Gabrielle had a profound smile as the light from the living room lamp glinted off her new ring and flashed about the room. That smile only grew bigger as she eagerly thrust her hand forward; her fingers outstretched as she let her best friend Leah rotate it around her left ring finger and marveled at the cut and clarity of the diamond and setting. Gabrielle knew there were more expensive rings, and this one hardly cost the two months salary that technically it was supposed to, but there was a deep contentment within her knowing full well her husband-to-be had picked it out, and purchased it from the many hours of overtime he had toiled at his job. That unto itself was priceless, and she could not help but beam at her engagement.
That smile was only temporarily removed from Gabrielle's face when Travis's best friend Joe, lifted his glass of Gin and Tonic and wrapped it sharply with a fork indicating he wanted a kiss from the two lovers. Gabrielle was eager to accommodate the wish and was perfectly poised to do so as well; sitting on her fiancés lap, she turned in time with his, wrapped her arms around his neck and slid her tongue in for the wettest, deepest kiss she had ever given him before a small crowd of people. With lips pressed tightly, and their tongues searching, gnashing and washing over each others rough tongues, the seconds passed by until a full fifteen seconds had elapsed and only a desperate need for oxygen terminated the kiss.
"Wow Gabrielle, save some for the Honeymoon huh," Leah said with a grin.
"No way," Gabrielle said, her smile returning to her lips as she tried to wipe some of the lipstick off Travis's lips. From her vantage point, Gabrielle knew full well the deep emotions she was producing deep inside Travis; not so much from the way his green eyes sparkled as brightly as her engagement ring, but rather from the poke of his erection she felt jettisoning up through his pants. While Travis's excitement was at least cloaked by her body sitting upon his, her desire was not so easy to mask. She had worn a light brown summer dress as much to remain cool in the humid Maine night as she did to please her husband-to-be. She had worn shoes, matching brown strappy heels that had long been since removed and tossed aside somewhere near the barbeque grill. Her panties were another story; she had never bothered to wear a pair knowing full well that they would have only gotten in the way sometime during tonight's festivities. Still without them, the wetness Gabrielle was beginning to feel ran unchecked, and she worried her sexy smell would soon tell everyone how she really felt; how turned on she really was. Luckily Gabrielle was saved as Joe downed the last of his drink and began to speak.
"So Travis, why don't you tell us how you proposed?"
"Well," Travis started out saying with a huge smile," it was like this. We were down at the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse and I was really, really drunk. As you know that breakwater is made up of all those granite blocks and I was afraid in my inebriated state that I would trip and fall. So I politely asked Gabrielle here if she would carry me. She thought I said would you marry me, and thus I just could not break her heart. Complete misunderstanding, but hey."
With that Gabrielle bit her lower lip and smacked him hard into the chest. Everyone was laughing because they knew full well that the whole story was preposterous. Everyone knew Travis had a romantic side and that the way her proposed had to be special. As the conversation steered towards other conversations Gabrielle sat upon her fiancés lap. As she sipped her own little glass of wine, she remembered the evening well.
The two had spent a whirlwind day touring the many lighthouses that protected the mid-coast's many rocky harbors. The Rockland Breakwater lighthouse stood its post on the end of a four thousand foot granite breakwater that deeply jutted its way out into the sea. As the breakwater broke the crashing surf, Travis and Gabrielle had a glorious view of the lighthouse, rising up from its granite foundation and sending a piercing light revolving around the ever waning red sky to the west. To the right, the lights of the city began to pop on, and to the left, the red and green lights of the boats could be seen bouncing up and down on the waves.
Travis held her hand as they walked over the massive chunks of granite that were loosely fit together. Rather then merely be placed into her hand, he had spread his fingers, purposely taking hers and intermingling with his own so that there was no question to anyone that saw them, that they were indeed passionate lovers. In his other hand he held her shoes, her socks tucked deeply into her sneakers so that Gabrielle could enjoy the simple pleasures of life; walking barefoot upon the granite sea wall.
As the western sky slowly began to become more blackened then that of the deep salmon color, they noted the lighthouse which had seemed so small from the shore, was now looming ever bigger. At the same time the number of people strewn out along the breakwater began to wan, and of the few people they did see, most were walking back towards their cars. Within a few hundred feet of the lighthouse, Gabrielle turned and gently steered Travis towards the seaward side of the breakwater. As she stepped upon the seaweed wet from the receding tide, Gabrielle worked her way down to the waters edge. Dipping her toes into the water, the contrast of brightly painted red toe nail polish and greenish water, made for a sight Travis marveled at. Gabrielle on the other hand instantly sucked in her breath, for the cold Atlantic water was a far cry from the warm waters of the Pacific of which she was used to.
"Cold Honey," Travis asked with a laugh knowing full well from her reaction that the water was far colder than she had anticipated. "Here sit down on these dry rocks and I'll warm them back up for you."
Gabrielle hardly needed to be told twice. Travis was indeed an expert when it came to rubbing her feet, and there was no debate that his loving touch trumped that of returning her feet back to sneakers and socks. Sitting down upon the big dry rock Travis had pointed out, Gabrielle leaned back a little and was more then happy to have Travis cover her cold toes with his big hands, squeezing them until the warmth returned and then began to rub them for circulation.
Gabrielle immediately swooned at the feeling of his hands on her feet. It was a reaction she always liked, but here it was intensified. The view was gorgeous, the stark white lighthouse making for a wondrous backdrop as the lights of boats and cars flickered on both the sea and upon the shore.
"Oh God Travis, I don't think this day could get any better," she said with heart overwhelmed by desire, devotion and love for the man she was with.
"You don't think so," Travis asked? "I think it would get a little better if that crab wasn't there," he said pointing to a big pinkish crab that lay sprawled out on a big piece of granite. For a moment Gabrielle jumped, fearful that the thing might pinch her with its powerful claws. Noticing Travis was not about to move it, Gabrielle grabbed the thing by its shell and gently tossed it back into the water, but as she did she saw a glint of light. Even in the waning light, there was a bright reflection of gold and white, and as she started to draw closer to it, Travis posed his question.
"Will you marry me Gabrielle?"
Gabrielle was to overcome to answer, at least with words. Her mind raced with feelings of love and she scrambled to kick her feet out of his lap and wrap her arms around his neck and draw him into the biggest kiss she had ever given him. Other than a precursory look around the darkened harbor, the newly engaged couple was too engrossed in each other to see much of the ambiance that now surrounded the. The lighthouse itself was as individualized as their own love...as individualized as their own personalities as the kiss lingered, stopping and starting until Gabrielle thought her desire was going to burst through her chest and suffocate her. There was only a slight hesitation, a moment locked in time and space as Travis slipped the ring upon her finger.
"It's not much, but means a lot, and the next one I slide on will mean even more."
