Dorian's Destiny: Altered (25 page)

He gently grasped her hands. “No, quite the
opposite. I don't want to lose you. I want you to know about my
darkest times, not only to be sure you can still see my worth, but
to also give you some idea of what you saved me from; although mere
words can't express how far out of the dark you've pulled me.”

“Of course I still see your
worth. I'm never going to stop seeing it. I'll admit I'm quite
proud of my saving skills. I knew I was a great judge of character,
but after your description of how dark you were, I surprised
myself.”

Dorian rewarded her humor with a smile.

He had a breathtaking smile, especially when
it reached his eyes. Abnormally gorgeous when sad, his eyes were
infinitely so when happy. “Jokes aside though, if your concern is
losing me, you have nothing to worry about. Your honesty has only
deepened my feelings for you.”

He cradled her face, staring deep into her
eyes. “I love you.”

Astounded by his actions, she needed a
moment to comprehend what he had said. “Oh,” she whispered before
responding in kind. “I love you.”

After hearing the response,
he hoped desperately for, he leaned in, gently pressing his lips
against hers. Placing a hand around her waist he pulled her in
close, nearly squishing a sleeping Blaze in the process. He
explored her mouth with his tongue and her, his, until his desire
manifested itself lower on his body. He pulled away reluctantly,
but he wouldn't take her body until she had given her hand. Knowing
he needed to stop daydreaming about how great her body felt pressed
up against his, he immediately returned to his
confessing.

“One more thing. I stole Thomas' safe,” he
blurted.

“What?!” She shouted
tersely. Contradicting sensations of aggravation and amusement
raged in her mind. Finally, amusement and a bit of curiosity won
out. “Why?” She asked in a milder tone.

His mind was relieved that
his plan had worked and she hadn't initiated another round of
kissing. However, his body was disappointed, and it ached its
disapproval for being denied once again. “I couldn't open the safe
and I needed money. I destroyed some expensive wall paneling in the
process. I'm sure Thomas was pissed when he discovered my theft and
destruction.” He frowned briefly over the memory of his friend.
“It's been in the trunk of my car until I broke into it to pay for
the flight to see my father.”

She held back her laughter, uttering only a
dumbfounded, “okay,” in response.

On a roll, He continued, “Also, I'm
homeless, unless you count my car.”

“What? You’re homeless? Why, when? Why
haven’t you told me?” Her questions seemed to never end.

“Well, I couldn't continue staying at
Thomas' after stealing and destroying his property.” He joshed
before turning serious. “I could no longer stay in that environment
while trying to be who I used to be. I had to make a choice.”

“Of course, I understand why you left.
I...”

“But,” he blurted, cutting
her off, “I must acknowledge that even though I left Thomas because
his lifestyle wasn’t...agreeable, I owe him my gratitude. He
brought me out of the forest, sheltered me, and clothed me. He was
my friend and I will always care for him.”

“Of course,” she
stammered. Hearing him verbalize his feelings for Thomas stung her.
Though she felt these feelings were merely platonic, she thought of
Thomas as potential competition for his affection. His words didn't
help. He had even kissed Thomas
.
She reassured herself that Thomas was out of the
picture and Dorian loved her. “I guess I just never thought you
wouldn't have anywhere else to go.” She paused. “Wait a minute, of
course you have somewhere else to go, here,” she announced,
gesturing around her apartment with her arms.

“You don't have to...”

She placed her finger
against his lips to silence his refusal. “I insist. I'll not have
you living in a car.” Removing her finger from his mouth, she
crossed her arms to prove her seriousness.

He wondered if he could
resist the temptation of being so close to her all the time. His
desire to make her happy exceeded his worry, so he agreed,
“Okay.”

She beamed, “Great. You know, modern couples
live together all the time. That is what we are right, a
couple?”

“Yes, I guess we are,” he
agreed, although he felt they were going about things backwards. As
soon as the sun comes up, he would get things back on track. And
now he worried much less about her answer. He needed to work on his
timing though. “How about we both try to get a little sleep,” he
suggested then added, “I'll take the couch.”

He walked her to her bedroom door,
“Goodnight.” He kissed her cheek before hastily returning to the
couch.

“Goodnight,” she sighed.

*****

As the early morning sun
bathed Megan’s hair and face with its muted light, Dorian was
mesmerized by her natural beauty. He could have remained there
sitting on the edge of the bed enjoying the breathtaking view
inevitably. She stirred though and brought him out of his trance.
Leaning in just slightly, he whispered, hoping not to startle her,
“Good morning.”

“Good morning.” She slowly opened her eyes.
Glancing around her dimly lit bedroom, she asked, “What time is
it?”

“Around 6:30.”

Slowly sitting up, she looked around him to
the alarm clock resting on her nightstand. Hoping she was seeing
things, see rubbed her eyes, but the clock still confirmed his
assessment by reading 6:33 in bold red numbers. “Wow, you were
serious when you suggested we get a 'little' sleep,” she
grunted.

“I'm sorry for waking you so early,” he
apologized. “It can wait,” he assured as he tried to rise from the
bed.

Grabbing his arm, she asked, “What can
wait?”

He answered with a smile, “I have a surprise
for you.”

“A surprise?”

“Yes, a gift from my trip,” he chimed, his
smile widening.

“Is it a gift that has to be given at 6 in
the morning?” She sassed.

“No, just in the daylight.
It can wait,” he repeated.

“Are you kidding me? You can't tell a girl
you have a surprise for her and then say it can wait,” she
chastised as she threw the covers off.

He turned his head, afraid she wouldn't be
decent.

Noticing the move, she laughed softly. “You
can look. I was so tired, I crawled into bed fully clothed. Nice to
know you're a gentleman though.”

He turned back to look at her, half smiling
as his face reddened.

She stood in front of him expectantly.
“Well, my surprise?”

“Y…yes,” he stammered,
trying to recover from embarrassment. Finally, he stood as well and
directed her toward the door. “Right this way.” He escorted her out
of the bedroom and into the living room. A few steps from the front
door, he paused. Looking down, he suggested, “You might want to put
on some shoes.”

She wiggled her toes. “Why?”

“Your surprise is outside.”

“Oh,” she uttered, slipping
on her crocs.

“One other thing.” He removed a tie from his
pocket. “May I?” He gestured to her eyes.

“You want to blindfold me?” Megan inquired
nervously.

“It is customary to be
blindfolded when dealing with surprises, isn't it?” He asked
rhetorically, knowing he was correct with this ritual.

“Sometimes, I guess.” She
shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, then, may I?” He asked again, smugly
this time.

She nodded her approval, but retorted, “This
better be an extremely good surprise.”

“Oh, I'm sure you're going
to love it,” he stated confidently as he gently placed the tie over
her closed lids. “How's that?” He asked, tying the two ends of the
tie together, careful not to entangle her hair.

“Fine,” she huffed. He took
her by the hand and led her down the stairs. “Please don't let me
fall,” she pleaded nervously, squeezing his hand as tightly as she
could.

“Have I ever?” He questioned reassuringly,
referring back to their first meeting.

“No,” she answered feebly, still maintaining
her tight grip.

Once outside, on level ground directly in
front of the large oak, he eagerly removed his hand from her death
grip. After shaking it a few times, he removed her blindfold.

“Was a blindfold necessary
to lead me to your spying tree?”

“
No, but it was fun,” he
whispered in her ear.

His warm breath sent shivers down her body,
erasing her frustration. “So where exactly is my surprise?” She
requested sweetly.

“It's hidden.” He smiled. Moments before
awakening her, he had searched her kitchen for the necessary items
to accomplish his idea. It was a simple idea. At the tree, He had
spent a few moments picking the perfect spot. Thankfully, her
apartment building was on a dead end street not at all busy this
time of day. The thought of running down a thief didn't appeal to
his good nature. He had secured the ring with green twine to a
branch just within arm’s length for his bride.

“In the tree?” She asked.
He nodded. She walked closer, carefully searching for something out
of place. “Since I have no idea what I'm looking for, will you at
least tell me if I'm hot or cold?”

“Hot or cold?” he asked, wondering how he
should know the temperature of her body.

She paused in her search to
explain, “You say hot if I'm close to my surprise, and cold if I'm
not. Also, it helps to add very if I'm exceptionally close or
far.”

“Oh, yeah, I can do that...cold.” He
grinned.

She took her search inward near the trunk of
the tree, shuffling around some fallen leaves.

“Very cold.” He chuckled.

She gritted her teeth, not enjoying this
needle in a hay stack search as much as him. She circled the tree
only to be rewarded with more very colds. Just as she was about to
give up and beg for her gift by any means necessary, a ray of
sunlight reflected off something dangling from a low branch.

“Hot!”

She walked toward the sparkle. Her mouth
dropped open when she realized a ring was the culprit.

“Very hot!!” He shouted as she reached up to
grab the ring.

She held the ring in her
hands, mouth still agape, staring at him. He walked toward her,
smiling widely. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he gently
guided her backwards underneath the protective shade of the tree.
He moved his hands up to cradle her face. “Surprise,” he whispered,
taking in the beauty of her astonished face. “I love you, Megan.
You have done more for me than I ever could have imagined. You
saved me from myself, pulled me out of the darkness I had wrapped
myself in, and into your brilliant light. I am eternally grateful
for that, and you deserve everything. However, in return, I have
nothing to offer you but my heart. It's yours forever if you'll
have it?”

Tears of joy streamed down her cheeks. She
stood there speechless, staring into his eyes. Still elated over
the exchange of 'I love you' just hours earlier, she wasn't sure
her tiny frame could handle all her happiness without
exploding.

Removing his hands from her face, he plucked
the ring from her hands and got on bended knee.
“Megan...uh...what's your middle name?” He asked sheepishly.

“Marie,” Megan squeaked, not having found
her voice yet.

“Megan Marie Miller, will you marry me?” He
asked, smiling.

“Yes!!” She clasped him by
the elbows, pulling him to her mouth where she sealed the deal with
a joyful kiss. After receiving her answer both verbally and
physically, he slid his grandmother's ring onto her left ring
finger. The symbol of his intentions glided effortlessly up the
slender digit. It fit perfectly. Another sign they were destined to
be together.

The ER waiting room noise
neared eardrum bursting decibels, but Megan hardly noticed. She was
up on Cloud 10, high above the clamor, reliving the events of the
past day. Over and over like a movie, they played in her mind’s
eye. The melodic repetition of the words 'I love you' and 'Will you
marry me?' providing the perfect theme song. The sea of faces
blurred before her as she concentrated most of her attention upon
her ring finger, except for one.

“Busy night,” Josie sighed as she approached
the front desk.

“Yes,” Megan murmured wearily, trying to
hide her exuberance. She knew she had received a justly deserved
lecture for keeping her friend in the dark about Dorian, but she
hoped to put it off at least until the end of her shift. For once
she was grateful for the multitude of patients keeping both her and
Josie swamped.

Walking out the double sliding glass doors
of the hospital, Megan half smiled, thinking she had escaped a
lecture. She desperately wanted to share her good news with her
dearest friend, but considering how much she had wept when Josie
and she discussed him last time, she wasn't sure how to breach the
subject or how Josie might react.

“What is on your finger you have been trying
to hide from me all night?” Josie asked, exiting the hospital right
behind Megan.

“This.” Megan said coyly, holding out her
left hand.

“Is that...” Josie
stammered. “Are you engaged?” Megan nodded her head. “Who,
when?”

“What to grab a cup of
coffee?” Megan asked hopefully, expecting her to be less likely to
yell in public.

“Sure,” Josie huffed.

The two ladies walked the two blocks to the
coffee shop in silence. Sitting at the same table where he had been
discussed before, Megan uttered barely above a whisper. “Dorian,
last night.”