Lyra and Blaze* I Can't Wait

LYRA*

Everyone in the room gasped; our mom and Jace's aunt shrieked and started bouncing around in anticipation. Tears began rolling down Vega's eyes. Yet, she hadn't answered. Vega looked at me and then smiled brightly at Jace.

"Yes, Jace; I'll marry you and become Mrs. Jace Cunningham," Vega screamed excitedly, and Jace placed the ring on her finger.

The ring Jace had gotten Vega was gorgeous; the ring had a round-cut diamond that stood in the center, and smaller diamonds outlined the outside of the diamond and also outlined the band. Jace did well in picking out the engagement ring.

I was so happy for Vega, but I couldn't help being a little bit jealous. I can't wait until Blaze proposes to me. I don't want him to do it in front of God and everybody, though. Blaze and I alone somewhere when he kneels on one knee to propose is perfect sounding. I also don't want the traditional diamond ring either. Blaze would need to think outside the box for sure.

Vega jumped up, and Jace quickly followed, and they embraced each other and kissed each other tenderly. The whole room was blasted with cheers and congratulations for the happily now engaged couple.

Everyone started walking up to Vega, and Jace gave them hugs and handshakes and welcomed either Jace or Vega to the family.

"You've always been a son to me, Jace; take care of my daughter," Dad said as he brought Jace into a hug.

"Yes, sir, I'll never let anything happen to Vega," Jace said as he hugged Vega tightly.

"Remember what we talked about at the hospital, son," my dad said to Jace.

"Yes, sir, we will wait until after Vega and Lyra graduate, don't worry. I want that for them more than anything," Jace said.

That's horse crap; it could be a whole two years or more before Jace and Vega could get married; they already live together.

"Dad, I'm going to say something because I know Vega wants to, but she's holding it all in. You can't make them wait two years to get married. Jace has lived here with us since we moved in; hell, they are practically already married. It's just not on paper. I'm thinking September, that week Vega and I would have off before the Fall Semester starts. That's what eight months from now? We could get everything put together by then. Don't make them wait so long, dad. Jace and Vega being married wouldn't change the course of us graduating, dad," I said calmly.

Blaze squeezed my hand, then stood up and pulled me up with him.

"We'll talk about all of this later young lady. Now's not the time for this conversation," dad said. Mom pats him on the shoulder, her way of telling him quietly to chill out; Then, my mom looks over at Blaze.

"So Blaze, when will you ask Lyra to marry you?" my mom asked as Blaze and I walked up to give Vega and Jace congratulations.

When will my time come? I think with a mortified expression on my face. I looked to Blaze, trying to tell him I was sorry. He just squeezed my hand tighter.

"Soon, Mrs. Riley. Soon," Blaze said as he shook Jace's hand and hugged Vega. My mom smiled at me and then walked off with my dad.

What does Blaze mean by saying soon? Like soon, meaning tomorrow, or soon as in months from now. A man's timing is so much different from a woman's timing. All I know is I can't wait; I'm so excited about the time Blaze could propose to me. Yet, I know Blaze and I have only been together a little over a month. Tomorrow would be a bit crazy, right? Everyone has now left the party, so it was just Blaze, Jace, Vega, and I left. I took Vega into a tight hug.

"Finally, Jace, I thought this was going to happen months ago. I can't wait until you are my brother-in-law," I said as I crushed Jace into a tight hug after hugging Vega. Don't worry; I'll make dad change his mind. He's sixty-six years old and set in his ways, you know this, and I'm pretty good at persuading him," I said, and we all laugh.

"Lyra, I hope you can. Waiting two years is going to be torture. Why is dad that way? Jace, why did you agree to such a thing?" Vega asked as she punched Jace in the shoulder, and Jace laughed.

"Have you met your father, Vega? I would not want to get on his bad side, and it was the only thing he asked of me. I have to respect his wishes. I would take you to Vegas or a Justice Of The Peace and marry you right now if I could," Jace said as he kissed Vega on the forehead.

"Vegas would be so much fun, and they have some beautiful chapels there. You could have a honeymoon and get married at the same time. Imagine how much fun we would all have," I said as I hopped around excitedly.

"Yeah, that does sound intriguing. Our families could all still go. We can research it tomorrow after unwrapping presents. I'm so excited," Vega screamed.

"Alright, girls, for now, let's get this place cleaned up, so it's not waiting for us in the morning," Blaze said, chuckling.

"Oh, Blaze, live a little," Vega said.

"Oh, I will, I promise you that, but after this place is cleaned up. All this wrapping paper, and food that's going to go bad, is making my skin crawl," Blaze said as he walked to the kitchen and grabbed some trash bags.

"Alright," Vega and I said in unison and got to work on clearing the tables.

"I'll get started on the dishes," Jace said and started clearing out the dishwasher and running dish soap into the sink to clean pans.

BLAZE*

I can't believe it took Jace so long to propose to Vega. I figured he would propose to Vega after Lyra woke up from the coma. That was two months ago. Lyra and I have only been together a month, and I'm ready to dive in headfirst.

I need to talk to her dad first, of course. I'm a bit apprehensive about doing it, though. If he made Jace and Vega wait to get married, how would he feel about Lyra and I getting married, especially since we have only been together a month? Richard would think I was crazy and say hell no, most likely. Maybe I am crazy, but I had known Lyra was the woman for me since before we met. There is nothing conventional about our relationship. I can't name one couple that this has ever happened to, but God works in mysterious ways, so who knows. I hope Lyra could change Richard's mind about making Jace and Vega wait to get married. I sure as heck don't want to wait two years to marry Lyra. I wouldn't keep her from finishing college and pursuing her career.

I was so deep in thought I didn't realize I was standing there after picking up all the trash.

"Is everything ok, Blaze?" Lyra asked me from across the room.

"Oh yes, sorry. I was thinking about what I should do next. I'm going to take the trash out real fast; I'll be right back," I said as I walked to the back door.

I glanced around the backyard and started thinking about what I could do to make a romantic setting. I could cook something fancy, set up a table for two, throw some vines and teacup lights or something. I could have Jace take Vega out for the night, so Lyra and I could have the place to ourselves for a bit.

I can't wait to propose to Lyra; I already have the ring. I just needed to talk to Lyra's dad and find the perfect time and place. The backyard was looking promising, though.

"Blaze, what's wrong, you're quiet, and you've been out here for fifteen minutes? You also still have the trash bags in your hand?" Lyra said. I didn't even hear her walk up to me.

"I'm just thinking about how I want things to be perfect when I propose to you and how I don't want to wait two years before we get married," I said.

"Oh. Well, I'm the rebellious one, so I'll get married when I want to Blaze. As far as proposing, please don't do it in front of everybody like Jace did. I would like it to be an intimate encounter with just you and me. I hope that helps you. Now it's cold out here, so can we please go in?" Lyra asked as she got up on tiptoe to kiss me.

Lyra didn't object to me proposing to her, so that's a plus. I feel a whole lot better now. Not so anxious, like I was before.

***The Morning After Lyra***

My dear Blaze always has so much anxiety over everything. After I said my peace last night, Blaze and I went inside, and we all watched Christmas Vacation before going to bed. A classic no one should ever miss. We laughed until we cried, and the fire was so lovely.

Blaze and I went to bed and made love. I'll never tire of Blaze, he's so perfect, and we fit so well together. I honestly don't care when Blaze proposed or how. Blaze and I could be in bed making love when he put the ring on my finger, and I would be happy. I don't get the point of marriage; honestly, I'm not your run-of-the-mill traditional type of woman; I feel it's a paper saying, hey, I'm married. Vega is all about the beautiful wedding dress and having all of the attention, but I'm not. So Jace's proposal was perfect for Vega. I would kick Blaze's butt if he did that to me.

Vega and Jace made hot cocoa, and we were all sitting around the tree. Christmas presents have been brought out and given to each recipient. I had three presents from Blaze, and I couldn't wait to open them. I'm pretty sure the gifts I got from Vega were going to be clothes that I would never wear unless I had to. I love Vega, but oh my goodness.

I opened my gifts from Vega first to get hers out of the way. I was somewhat glad that I did. One gift happened to be a brand new SUV. I now have a car and don't need someone to drive me around anymore, so that's nice.

Vega did get me clothes, but they happened to be perfect for me. Could it be that Vega was done with trying to make me dress to her standards? I've gained some weight but have only gotten to one hundred and twenty-five pounds, so the new clothes were a bonus. Jace gifted me some new books, most likely a suggestion from Vega, but I'm excited to have something new to dive into.

Blaze waited patiently for me to open his gifts. One was a vast assortment of bathroom essentials. Blaze knows me well; I'm going to love these bath bombs and essential oils.

Next up was a beautiful diamond and sapphire studded necklace, a bracelet, and a pair of matching earrings. My goodness, these had to of cost a fortune, but I loved them. I could wear these to church every Sunday and on special occasions. I jumped up in excitement and kissed Blaze with all that I had within me.

"Blaze, these are so beautiful; thank you so much; I love them. This Christmas has been the best Christmas I have ever had. Having my soulmate here with me on Christmas happened to be the best gift, though. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you, whether we are married or not," I said excitedly.

***Lunch At The Riley's***

BLAZE*

Lyra drove us all to her parent's house in her brand new SUV; we had just arrived about thirty minutes ago. Vega and Lyra were in the kitchen helping Rebecca prepare lunch. Jace stepped out of the room to take a phone call from his dad. So the perfect time had arrived for me to talk to Richard. I'll toss the thought his way and hope for the best.

"Mr. Riley, sir. I love Lyra with all of my being. I would go to the ends of the earth for her. I know that Lyra and I have only been together for a month, but I know she is the one for me. Lyra is my soulmate. I want to ask for your blessing in marrying your daughter?" I asked Mr. Riley. He shook his head approvingly with a smile on his face; that's a surprise.

"Lyra is a spitfire, a strong-willed woman; are you sure you can handle her? I'm pretty sure she'll be telling me how it is soon, so I'm not going to give you the same speech I gave Jace. I want both of my girls to be happy. So yes, Blaze, Lyra is all yours. You better take care of her," Richard said.

That wasn't how I was expecting that to go. "Yes, Mr. Riley, sir. I want to give Lyra the world; I'll never let anything bad happen to her," I said.

"You know Rebecca and I got married at the Justice Of The Peace after only knowing each other a week. We had dreams of each other before we met, and everything just clicked into place once we met. We have no family here, either one of us. Our families are all in Ireland, and we were only twenty years old, but we threw caution to the wind and have been married now for forty-six years. I haven't known you long, but I know you enough to know that you are a good man Blaze. You've got your shit together, and I know you'll take care of my daughter. I can't wait for you to be a part of this family," Richard said. We both stood and shook hands.

"Thank you, sir," I said.

"Do me a favor and call off Lyra on the ranting, will you Blaze? It's not needed anymore," Richard said as he chuckled.

"Yes, sir. I'll do that right away, and I can't wait to be a part of this family as well," I said.

"Lunch is ready; come and get it," Lyra called out from the kitchen.