Sleeping Arrangements

[Louise_2983]

Chapter 22

She took the box from the pocket of the coat nestled right at the back of her wardrobe, snapping the top open to peek inside at the thin platinum band . Her tummy fluttered as she gazed at it and smiled. Everything was falling into place. She had the ring, she’d decided what to say and everything was set for her to propose to Aden after the big game he was playing in Saturday night. It was the quarter finals of the championship and the atmosphere was bound to be amazing, she couldn’t wait. All she needed now was for him to say yes.

“Belle” he sighed as he barged into the room without warning and she snapped the lid back into place, shoving the box hastily into her pocket.

“Are you ever going to move into my room properly?” he questioned her glancing around the room and surveying just how much of her stuff was still in there.

“Our room” she corrected him with a tiny pout.

“I sleep there every night don’t I? I have clothes and stuff up there too?”

“Yeah” he nodded unable to deny what she was saying.

“But a lot of your stuff is still in here and you have to come down here to get dressed at least three or four times a week. It just doesn’t make sense!”

“Just think of this like my walk in wardrobe” She grinned cheekily pulling her black boots from the long line of shoes at the bottom of the closet and slotting her feet into them.

“Belle” he sighed again and instantly she went to him, slipping her arms loosely around his waist and pressing a kiss to the crook of his neck.

“Aden, trust me” she told him lifting her head to look at him.

“Me still having stuff down here does not mean I’m not committed to this…to us…ok? I’m not having doubts, I haven’t got one foot out of the door already and I’m definitely not scared anymore”

“You’re not?” he asked letting a small smile play on his plump lips as she felt his heart quicken a little just below where her head rested.

“No” she shook her head with a grin as he wrapped his arms tightly around her and held her close.

“And you should know that…I love you Aden”

“I do know that” he sighed feeling slightly stupid by his lapse into insecurity.

“I just don’t ever want to lose you again Belle…to another guy or to a job in another country…”

“Not going to happen babe” she murmured comfortingly knowing that he had lost so many people he had loved in life and that his occasional doubts were all a part of that.

“I love you” she told him again thinking he needed to hear it as she rubbed her fingertips over his back in a soothing circular motion.

“I love you too” he smiled softly against the top of her head.

“I know” she grinned looking up at him.

“I know that. I know that this is it for me…for both of us. This is for keeps”

“You got that right” his smile got wider but he felt a little daft for doubting her.

“Sorry I’m an idiot”

“That’s ok, at least you’re my idiot” she grinned cheekily before slapping him playfully on the behind.

“Now if your five minutes of doubt are over make yourself useful and find my red scarf in that pile over there!”

Without questioning her he headed across to the far corner of the room and began to rifle through the pile of clothing to locate her tiny silk scarf. Her gaze followed wandered appreciatively over his

toned body with a huge smile on her face, down from his broad shoulders to his strong back and pert behind until her eyes lowered and she noticed that he was limping slightly. Her smile instantly

dissolved but she tried to convince herself that she was imagining it, rubbing her eyes as she teased him.

“You’re so whipped!” she announced her grin returning as he located the desired red scarf from the pile and turned back towards her, waving it in the air triumphantly.

He hobbled towards her and this time she couldn’t deny that his knee was troubling him, it was too obvious as his walking was hindered by it.

“Maybe I like it that way” he grinned as he gently wrapped the scarf around her neck and tugged her to him by the very tip of the smooth material, kissing her tenderly.

A soft moan slipped over her lips into the kiss as she pushed it harder, pressing her body close to his. She ran her hands hungrily over him but couldn’t completely distract herself for the anxiety nagging

away at her inside until eventually she broke away and lowered a hand to gently stroke his knee.

“How did you know?” he asked wincing a little from even the tiny amount of pressure she was applying to the aching joint.

“We’re just really in sync” she grinned pressing a kiss to his shoulder as she continued to rub his knee.

“That and you’re limping”

“It’s really not that bad” he tried to reassure her even though it had been playing up since the last match he played in a few days ago.

“Just a little discomfort”

“A little?” she raised her eyebrows doubtfully and he felt awful for lying to her.

“Yes” he replied as she knelt down to press a kiss to his knee which she could see was swollen and red from the inflammation.

He grimaced, gasping as her lips brushed against the sensitive skin and pain shot through him.

“Aden” she sighed deeply, taking his hands and using them to push against to lever herself back up so she could look him in the eye.

“You need to tell someone...a doctor...Joey at least...please”

“I’ll be fine” he tried to shrug her off but her big, pleading brown eyes were killing him as he witnessed the worry radiating from him.

“You don’t know that and you’ve got a big game on Saturday, you need to be fit not hobbling around the pitch”

“Exactly” he told her quietly, almost regretfully.

“There are three games of the season left Belle. If I can just push on through the pain a little longer then I’m hopefully going to be on a championship winning team. If I tell them I won’t even be playing

in the games, I’ll be watching from the bench”

“Well if that’s where you need to be to stop any permanent damage” she whispered hesitantly knowing that wasn’t what he needed to hear but caring too much not to say it.

“Belle!” he almost scolded her then sighed regretfully.

“This is my chance to finally make something of myself”

“You already have” she told him wrapping her arms around him tightly and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“But I understand why you want to play and that you’re so stubborn you’ll play no matter what I say. Just promise me that in three games time, when the championship is over, you’ll see a doctor?”

“I promise” he whispered feeling a few warm tears flowing down her soft cheeks and on to his shoulder and hating that he was causing her pain.

“Ok” she nodded, lifting her head with a weak smile and wiping her tears away.

“There are some extra strong painkillers in the side of my camera bag. It’s on the coffee table in the lounge, go and take some” she ordered kissing him once more before tying the scarf properly and

hunting around in the wardrobe for a jacket that went with her outfit.

He wandered out of the room and down to the lounge, spotting her large, black canvas bag on the glass table and heading over to it. He unzipped the side pocket and slid his hand in to grasp for the

tablets. He felt the plastic packet beneath his fingertips and pulled it out, dislodging a glossy, travel sized magazine slotted neatly inside the pocket.

Pulling the magazine out too he gasped audibly when the subject matter registered with him. A pretty blonde in her mid twenties stared back at him from the cover, a mass of blonde curls flowing around

her smiling face down to the designer wedding dress clothing her petite figure as the jewels in the tiara adorning her head sparkled softly in the gentle lighting of the photo. He flicked idly through the

pages of the magazine unable to believe it was in Belle’s possession. Did this mean she was ready? Or was it just research for a shoot or something? His heart pounded as he spotted that she had

turned the corner down on a page about proposals. He hadn’t picked up on her making any hints that she wanted him to propose or how but then he could be pretty clueless sometimes.

“Are we still on for lunch today?” Belle asked as she came downstairs and he quickly shoved the magazine back into her bag.

“Yeah” he smiled as she picked up the bag and slung it over her shoulder.

“Great, I’ll be home around 1” she told him, standing on her tiptoes to press a quick kiss to his lips.

“Got a shoot this morning?”

“That would be what I get paid for” she laughed already heading out of the door.

“Is that the wedding one?” he asked slyly and his heart quickened as she looked confused.

“Wedding? Aden it’s for an article about a couple who’ve got 10 children” she told him not having a clue what he was going on about.

“10 children?” he grinned cheekily eager to stop her pressing him about his question as he realised the magazine must be for personal matters rather than work.

“They’ve been busy”

“Ha ha” she smiled turning to leave again.

“Don’t get any ideas! See you later babe”

“Bye” he called after her but she was already gone, leaving him with a huge smile on his face and feeling excited as he rushed to do everything he needed to do, the pain his knee was causing him

suddenly forgotten.

***

“What are you doing here?” Jenny asked as she got back to her desk after a morning on location and found Belle fiddling about with her computer.

“Erm...I work here!” Belle laughed at the stupid question.

“I know” the blonde laughed sitting down and starting her own computer up.

“But I thought you were having lunch with that drop dead gorgeous boyfriend of yours today?”

“I am” Belle grinned just at the mention of Aden.

“I just wanted to get this mornings photos onto the computer first”

“Well if you’re busy I could always go and fill in for you” Jenny smirked cheekily and Belle chuckled.

“Thank you for the very kind and selfless offer” she retorted sarcastically.

“But where Aden is concerned, I’m never busy”

“Damn” Jenny giggled.

“But I can’t say I blame you. You’re so lucky!”

“I know” Belle grinned as the box alerting her to new mail popped up and her heart quickened when she saw that Aden was the sender.

She quickly clicked to go to her inbox and opened the email eager to see what he had to say only to stop in her tracks, her brow furrowing, as she realised there were only two words in the email. All it

said was “Belle Taylor”.

She clicked refresh a few times to see if there was a technical hitch and the rest would somehow appear but each time she pressed the button she was greeted with the same text before her once more.

She waited a few minutes to see if he’d hit send accidentally and another email would follow but nothing did. She checked her watch wondering if he was cancelling lunch but when nothing more had

come through after another five minutes she switched off her computer and headed out to her car, throwing her bag onto the passenger seat and setting off in the direction of home.

She had only just left the car park and sped up on the open road when her phone bleeped loudly alerting her to the fact that she had a text message. Normally she would have left it until she was parked

up, preferring to be safe than sorry, but the thought that it might be Aden tempted her too much and she reached across for her phone, leaving one hand on the wheel.

Aden’s name was displayed on the screen and relief washed through her thinking she’d finally find out what he wanted but when she opened the message all it said was I.

“Aden!” she sighed in frustration at his apparent inability to send a complete message but then instantly felt guilty and worried as she dropped the phone back on to the passenger seat.

What if he had had an accident and was injured? What if he was messaging her for help? She worried as she drove but realised after a few minutes that the chances of him having an accident in easy

reach of a computer and his mobile were very slim and she felt a little silly. But she still put her foot down for the rest of the way home risking a speeding ticket but needing to know that he was ok.

She parked up outside the house and scooped up her bag and phone before rushing down the driveway noticing that something rectangular was pinned to the front door. As she got closer she realised

that it was a postcard and a smile began to creep over her face as familiarity flooded through her. It wasn’t just any post card, it was one of the ones Aden used to send her when she had been in

London. He’d sent her one every week, just a postcard of Perth with a little note on, random observations from his day to day life, nothing important. But they’d been important to her. She still had them

tied together with a black velvet ribbon in a shoebox at the bottom of her wardrobe.

Smiling she unpinned the postcard bearing images of Perth by night and turned it over to find Aden’s familiar scrawl on the back.

“Love you”

Her smile got wider at the words as she pushed the door open, still not quite piecing things together and wondering what was going on as she was greeted by a trail of photographs leading down the hall

and to the entrance to the lounge.

She followed them slowly, picking each one up and gazing at them. They appeared to be documenting their relationship, starting with the first ever photo Belle had taken of Aden, then the one he had

taken of her when he had taken her camera from her on the beach, then the first photo ever taken of them as a couple and on through their relationship until she was stood outside the lounge door and

the last photo she picked up off the plush carpet saw them smiling happily at Matilda and Ric’s wedding just a few weeks before she’d left for London. Aden’s arm was wrapped tightly around her and she

was snuggled under it, as close to him as she could get as they gazed at each other rather than the camera.

Her heart throbbed against her chest as she remembered how happy she had been that day. Her best friends had just got married and she had been completely in love with Aden. She didn’t know how

she’d ever managed to leave him less than a month later without it crushing her.

She wiped away a tear that was trailing down her cheek and lifted her head only to find one final photo tacked to the closed door. This one was from her leaving party. She was talking to Annie and

Matilda, laughing with them as she opened their presents. She had the thick woollen pj’s from Annie in her hand, they were very practical for London but also very ugly and she hadn’t been able to help

laughing when she’d opened them.

Aden was in the background of the photo watching them and as the expression on his face registered with her she felt her heart quicken and her breath hitch. In his eyes she could see just how much he

loved her and knowing that he had let her go even though he’d felt that way made her love him even more.

She pulled off the post it note she had only just seen attached to the door to and read the words aloud, starting to get suspicious and wondering if this could really be what she was beginning to think it

was.

“Will you...” it stated simply and eager to find the end of the question she slid open the door and rushed through into the lounge.

Only to find it empty.

She glanced around the room desperate to find anything that looked slightly different from how it had this morning but everything looked exactly the same. There was still an empty coffee mug on the

floor next to the sofa and Aden’s laptop was still open on the table.

It was as she looked more closely at his laptop however that she realised something was different.

She walked over to it slowly, smiling as she reached it and picked up the necklace that was placed on top of it. It glistened in the sunlight which was streaming through the windows, creating pretty

patterns on the white walls as the sun reflected off of it. It was the necklace Aden had given her all those years ago, the one he’d got back for her after she’d made the mistake of using it as collateral

and the same one she’d given back to him when they broke up and she moved to London.

Grinning she undid the fastening and looped the chain around her neck, doing it up and running her fingertips over the large pendant happily looking up only to check how it looked in her reflection in

the black screen of the monitor only to find she had knocked it out of sleep mode when she had picked the necklace up off the keyboard.

She gasped loudly at the sight that greeted her. The webcam screen was on and Aden’s face stared back at her, smiling that gorgeous smile that always made her tummy flutter and her heart melt, as

he held a single red rose in his hands.

“Marry me?” he finished the question she had almost forgotten about in his low, husky tones just as she realised the webcam was actually positioned in the corner of the room, balanced on a curtain rail

and he was stood directly behind her.

She twisted her body around to face him, tears welling up in her eyes as everything suddenly registered with her and all the messages slotted together in her head.

“No!” She exclaimed slightly horrified and instantly his happy face fell.

“No?” he gulped feeling stupid. He should never have assumed she was ready for this. He should have waited like he’d planned to.

“No!” She repeated again, now horrified by the look on his face.

“I mean yes!...I mean I was supposed to ask you!”

“What?!”

“I was going to ask you!” she exclaimed again, pulling the ring box from her pocket and snapping it open so he could see.

“No way!” he exclaimed this time, amazed at her revelation but very pleased by it too. If she had been planning to ask him then he knew she was definitely ready.

“Is that your answer?” she teased playfully walking towards him until she was stood directly before him.

“Hey!” he chuckled.

“I asked first! And my proposal was way more romantic than yours!”

“How about we answer together?” she asked with a grin and saw him contemplate it before he nodded.

“Ok”

“Count of 3?” she asked with a smile and he nodded again and started counting.

“One” he spoke aloud as he handed her the rose and then took her free hand in his kissing it gently.

She grinned overwhelmed by love and happiness as she bowed her head to smell the sweet fragrance of the rose and squeezed his hand gently as she did so.

“Two” he continued nudging her cheek with his nose and smiling happily as she turned to face him.

“Yes!” she announced quickly pressing her lips forward and kissing him tenderly before he could finish counting to three.

“Well you did ask first!” she grinned kissing him again, this time more passionately and she felt his plump lips curve into a beaming smile against her own.

“I love you” he told her as they broke apart for air and he reached into his pocket to pull out the ring box he had placed there.

“And I’m going to spend the rest of my life making you happy” he told her snapping it open to show her the beautiful antique ring nestled inside with a platinum band and four round beaded diamonds set

in the centre.

“Aden” she sighed as she gazed at it.

“If you don’t like it then we can get another one” he told her quietly.

“But it was my Mum’s and I’d really like it if you wore it”

“Aden” she sighed again trying not to cry and only just succeeding.

“I love it, it’s beautiful...I love it even more because of what it means to you and because you want me to wear it” she smiled holding out her hand so he could slide the ring onto her ring finger.

They both gazed down at it happily until she took his face tenderly between her hands and kissed him until they both felt dizzy with lust and love and happiness.

“I love you too” she told him reaching for the ring she had bought and placing the thin platinum band on his finger before he drew her closer to him and kissed her once more.

She kissed him back passionately, her hands wandering through his hair, the rose dropping unnoticed to the floor until they broke apart gasping for breath but still clinging on to each other and smiling

ecstatically.

She pressed a string of small, soft kisses against his lips and grinned, pressing herself up against him.

“Do you want to go out for lunch to celebrate?” she asked with a smile.

“And then we can call everyone and tell them”

“Actually” he grinned without completing his sentence and simply led her upstairs to the bedroom which was illuminated by the soft, flickering flames of the hundreds of tiny tea lights scattered across

the room. The other eleven red roses he had purchased were displayed in a beautiful vase by the bed which was covered in silver rose petals and soft music played quietly in the background.

“Aden!” she gasped happily before giggling.

“How very presumptuous of you!”

“Maybe” he chuckled wrapping his arms around her waist and shuffling them backwards towards the bed.

“But I love you and you love me. So I couldn’t think of any reason for you not to say yes”

“Neither could I” she grinned flopping down onto the bed and pulling him with her by his shirt.

“I love you husband to be”

“Say that again” he told her as he kissed her neck softly.

She groaned quietly before whispering the words into his ear once more as his hands wandered over her body and they got lost in each other’s kiss.

[matticus01]

:D that was just

perfect... everything, just perfect, I loved Aden's proposal

just

update soon

[bradyell]

WOW! WOW! WOW!

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! they are getting married!!

That could not have been any more perfect! I'm in tears here!!

Just LOVED it Louise! really really really really LOVED it!

Can't wait for more!

[littlemiss]

! awwwwwww. That was sooo cute! And for some reason i didn't really click to start with what was happening

Quite curious how Belle was going to propose now though.

Thanks for the awesome update Louise

[LAURZY!]

YAY!!!! LOVED IT *wipes away tear*

That was just so...... Eeeeek!!!! Brilliant, the proposal and her reaction and the fluff at the beginning and everything was perfect

Amazing update, cant wait for more Eeeeek!!! hahaha

[xknomex]

OMG that was so romantic.... :wub:

eeeeeeek i'm so excited. can't wait till the wedding now hehehehe

the proposal was just AMAZING...the reactions were just so

LOVED IT

eeeek

[gillyh]

Yay, they're engaged.

I can't wait till Belle tell's Matilda and especailly her workmate Jenny, as she has a huge crush on Aden.

[Louise_2983]

Yay, they're engaged.

I can't wait till Belle tell's Matilda and especailly her workmate Jenny, as she has a huge crush on Aden.

I know, I write it

[hitmanfan]

Oh Louise Loved it, that Proposal.... what can I say just brilliant!

[amz89]

that was so beautiful, best propasal ever. Aww so romantic, loved it can't wait for more.