A day to remember

When Rebecca opened her eyes and saw that Anthony had yet to take a bite, and was instead looking at her, she looked at him with a confused stare and asked, "Why aren't you eating?". Anthony was a bit startled from getting caught and didn't want Rebecca to get suspicious. So, he quickly laughed it off and said, "I guess I liked the way it looked too much, that I forgot to actually start eating it. But judging from your reaction, I shouldn't wait much longer." Rebecca grinned widely and said, "Indeed you shouldn't. You don't know what you are missing out on!"

While stealing glances at Rebecca and her plate, Anthony proceeded to attempt taking a bite from the food that was in front of him. Despite eating it while being half distracted, his attention was immediately drawn to his plate the moment the taste registered in his brain. He couldn't understand how something so simple, held so much flavour. In that moment he felt like he could eat this pastry every day, but then he was called into action from Rebecca saying, "Is that a ring?", in a confused tone, as she was peering through the cream and strawberry pile of deliciousness.

This sentence was his que. It was time for him to execute his part of the plan. He wiped the corners of his mouth with the napkin that was in front of him, before he laid it down on his lap and began to explain what Rebecca had found. He started by replying, "Yeah, it is.", before he grabbed one of Rebecca's hands. This of course caused the unsuspecting Rebecca to widen her eyes and look at Anthony with a look of disbelief in her eyes. Once her shock-filled attention was on him, Anthony began the impromptu speech he had put together in his mind.

He said, "Rebecca, I know this might be sudden, and I don't know if you have noticed how I feel but being together with you today felt different. You felt different. It somehow seemed like you had not only noticed how I felt, but you were giving me hints that you had feelings for me back. So, I felt like today might be the day for me to shoot my shot." Rebecca's eyes were attempting to grow wider to express the level of shock she was feeling from hearing Anthony's words, but there was no more room for them to widen, while her heart was doing its best to contain itself in order to not burst. Almost in a trance she listened to the moment she had unconsciously been waiting for, hoping for, but didn't expect.

"As you know, we have been friends for about two years now, and I think we have been wonderful friends to one another. But it always felt like there was more for us in the cards and from day one I have wanted to be more. I knew that you had some bad experiences with men, so I didn't want to scare you away by bringing my feelings up back then. However, ever since then, it has always been in the back of my mind. I was constantly wondering, contemplating, what I should do, if you felt the same, or if I would only be risking the chance of having any type of relationship with you at all. But after about four months, I realized that if I didn't at least try, I wouldn't be able to let this go. I knew that we could have something great, and all great things require some sort of risk or sacrifice."

Rebecca had calmed down a bit from her earlier state of shock and was by now simply feeling touched by all that Anthony was saying. She couldn't believe how long he had been feeling this way about her and how much he had considered her feelings in all of this. If she hadn't been such a scaredy cat, he might have done this sooner, but there is no use questioning fate. Apparently, this was their intended time and all she needed to do now was take it all in, before she would accept him with open arms. Or at least as open as she could get them in her current state. Which was a level of openness that had yet to be determined.

"I planned on making the day I confess, a day to remember. I wanted to make you feel special and not too caught off guard. But I realized that the more I wait for the perfect day, the perfect time, the higher the chance that I might miss my chance with you altogether. So, in case that moment might come at an unexpected time, I have been walking around with a ring to propose to you for close to a year now." At this moment Rebecca's mind froze once more, as she had forgotten about the ring with all that had been said. But now that it was brought up again and combined with the word 'propose'!? She had not quite expected that twist but could only continue to listen at this point.