bed giggling as Nick talked to the salesman. She remembered this happening last time they'd gone shopping for a new bedroom set- so many beds, so many possibilities, so little time. After Cody had moved out of the house, Rusha had moved back into his room... their room, and they'd decided to buy a new bed, one that would be exclusively theirs, again.
She'd spoken to Cody twice since he'd left- he'd called when he got to Miami, and then again about a week later, just to talk. While she missed having him around to talk to, she found she didn't really miss having him around the house much. Even though she had come to enjoy his company, she preferred it just being her and Nick. She knew that Nick felt the same way- they'd talked about it several times- during their many discussions on their relationship- where they were, where they were going. She felt confident that they were doing fine, back on track- close to where they had been before Cody had come into their lives. She thought in some ways, the past few months had probably made them, and their relationship stronger... to prove they could get through anything, if nothing else.
Nick came back to Rusha and held his hand out to her to pull her up off the bed. "He said we'll have it on Thursday." He smiled and kissed her again. He knew he was lucky to still have her, and he wanted to be sure that she knew just how much he wanted to keep her.
~~~~
When Rusha left to go pick up the chinese food they'd ordered for dinner, Nick quickly went to work. Their bed had been delivered earlier in the day, and they'd spent the afternoon rearranging the bedroom. He'd gone shopping, buying t-shirt sheets like Rusha loved- in her favorite color, baby blue, and put them on the bed with the new comforter she'd picked out. He lit a few candles around the bedroom, and pulled the little black box out of the drawer he'd had it hiding in, placing it on the nightstand. He went downstairs to the kitchen to pour glasses of Rusha's favorite wine and waited for her to come home.
When he heard the door open and then close downstairs he grabbed the box and sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for her to come looking for him.
Rusha put the food on the counter, "Nick?" She'd been expecting him to come running into the room, he'd been complaining he was starving when she left. She walked through the living room, then up to their bedroom, stopping in the doorway. She saw the candles flickering and Nick sitting on the bed, toying with something in a little box. She crept closer to him as he looked up at her, smiling.
He slipped the ring out of the box, "Rush, you're the strongest.. most amazing woman I've ever met.. I totally don't deserve you.. and alot of times I can't figure out why you love me.. but I'm so glad you do.. I love you, Rusha.. and I know I should have done this a long time ago.. Will you marry me?"
Rusha leaned down to kiss him, holding her left hand out to him, "You're right, you don't deserve me." she smirked. "But I love you.. and I always will.. so, yes, I will marry you."
Nick eased the ring onto her finger, and pulled her to him, laying back on the bed. "You're the only one, Rush. I don't want anyone but you."
She kissed him deeply, pressing her body to his, glad she could honestly believe what he said to be true, there wouldn't be anyone but her.
~~~~~~~
*a few weeks later*
Nick and Rusha trudged into the kitchen, a little out of breath from their marathon basketball game, which had ended only because it got too dark to see the hoop. Rusha had laughed at Nick's excuse of it getting too dark, it wasn't like they didn't have flood lights for the court, she knew he was calling it quits just because he was losing.
Rusha saw the stack of envelopes on the counter as she opened the freezer to get some ice, "What came in the mail today?"
"Don't know, didn't check it." Nick said, before gulping down an entire bottle of Gatorade.
Rusha dropped the ice in her glass and reached for the mail. She tossed the bills to Nick, the junk mail in the trash and kept the one postmarked from Miami. She opened the letter and glanced over Cody's nearly perfect script. "Hey, we got a letter from Cody."
Nick looked up from his cell phone bill, "What's it say?"
'Dear Nick and Rusha, Congratulations on your engagement! I am very happy for you! May every star in the sky be another reason to love each other, every kiss bring you new joy to share, and everyday, be thankful you've found your perfect match. Know that you are never far from my thoughts, I love you both, always, Cody." Rusha smiled, "That's sweet!"
Nick grabbed Rusha's hand and led her out to the deck, wrapping his arms around her to hold her close. He gestured up towards the sparkling night sky, and whispered, "Look at all of them, Rush... they're so beautiful. There's one for you smile.. one for your giggle... one for the way you lick your lips just before you kiss me... one for the way you make perfect toaster waffles... one for how you hide your face against me when a movie freaks you out... one for how you always make sure I know you love me... one for...."
