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BLADE
Waking up in an empty,quiet fraternity house was quite refreshing. There were no guys violently heaving into the toilet, no hungover girls tiptoeing downstairs, and not even Aiden snoring away in the bed across from me. That would be one thing I wouldn’t miss over the winter break. Aside from growing apart from Aiden, the guy was the absolute worst roommate. I was constantly tripping over his underwear on the floor, and he never brought his dirty dishes downstairs.
Every other guy in the house had woken up early and headed back home for winter break, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I found myself wandering from room to room, wondering what my future house with Isabella would be like. I pictured us living in a gated community outside of Los Angeles, where we’d raise a large family and travel across the country for my career. As a marketing major, Isabella could probably work remotely too.
I spent the morning taking care of the garbage and letting our landlord know that it’d be free as of the following day. Little did he or any of the other guys know that I’d never set foot in that house again after tomorrow. After leaving the party and heading upstairsthe night before, I spent most of the evening looking for nearby apartments. Isabella would probably put up a fuss about me covering the bills since they were all pretty expensive, but she deserved a lovely home.
After making sure the house was spotless, I hopped into my car and headed to the mall. Specifically, my favorite jewelry store, which had been the Omicron Alpha’s go-to jeweler for years, dating back to when my great-great-grandfather was a member.
That wasn’t my reason for shopping that afternoon, though.
One of the owners greeted me as I stood over the display of engagement rings, eyeing one of them in particular.
“Mr. Eggleston, what a pleasant surprise to see you again. Are you looking for another watch to add to your collection?”
He and I eyed my platinum watch studded with diamonds, which my parents had surprised me with for my last birthday.
“Nope, I think that’ll do me for a while. I’m actually interested in an engagement ring today.”
He went back behind the glass case, finally realizing what I had my eyes on.
“I see, Mr. Eggleston. With all due respect, I must say this comes as a bit of a surprise.”
Even the jewelry store was aware of my reputation on campus, which, at that moment, didn’t make me feel good. It used to fill me with a sense of pride but now, there was almost a sense of shame. It’s funny how the things we aspired to when we were younger give way to more grown-up things.
I tried to not let his knowledge of my reputation bother me. “What can I say? When you know, you know.”
The owner nodded and pointed to his wedding band. “Tell me about it. So, am I to assume you’re interested in this one?”
I smiled as he pointed to a two-carat infinity engagement ring with a five-digit price tag. “Yes, it definitely is.”
“Oh my,” he said before taking it out of the case. “You must really be in love to spend this amount of money on an engagement ring.”
It was $25,000, the exact amount of Isabella’s tuition for her final semester. Money wasn’t a factor though. There was simply no way I’d ever be able to repay her for the miracle work she’d done for my GPA. To say that she was responsible for me getting to live out my dream of playing pro football would be a massive understatement.
“To say I’m in love would be putting it lightly, sir.”
The jeweler retrieved the stunning ring out of the case and held it in front of me. “Well, whoever she is will be quite lucky.”
I waited for the jeweler to size it for me, which didn’t take much time. A few girls waved at me as they passed the store, all of them looking familiar. When they saw the owner hand me the engagement ring, they all seemed a tad bit disappointed. I think one even rolled her eyes.
I never thought it’d feel good to be off the market, but it did. Aiden was more than welcome to carry on my Bedroom King title under his own damn name. From that moment forward, I only wanted to be with Isabella.
The owner cashed me out, and I went back to my car, where I spent a few minutes staring at the gorgeous ring. It would look even more attractive on Isabella’s left ring finger, followed by a matching wedding band. I wanted to marry her right away but also give her the wedding of her dreams. Maybe we’d whisk off to Hawaii for a beach ceremony or get hitched in Las Vegas.
None of that mattered to me, though. All that mattered was being with Isabella and making sure that she was happy.
I tucked the engagement ring into my jeans pocket, pushing down securely as though it could fall out at any moment. At $25,000, I did the right thing by waiting for the house to empty out before buying it. Simply put, I didn’t trust any of my brothers not to snatch the ring and sell it for cash.
Some of them were downright shady, to say the least.
When I got back to the house, I got a text message from Aiden saying he needed to talk to me right away. I stared at it for a few minutes before putting my cell phone away. Ever the persistent guy, he began to call me, my phone vibrating in my pants. Nothing Aiden could have told me was that important. Knowing him, it was probably to tell me about getting head from some random chick. That was his definition of life and death.
I tucked my cell phone back into my pocket, deciding Aiden was nothing but bad news.
With our bags packed, I figured Isabella and I could spend our last night together, camped out in the living room. I hung fairy lights around the walls and made a tent using sheets and the couch. Candles adorned the end tables, and I queued up a few of her favorite movies.
Deciding that Isabella could easily find the engagement ring in my pants pocket, I put it safely in one of my suitcases. While I waited for her, I began imagining ways in which I could propose to her. I knew that I wanted it to be on New Year’s Eve, but I didn’t know how or where. I also didn’t have much time to figure it out, but knew I wanted it to be magical.
