Chapter thirty-nine

This time, thanks to my friend, Shelbey for being a sappy romantic and being able to put it into words.

Back at the hotel Sarah plopped down on the bed.

“Sorry we didn’t do anything more exciting.” Richie said as he walked over to her.
“More exciting? I liked that a lot, it’s just really hot.” Sarah sat up to look at him.

Richie agreed, it was scorching hot outside, their air conditioned hotel room felt much more enjoyable than the hot air outside.

Richie sat down next to her, when he took her hand in his, he remembered he was going to propose as he looked at her ring finger.

Wouldn’t a big ring look good there? Should he ask her now? Maybe the Parthenon had been a nice place to ask, too late for that now.

He could take her to a nice restaurant and ask her then but he didn’t really want to ask her where everyone could see. Who knew where that might end up then?

He preferred keeping it a little more private. The public didn’t need to know, this was his business.

“What’s on your mind?” Sarah asked when she noticed Richie’s unbroken stare at their hands.
Richie looked up to meet her eyes. “Would you like to go out for dinner?” He suggested instead of actually telling her what was on his mind, he couldn’t tell her that just yet.

Without a ring? Wouldn’t that be a letdown for her? With every proposal went a ring. How would she react to that?

It didn’t matter, as long as she said yes. He’d get her a ring the next free minute he had.

“Sure but can we stay here? I don’t want to go out in this heat again.” Sarah said, even if they’d only be outside to get in the car, it was simply too hot.
“Why don’t you go shower and I’ll phone the restaurant to get us a table.” Richie suggested.
Sarah nodded. “Are you going to join me in the shower?” She asked before making a move to get up.
“Yeah, take your time, I gotta phone first.” He said.
Again Sarah nodded and got up.

Before going to the bathroom, she leaned back down to kiss him.



When he was alone, Richie got his phone out and texted Jon.

5.38pm: I’m gonna ask her!

While his text send off into space, he called down to the hotel lobby to make sure they’d get a nice and private table.

His phone call was short, he hung up and checked his cell phone again, finding a few minutes old reply from Jon.

5.40pm: Good luck

Richie smiled and put his phone away.

As he walked to the bathroom he discarded his clothes before he walked in naked.

The room was already hot and full of steam but still it felt more pleasant than the heat outside.

Sarah was sanding under the shower when Richie opened the glass doors.

“There you are.” She smiled at him.
“Did you finish already?”He asked, not noticing soap anywhere on her body or in the water.
“No, I was waiting for you.” She still smiled at him.
“I’ll help you then.” He winked at her, grabbing the shampoo.

It had been a while since he got the chance to wash her hair, to touch her.

Sarah moved from under the water and let him wash her hair. She liked it when he did it, he knew perfectly how, how he massaged her scalp, it was so relaxing.

“Do I get to do your hair too?” She asked. She had missed his body too.
“If you want to.” He pulled his hands back and motioned for Sarah to get under the water, he helped to rinse out the shampoo from her long blond hair.

He didn’t want to stop touching her and grabbed a wash cloth and soap. Before Sarah could say anything, his hands were back on her skin.

Sarah could see what he was thinking and how he reacted when she looked down. The shower was one of the places they hadn’t had sex yet. Yet? The few times they had, it was in a bed.

“Richie, tonight.” She reminded him, she was comfortable in bed, not sure about the shower.
“I know.” He said as he bent down to continue washing her.

When he finished her feet and toes and Sarah was wriggling because it tickled, he stood back up. It was a little disappointing he was done now, even Sarah felt so. Tonight.

Sarah took the shampoo again and started with Richie’s hair. Soon enough she could start with the soap, spreading it over his arms. She loved how strong his biceps were. Her hands spread over his shoulder to his chest, loving his pectorals too. Her hands went lower to his belly, a little less muscle there but just as much to love.

Richie grabbed her hands before she could go lower. “If you want to wait for tonight, we better finish showering.”
Sarah looked him up and down and realized what he meant.

She turned off the water as Richie got out and got them towels. He wrapped one around his waist and put the other over Sarah’s shoulders when she stepped out.

Richie finished drying off and doing his hair sooner than Sarah did and walked back to the main room, leaving his towel behind.

He found his favorite pair of jeans and looked around for a clean button down shirt.

When he found one at the bottom of his bag it was all wrinkled, he couldn’t wear it like that.

Hurriedly he looked around for an iron but couldn’t find anything. He decided to try his shirt on instead. In the cupboard door he found a mirror, he couldn’t see much but enough to know he couldn’t go like that.

He wanted to look nice, it had to be a memorable night, without hope he sat down on the bed. How much time did he have before Sarah finished in the bathroom?

Then he noticed a piece of paper next to the phone on the night stand. It read numbers, with each number, a service they provided.

8- Clothes service

Surely they had an iron to do his shirt quickly. He picked up the phone and pressed the number 8 button, hoping for a quick answer.

Which he got almost instantly, hurriedly he explained his problem.

As if he was talking to a person right outside his room, there was a knock at his door, asking for his shirt. He handed it over and started to pace the room, hoping Sarah would be busy a little longer.

Only five minutes it took for his shirt to return.

With relief, he put it back on, it still felt warm from the hot iron.

As he started to button his shirt up, Sarah walked out of the bathroom in her towel. He sighed, just in time and left the rest of the buttons undone.

“You’re already dressed?” She asked a little surprised.

She liked his outfit too. His jeans were lighter than the ones he had worn the last time they went out. His shirt was black but just like last time he had rolled up his sleeves and only buttoned his shirt halfway. She certainly loved his way of dressing.



Together they walked down to the restaurant where they were lead to a private, reserved table.

They ordered water and read their menus.

“What would you like?” Richie asked, looking over his menu.

Sarah looked beautiful as she looked back at him over his. This time she was wearing a plain white buttoned blouse, he was sure he could see the outlines of her white bra underneath it. Along with that she was wearing one of the skirts he had bought her a few weeks ago. Her hair was the same straight way it usually always was, tumbling over her shoulders as she moved.

While Sarah looked up over her own menu she made her decision, at the same time her eyes wandered down again, to the open buttons of his shirt. His skin look so tan, it made her want to reach out and touch again.



“You’ve done it again.” Sarah said most content.
“What do you mean?” He asked.
“You made it all romantic again.”
“Yeah? Maybe I meant to, to welcome you back.”
“That’s so sweet of you.” She still smiled.

Their table was the only one with a white table cloth, the only one with two tall white candles. There weren’t even tables around them so they had their privacy.

“I love how you always make everything so perfect.” Sarah said after their food was half eaten.
“I’m glad you like it.” Richie answered before continuing to eat.

During dinner they talked some more about what Sarah was going to do come September, which reminded Richie of their summer vacation. He told her what he had found out about Lake Tahoe. He had found several accommodations and laid out the options for Sarah to pick something.



Once they finished their fresh Greek fish platter, Richie suggested dessert. He had liked how they shared it last time and planned on doing so this time too.

He let Sarah pick something out.

Since it was still hot Sarah picked out an ice cream sundae with fresh fruits.



She picked out the strawberry when dessert arrived and offered it to Richie. He all too willingly took the bite and chewed.

He in turn picked up the long spoon and scooped some ice cream, holding it out for Sarah.



Half an hour later they finished.

“Would you like to go for a walk? They have a very nice garden here.” Richie suggested, he didn’t quite want to go back to their room yet.

Sarah thought that could only make their night even more perfect.

They stepped out to the garden where it was significantly cooler than it had been all day.

“You’re right, it’s very nice here.” Sarah watched the bit of nature Richie had observed from the gym earlier that day.

The sun was setting but the garden was still well lit through garden candles along the paths.

He took Sarah’s hand and followed the path that lead to the rose bushes in the middle, where the paths crossed and bushes stood tall on each side. From the gym it had looked like only one bush.

They came to a stop between a pair of rose bushes in full bloom and a comfortable silence fell over them as they simply enjoyed one another's company.

As they stood together, Richie could almost feel the ring box in his pocket while he searched for the words to say.

Sarah's voice brought him from his thoughts; "Tonight's perfect." she turned, smiling, in his arms to face him.
"There's one thing that will make it even more perfect." he replied, softly smiling back, taking her hands in his.
Looking a little confused, Sarah asked, "There is?"

Richie chuckled a little, both at her cute expression and from his nerves. Then he spoke, having found the right words, "Yes, there is. Sarah, I love you, I've never been as happy as I've been these last 3 months with you. I never want this feeling to end. I want to always be with you and I want the world to know you're mine and I'm yours." He paused, reaching over and carefully pulled a rose from the bush before meeting her eyes again. "I don't have a ring to give you yet but," he handed her the rose, "Sarah? Will you marry me?"