"I want to talk to you about something," Jasper whispered in my ear, nuzzling his head into my neck. We fit together, I noticed then, in a way I'd never realized before in all the dozens of times we'd lay like this. He had me pulled up against his chest, and I could feel his heartbeat slowly pumping against my back, his warm skin touching me from head to toe. Our feet tangled together at the foot of the bed, and his arms had me pulled tight against him, so tight I could feel every inch of the front of his body pulled to the back of mine.

We lay like this a lot after sex; actually, we lay like this most nights, if I'm being honest: we liked to feel each other in our entirety, loved the feeling of being so intertwined it was hard to tell where one of us ended and the other began.

"What do you want to talk to me about," I mumbled, dead tired and more than ready to slip off to dreamland, sedated, comfortable and happy that I'd soon wake up to that same face, knowing we were so set in our relationship I was positive we'd wake up together like this for pretty much the rest of our lives. Jasper did go on trips a lot for his job, but he knew my wake-up schedule by heart; most of the time I'd wake up to a Facetime phone call so I got to see his face anyway, even if it was only for a few minutes before work. He was cute like that. It always made me feel special; he was a rare find. Funny, sensitive when needed, hot as all hell, sweet and kind and gentle. He knew where to touch me, on my body and in my heart. We knew each other. If I'd believed in soulmates, I would say I definitely found mine.

We met my last year of college when I was having some problems and the school counselor thought it would be a good idea for me to see a psychologist. Two years out of college, he had a steady job at a big office with two other major psychologists. The minute I walked into Jasper's office he took one look at me and immediately called a colleague over to take me on and two seconds later asked me on a date. We'd been together ever since.

After I'd asked the question I could feel his chest expand against my back as he took a deep breath and I was suddenly very awake, knowing this would be something serious: he never took deep breaths like that unless he was about to tell me something I probably didn't want to hear. I knew this for a fact, as I'd seen him do it only a few select times over the many years we'd been together. He did it the day he got back from the vet, telling me there was nothing they could do for my sick, beloved cat and I had no choice but to put her down; the day he got the phone call saying my best friend died in the hospital; the day I'd spilled water all over my computer and he came back from the store saying they couldn't fix it and I'd lost all my pictures and half of the book I was writing.

So you can understand if I was a bit skeptical about what he was about to say.

"I want to talk about having kids," Jasper whispered quietly, rubbing his chin along my shoulder. I sprung up in the bed as the statement processed through my brain, looking at him like he was crazy. "You want to talk about what?"

He sighed and sat up too. "I want to talk about us having kids, baby."

"You know my views on this matter! I don't want kids, I've never wanted kids! That's it! End of story. Now," I said, settling back down in bed a little farther away from him than before. "I'm gonna snuggle down and try to go to sleep. You can join me if you want. But I am not having this discussion."

"Come on, hon, let's at least talk about it." He kneaded the comforter with his hands and I recognized this nervous habit: it means he knew what my reaction would be, but he wanted to plow ahead anyway, despite the reactions, ones he knew I'd have by heart most of the time. I sighed.

I'd never wanted kids. I mean, I guess at some point, around the time I knew I would be able to have kids (when I was like five or six years old), I wanted at least one, as every little girl does. But as I grew up, I learned how easy it was to screw up a kid for life.

My childhood was not a happy one. I grew up without a father and a mostly absent mother so I had to learn to raise myself. I guess that could make for me being a good mother, knowing exactly how bad a kid could turn out when left to their own devices most of the time.

But I was afraid. I'll admit it. I was scared shitless that I could be majorly responsible if I did even one little thing that would mess up a kid forever. Because that's all it took, honestly. One little thing. A child was a fragile entity. They were impressionable. A parent could make one little comment that could resound in a child's mind for years, causing irreparable damage. I knew this. I'd seen it before in my own life.

He knew this. I let him know from the get-go I wasn't a mother, that I couldn't bring myself to become responsible for shaping another person's mind, life and future. I told him flat out I never wanted kids.

Yet he goes and asks anyway? I mean, I guess, from his point of view, I could've changed my mind since we hadn't really ever talked about it, not since our fourth or fifth date. So I suppose Jasper asking was something I should've seen coming since he said he did want kids on that same date, but he had also said that he was willing to compromise with me.

Time to talk, I suppose.

"Okay," I sighed, sitting up again. "Lay it on me. Why bring this up now?"

"I'm sorry," he said. "I know we were comfortable and warm a few seconds ago but this has been bugging me for months and I just now got up the courage to ask. It must be the feeling of being inside of you," he smirked, running his fingers up my thigh.

I laughed and grabbed his hand, pressing a kiss to his palm. "Nope, not gonna distract me like that! Tell me. Talk to me. Make me understand."

He took another deep breath. Uh-oh. "Remember a few months ago when we were at your friends baby shower?"

I nodded my head. My friend Nicole recently had a baby, a beautiful little girl I couldn't get enough of. "Yeah, I remember."

"It was when I saw her," he sighed. "I saw her and you together. Her with a big, round belly, a baby growing inside, that it got me to thinking. I imagined you like that, a baby, a little you and me, growing inside of you. I want that. I want to watch as you grow bigger and bigger, a little half-you half-me also growing bigger and bigger inside of you. I want to watch as you give birth to it, watch you hold him or her, holding him or her myself, watching him grow and grow. Marking his height on the door every birthday, see him get taller and taller. Drive her to her first dance or first date, threatening any boy who gets too close. I want that. I really do."

"You do know I would rather get married than have a kid, right? And you know how I feel about that, too."

"I'm actually glad you said that," he smirked, reaching into the nightstand on his side of the bed. I didn't know what he was doing, but I was glad the conversation had stopped. He was close to convincing me but I had to remain strong with my opinion.

His nightstand was mostly empty, full of a few little things: some condoms, books he had yet to read. He kept an emergency flask in there, room-temperature vodka he and I took swigs from every so often if we had a particularly stressful day or we wanted to get a little buzzed before commencing in some illicit activities or we wanted to try a new position neither of us really knew how to do. It took the edge off.

Jasper pulled out a little black velvet box and my heart started beating a mile a minute. I said his name in a whisper as he turned back to me and slowly opened it, keeping what was inside hidden and doing his best to kneel on the bed. "I know this is a weird time to be doing this but I can't wait any longer. I've had this ring for years. I love you, baby. I love you more than I've ever loved anything in my life. I want to be with you forever. I know how you feel about this, how you think marriage is meaningless and if you really love someone you should just be with them forever, that marriage is just a piece of paper you don't need in order to be happy with someone else. But please. I love you. I want to be with you forever. And I want everyone to know you're mine. I won't share you. I want to put a ring on your finger, this one and then another on our wedding day, however far in the future that might be. I want the symbol of our love and commitment to each other to shine and sparkle in the daylight. I want everyone to know you're taken, forever and for always. So please. Marry me."

He presented the box to me hesitantly, as if he was scared of my reaction. I took a deep breath before looking at the ring.

I gasped.

It was perfect.

He knew me all too well. He knew if I'd ever wanted to get married I wouldn't want a big diamond. The ring was simple, like me, but it was possibly the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. A big stone set in the center with four other tiny ones, two on both side, sparkling in the moonlight, a simple band running around the rest.

He slid the ring out of the box and held it up to me. "Be mine," he whispered. "Forever."

Another deep breath. Could I do this? I knew I loved him. I loved him more than anything. And more than anything I wanted to wake up to him every day for the rest of my life, go to sleep with him every night, spend each and every day curled up in his arms, talking about how our days went. I wanted to kiss him and hug him and do everything I could to make him happy.

"Is this really important to you?" I whispered.

He nodded his head. "I want you. Forever."

I took a breath and smiled. "Then yes. Yes, I'll marry you."

His eyes bugged out of his head, his mouth dropping open in surprise. He grabbed my left hand and pressed the ring against my ring finger, looking me in the eye. "You're sure?"

"More sure than anything else in my life. Our life."

He put his hand on my neck and pulled me in for a kiss, kissing me harder than he ever had before, passionately marking his territory with a bite on the neck; I could feel the bruise coming. "Mine," Jasper growled.

"Yours," I breathed.

We both watched as he slowly slid the ring onto my finger, fitting more perfectly than I ever imagined. Like it was meant to be there.

"I love you, baby," I said, staring at the new addition. I could get used to this.

He smiled and kissed me again, this time lightly. "I love you too, sweetheart. You have no idea how happy this makes me."

I took my eyes off the ring for a few seconds to look at him. "You have no idea how happy this makes me."

He smiled as he grabbed me and threw me down on the bed, taking me in ways he'd never taken me before. I screamed his name and it rang through the entire apartment, probably waking the neighbors, but you know what? I didn't give a fuck.

And after, lying with each other in much the same way as we started out with that night, I chuckled. I turned over in his arms to look at him, my fiancé, and leaned our foreheads together. I really did love Jasper. God, did I love him. And I was ready to spend the rest of my life with him.

"What's so funny?" he asked, smiling.

"This will be a fun story to tell of how you proposed."

He started laughing. "Hey, at least I'm original."

I passed a hand over the stubble on his cheek. "That you are."

He bit his lip. "I know this is probably too soon, seeming as how we just got engaged half an hour ago, but…how long do you think we should wait to get married?"

I thought about it. How long should we wait? As soon as the question entered my mind I knew the answer.

"Grab your wallet," I said, slipping out of his arms to grab my phone. He looked confused, but did as I asked. "You don't want a big wedding, right?"

He shook his head as he handed over his wallet. "No, whatever you want will be perfect."

I nodded and dialed American Airlines. I gave them all the information. Waiting for a while as they processed it, I stroked my hands through my new fiancé's hair as he lay down beside me, watching my every move. "Thank you," I said into the receiver, hanging up the phone.

"Up," I told him, getting up myself. "We have to pack. We leave in the morning."

He grabbed my arm. "Did you really just book us a flight to Vegas?"

I smiled. "Your damn right I did. If you want a bigger wedding later, that's fine. But," I pulled him close, breathing in his scent and looking into his eyes. "I can't wait another minute. I want to put a ring on your finger."

Jasper smiled a huge smile. "I love you."

I bit his neck quickly but firmly and he gasped as I watched the blood flow to the surface, creating a bruise. "Mine," I growled.

"Yours," he breathed.