Desert Flower

My face had stung for the entire party. Luckily, only Clay, Tyler, and Johnny asked why my face was so red. I told them I’d tell them later. The party had been so awkward. Evie and I had avoided each other and forced smiles around all our friends.

After Evie and Cleo talked about their pact, all our friends left, and we were left in a weird silence. Evangeline looked at me and tears filled her eyes. I pinched the bridge of my nose. Just the sight of me made my girl cry.

“Desert flower…” I started to say but was cut off by her.

“Don’t call me that! You don’t love me, so don’t use your pet names.” She was full-on crying now. “Why did you even bother proposing?”

“Evie—“

“STOP! Don’t attempt to bullshit me. You don’t get to use pet names and nicknames to assuage this situation. Just tell me the fucking truth.” I’d never seen her this angry.

“The more I think about reasons I love you, the more apparent it becomes that I don’t know why. My mind just keeps telling me it’s because you’re beautiful, and that’s not a reason to marry someone.”

She looked at me incredulously. “So it’s my fault you don’t love me because of my fucking appearance!”

“No! It’s mine. I don’t think you should marry me. I’m not a good guy, and it’s never been more clear to me than now. You shouldn’t marry me!”

“You arrogant asshole. I’m still in love with you! Matt, I want to marry you. If you don’t want to marry me, that’s your prerogative, but it’s on you, not me. I can’t just shut off my feelings because you no longer love me. Right now, my head is telling me to leave you, but my heart is not. So, I suggest you figure out what this change in heart is about.

“The Reno Rodeo is next week. Our three year anniversary is next week. You go on tour shortly after all that. Matthew, whatever you decide, I still love you, but right now, I’m fucking pissed,” she said and headed to our bedroom. She paused at the door. “I’d really like to work this out, but you need to figure out where you stand.”

She closed the bedroom door and a few minutes later metal music blared from there followed by water running. So not only had I pissed off my fiancé so much she was listening to a song with the lyric “God hates us,” but she had thoroughly checked me. Evangeline was right. I was the world’s biggest asshole.

Hanging my head, I decided to call my mom. The phone rang and rang and finally was picked up.

“Hello, son. What’s going on?”

“Mama, I’m an asshole.”

She sighed. “Oh, baby, why?” She sounded tired, and I felt like an even bigger asshole.

“I told Evangeline I don’t think we should get married.”

“You did what?” Now, I had pissed off the other most important woman in my life. Both in one day; it had to be a record.

“Well, I told Evie—“

“Oh my goodness! I heard that part. Why?”

I leaned my head back on the couch and let out a small sigh. “Because when I think of reasons I love her, it’s only her appearance that comes to mind. She deserves better than me. I’m an ass.”

“I raised you better than that, Matthew Charles! Close your eyes. Tell me why you fell in love with Evie.”

I closed my eyes and breathed. It took me a moment to remember exactly why I fell in love with her. “The moment I met her: her attitude, confidence, and spirit leapt at me. She’s always been unafraid to tell me the truth and to be herself.”

“But why did you fall in love with her?”

I smiled as I thought about the moment some more. “She’s intelligent with a unique sense of humor.”

“Why did you propose?”

“She makes me a better man,” I said without thinking about it first, and my eyes snapped open. “She makes me want to be better, Mama. I want to be worthy of the love she’s given me. I’m so in love with Evangeline Wallace.”

A door creaked open and the phone was taken from my hand. “Thank you for making him see sense, Grace. He’s still an asshole though.”

Laughter came from the other side of the phone. “You’re not wrong. Good night, dear.” Evangeline hung up and looked at me.

“Let’s go to bed, Corpsman.”
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My alarm rang, and I rolled over to shut it off. Though I had finally figured out why I loved my desert flower again, I couldn’t help but feel like an asshole still. I had made her cry, and only the biggest of douches made someone they loved hurt like that. So, I decided to make it up to her by making today the best date of her life.

Rolling out of bed, I kissed Evie’s forehead. She sighed and pulled the covers tighter around her. I smiled and went to the bathroom to shower and brush my teeth. By the time I was done, I had forty-five minutes to get to morning physical training. The base was a twenty minute drive, so I grabbed my bag and a banana and a bagel and left to start my day.

I got to base with fifteen minutes to spare and quickly changed into my PT gear. One of my close friends, Levi, smiled at me when I got into the locker room.

“You running late?” He asked, pulling a tee-shirt over his head.

“Fucking traffic, Levi. No one knows how to drive in this damn state.” I pulled my shorts and shirt on and started to tie my boots.

He smirked at me. “Out of curiosity, did you finally pull your head out of your ass?”

“Somewhat. I have a plan I’ll probably need your help with.” I shut my locker and turned to look at him.

“You got it, Corpsman.” Levi shut his locker too, and we headed to the grass to start our physical training.

We went through our morning training: two mile run, push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, etc. We finished off our morning routine with another mile run. Sometimes Marine warm-ups sucked, but today it just let me think about how to make the date tonight the best date in Evangeline’s life. Walking into our apartment, I gently shut the door and went to the fridge to get a glass of orange juice. Tonight had to go off without a hitch, but first I had to get Evie’s engagement ring. Tonight, I was going to propose to her the way I had originally wanted to. There were only two things I needed to do still: get the ring and call Cleo.

I set my glass of orange juice down on the counter and pulled my phone from my back pocket. Evie didn’t get home until at least 5:30, and it was now 4:00, so I needed to call Cleo right now. I also had no doubt that I was about to have an uphill battle because Evie and Cleo told each other everything and considering I’m the world’s biggest douche, Cleo was probably going to chew me out. Something I deserved, I’ll be honest.

Opening my phone, I scrolled to her name and clicked it, holding the phone to my ear. It rang and rang and finally she picked up the phone.

“What do you want, Matt?” She didn’t sound nearly as angry as I expected her to.

“I need your help.”

“Oh, you need my help, do you?” She asked, the anger now entering her voice. “What could you possibly need my help with, you asshole? Do you need to know how to break Evie’s heart some more, you jerk!”

I blinked. Cleo rarely cussed which was strange since her best friend’s favorite word was “fuck.”

I took a deep breath. “I know it’s going to take me forever to make up what I did to her, but I’d really like your help.

“Tonight, I want to propose to Evangeline like I had really wanted to. Clay has agreed to help me, but the only way this will work is with your help. Look even Tally and Leah are helping, and those two hate me as much as you do. Please, Cleo.”

She paused for a long moment. “Why don’t you tell me your plan? If I like it, I’ll help you. You’re still a jerk.”

I sighed. “I’m going to take her to our favorite Thai place where all our friends will be. We’ll all have a good time there. After that, the two of us are going to go to the park where we can watch the sun set. Y’all will be going somewhere else. After the park, we’re going to go to the square for homemade ice cream. This is where y’all will head afterwards and set up some lights and a picnic area. Make it look as nice as possible. We’ll all eat our ice cream and watch the parade that my friends have set up. It’s a military parade. At the end, I’ll propose to her there.”

“It’s not a bad idea. What’s my part in it?”

“Keeping her busy on the phone so I can get her ring… umm… I have to get it off her most likely.”

“So, I have the hard part?” She asked. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Thanks Cleo!”

Notes

OH LORDY!! Hi guys... there has been a lot happening in my life. I have not forgotten my stories. I never will. I am going to update when I can, but the next 18 months of my life are going to be shackled to school.

Please don't abandon me. I love y'all.