Any minute now the girl of my dreams will be walking through my door. The girl that will hopefully become my fiancé within the next few minutes; all I can do is sit here while time stands perfectly still. My mind is racing, and my hands are both sweating and shaking. All I can think of is my girlfriend, Jayden. I can perfectly picture her long brown hair flowing beautifully down past her shoulders. If there is such a thing as perfect, it has to be her.
We met three years ago at school. I was a sophomore, and she was a freshmen. From the moment I first looked into her eyes, I knew that we were meant to be. It was love at first sight, at least, for me. Even though I had a huge crush on her, I couldn’t get up enough courage to ask her out until eight short months ago. I remember that she was so happy when I finally asked her. She said she’d been waiting for me to. And now were finally old enough, it was time to ask her another question.

There’s a picture of us sitting on my shelf that I can’t stop staring at. It’s of us together, and her head is on my shoulder where it fits so perfectly. Her soft hair was touching my face, while my own brown hair was just long enough to sit on top of her head while she was laying there. I remember that day like it was yesterday, that was the day when I first kissed her. I took that picture, and then I turned towards her, leaned down, and gave her a tender kiss on her soft lips.

I quickly snap out of the trance I’m in as I hear the soft footsteps of Jayden climbing my stairs. Nervousness is definitely getting the best of me. On the floor where I am staring, there are rose petals in the shape of a heart around two beautiful white, lit candles. “I hope she likes it,” I think to myself. “Or is it too much? Will she think this is all stupid? Does she even love me as much as I think she does?” I can’t help but to worry.

There’s a knock on my bedroom door, and not even a second later the door handle turns. Slowly it opens to reveal Jayden. Time once again stands still while I stare at her. Her lips suddenly part as she shows me that gorgeous smile of hers that I have been thinking about nonstop all day. I try to stand up, but my knees are weak and shaking. Luckily, I got that part over with, and I can finally stand up. She wraps her warm loving arms around me and makes me feel a bit more confident.

I know I shouldn’t be worrying so much, but this is the biggest day in my life. “How can such a perfect girl be in love with me? I’m nothing compared to her. There are over a million guys that are better than me, so why did she pick me to fall in love with?” I start to think.

My hands find hers as we silently sit on the edge of my perfectly made bed. Jayden’s eyes search mine as if they’re questioning me. It reminds me of our first kiss. We were sitting in this exact spot, staring into each others eyes. Not a word was coming out of our mouths, and I was very nervous. But then I leaned forward, and she did too. Our lips met for a few seconds, and then we both pulled away, smiling.

After a second goes by, Jayden asks me, “Is everything okay, Landon? You seem like something’s bothering you.”

I love it when she says my name. Her voice is what makes me feel the way I do every single time I hear it. I can’t find my voice for only a moment before I’m able to speak again. “I need to talk to you,” I smile at her.

“What is it?”

“Jayden, I love you more than anything. Whenever I’m not with you I want to be. And whenever I am with you, I can’t think of anything else. I know we have only been going out for eight months, but ever since I met you I’ve felt something between us. I’m ready to spend my life with you, and I hope that you are, too. We have had our good times and our bad ones. So, if this isn’t meant to be then we wouldn’t still be together,” I tell her as I look deep into her sparkling blue eyes.

She returns the smile, and I can tell she knows exactly what I’m about to do. “I’m not making a mistake, am I?” I think. “No, of course I’m not. Don’t think like that; she does love me. I can’t live without her; I know she’s the one for me. But her parents hate me. What am I going to do about them? What if she doesn’t want to marry me because of them? Will she think I’m crazy because she’s only seventeen? Or is she going to think that we’re going way too fast? I’m never going to know unless I just do it.”

“Jayden,” I whisper softly as I reach for the hidden ring box inside of my pocket. “Will you marry me?” I open the box to reveal the ring I have bought for her over two weeks ago. It isn’t the biggest ring ever, but I’ve been hoping that Jayden would like it. I look up slowly to see her eyes full of tears. They are good tears, though, happy ones. I can tell because she’s reaching out to give me a hug and she says to me, “Of course I will, Landon. You are my everything, too. I love you, and I never want to be without you.”

Jayden stares into my eyes for what seems like an hour, but I don’t mind. It’s a comforting look she’s giving me. For a moment, I don’t even remember I’m still holding the gorgeous diamond engagement ring that will soon be shining brightly on her finger. My hand finds her left hand, and while I’m still staring into her loving eyes, I slip the ring onto her ring finger. The fit was so perfect that we both start to cry a little.

“This is by far the best day of my life. I can see our future clearly now. We will get married, buy our own house, we’ll both get our dream jobs, and then we can start a family together,” I smiled at her, “I have it all planned out.”
But then all of the sudden, she throws her arms around my neck, something I definitely wasn’t expecting, and gives me the best hug that I have ever gotten. It lasts for a long time before I have to break it to kiss her forehead.

“There’s something I need to tell you, too, Landon,” Jayden whispers softly. She’s so quiet that I hardly hear her.

“What? Is something wrong? Did you change your mind?” I can’t help but worry.

“No, I didn’t change my mind. I’ve been meaning to tell you something for a couple months, but I was afraid that you were going to break up with me.”

I sit there staring at her, not even trying to hide the worried look in my eyes. I make no attempt to say anything. She’s scared to tell me, so it’s obviously something big. The words bounce around in my head. The very words that I don’t want to hear. “She cheated on you. She doesn’t love you, and she never did.” What she has to say can be anything.

“Landon,” again I can hardly hear her, “I’m pregnant.”

My heart starts pounding loudly, and I’m sure she can hear it. I can’t even hear my own thoughts. I start feeling light-headed, and suddenly I can’t see anything.

I don’t know how long I was out, but when I awoke, Jayden was sitting by my side, crying. I notice that what she told me was not a dream, and I start crying, too.

“Jayden?”

There’s no answer.

“Jayden?” I asked again. She at least looks up at me this time. But she’s still not saying anything. “I’ll always be here for you; you should know that by now. I’m not going to ever leave you. We’re just going to start a family a little sooner than we expected. Everything will work out, I promise.”

“You really think so?”

“Yes, I know it will,” I reply.

She smiles at me and says, “Thank you.” My lips find hers, and I feel her face is still wet with tears. It’s not long before I have her tightly in my arms again. Now that I can think clearly about it, I’m actually somewhat excited. I may only be eighteen years old, but I know we can get through this. And after we do, we will have our own family together. I couldn’t possibly be happier.