She made a face and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You should take her somewhere special today,” Amber said. “You know, she’s never been to Lookout Point.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Are you trying to tell us something?”
Amber shook her head. “I just meant no one ever took her up there to fool around. Even if you only kiss and hold hands, it will still be something she’ll remember fondly.”
“I’m right here,” Hadley said. “I’m going blind, not deaf.”
I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Would you like to go to Lookout Point with me? I promise to mind my manners.”
“Isn’t it getting kind of cool out for that?”
“There’s a blanket in my truck.”
She swung a narrow-eyed glare my way, and I held up a hand.
“It’s not what you think! I stuck in there the other day thinking I’d take you on a picnic if the weather didn’t get too cool or rainy.”
“Are you sure you’re not seeing someone else?”
It took me a minute to realize she was kidding. I tickled her, kissed her neck, and then wrapped my arms around her. She was the most precious thing in my life, and I couldn’t imagine spending a day without her by my side. We hadn’t talked more about the future, but I knew we would be soon. Maybe even today. Lookout Point was a great place to ask her the most important question I’d ever asked anyone in my life.
After lunch, the rest of the day flew by. Hadley was waiting at her locker when I walked up. Taking her bag from her, I walked her out to my truck and helped her inside. Once I’d stashed our bags in the backseat and climbed behind the wheel, I headed for Lookout Point and tried to still my racing heart. This wasn’t going to be just another day; this was going to be the day that decided whether or not Hadley was part of my future.
The Point was an isolated area off the Cumberland River, and the main make-out area for our small community. The fact Hadley had never been there thrilled me. It was something we should share, even though I’d been there with other girls. Now I wished I hadn’t. If I’d have known that one day Hadley would be mine, I never would have dated all those girls—especially Alicia.
I parked the truck, grabbed the blanket out of the backseat, and then spread it in the bed. I put my hands on Hadley’s waist and lifted her into the back then followed her in. As I laid down, I pulled her against my side and cuddled her close. Dappled sunshine filtered through the trees overhead as a cool breeze blew over us. Hadley shivered next to me, and I flipped the edge of the blanket over her.
“Thank you for bringing me out here,” she said.
“Hadley, where do you see us a few years from now?”
She snuggled closer and played with the front of my shirt. “I don’t know. I’m struggling with school because it’s so hard to read the words or notes on the page that I doubt I’ll go to college. Without a college degree, it isn’t like I’ll ever have a great job. I mean, if I could do something creative that would be different, but my only talent is playing the flute.”
“But you see us together, right?”
“I’d like to think we’ll still be together. But what if you get tired of me, Tyler? I’m not the same girl you started dating. Eventually, it’s going to get tiresome that I don’t see things very well. The doctor said there’s a chance my eyes will continue to worsen until I can’t see at all. Apparently, I ingested a lot of the poison.”
“Baby, you know I don’t care about any of that. I still see the same vibrant, sweet girl that kissed me in the hall that morning. When I look into our future, I see you going with me to college and us renting a small apartment, and then when I graduate, I see you planning our wedding.”
She giggled. “A wedding?”
Digging in my pocket, I pulled out the small jewelry box and clutched it in my fist. “Hadley, there’s something I need to ask you.”
I looked into her eyes and brought the box up for her inspection. When I popped the lid open, her eyes widened in surprise and her jaw dropped. She looked from the white gold ring to me and back again.
“Tyler … what? I… Are you for real?”
“Hadley, I told you I loved you, and I meant it then just as much as I do now. Would you consider wearing this ring until we’ve known each other well enough for me to exchange it for an engagement ring?”
Tears gathered in her eyes and slipped down her cheeks. “A promise ring?”
“Yeah, Hads. It’s a promise ring. Because I promise to always love you, and one day I want us to join our lives together, at some point in the future after college and jobs. I know a lot could happen between now and then, but I want you to know how much you mean to me.”