Kimo's POV

"Then Becky ran lines with me again," I said, finishing up the recount of my day. I brought Connor's hand, which was still intertwined with mine, to my mouth, placing a tender kiss there. "How was your day? Anything fun happen?"

"Oof, I don't know if I can follow that," he replied with an amused laugh. After a little more prompting, he gushed about his day and the cars he worked on.

"I didn't realise I was talking about cars so long," he said, a few minutes later, slightly bewildered. "Let's talk about something else."

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. "Nope, we can talk about cars some more. After knowing you for seven years, I now understand about sixty percent of your shop talk." Before he could start apologising, like I could tell he was about to do, I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I can't believe I still have to tell you that I would listen to you talk about anything."

The glowing appreciation and love on Connor's face shone brighter than the sun. "I love you."

"I know," I responded, releasing a delighted string of giggles. "I love you too."

He kissed my hand, and after asking if I was sure that I wanted to hear him talk more about his day, he continued giving me a detailed description of the work he had done on the cars today. I didn't mind. Anything sounded sexy coming from his deep, appealing voice. Not to mention the fact that I loved seeing the almost tangible joy he got from talking about cars.

When we were still in High School, Connor had wanted to become an automotive engineer but chose to give up on that dream, opting instead to continue his then part-time job as a mechanic. Now he worked as a mechanic full time and actually loved his job, but I knew a part of him still wanted to pursue that dream, and someday I would help him fulfill it.

Connor gushed on for the next hour, and I knew enough about cars to chime in with occasional comments so he wouldn't feel like he was talking to a wall.

"Where are we going?" I inquired, looking out the window. We trudged past lush greenery and posh houses with pristine white paint in our old car, looking very out of place to any of the wealthy people looking down on us from their balconies.

"My little Curly Fry finally got curious," Connor teased, a huge grin on his face.

A pout formed on my lips. "I'm not little! You're only three inches taller than me!" Even I had to admit that I sounded like a whining toddler when I said that, but that didn't stop me from harrumphing when Connor burst out laughing.

Connor stood at six feet two inches, while I was not far behind at five feet eleven inches. During our teenage years, I had always been taller than Connor, but it was like one day he had just woken up and decided he was going to be tall and shot up into the sky.

"Kimo, you're too cute!" He let go of my hand and stroked my hair before intertwining them again. "Alright, you can just be my adorably hot Curly Fry."

I giggled and nodded before realising that he couldn't see me since he was focused on the road. "Deal, and you're my cute and sexy Batboy!" That had been the nickname I used for him when we were younger. It had been inspired by his adorable, pointy ears.

"That nickname does sound a lot more ridiculous now that we're older," he mused, kissing my hand.

"But Curly Fry doesn't," I retorted, eliciting a soft laugh from Connor. However, I'd always loved that he called me Curly Fry, and I don't think I'll ever get too old for it.

"Sing me a song please," I requested some time later, as I watched the buildings pass.

The radio in our car no longer worked. There had been a recent change in management at Connor's workplace, and his new boss didn't allow employers to access the tools for personal use, so Connor had been unable to fix it. Now we had to make do with conversation, silence or Connor's singing.

Connor grinned and immediately started to sing the lyrics of "Shivers" by Ed Sheeran, and my face lit up. I giggled and danced along to the voice of the angel next to me as he continued his beautiful rendition of the song. It was one of my favourite songs, and Connor had learnt the lyrics to it and would serenade me ever so often.

He begged and begged until I finally decided to join him and sing. I sounded like a drowning cat, but Connor somehow loved it, and we spent the next few minutes laughing and singing a variety of songs.

I saw something from the corner of my eye that had my head out through the window in seconds. Now I gazed in wonderment at the clear, crystal blue water and golden sand. "Are we going to the beach?" The distant sound of the waves crashing against the shore instantly brought a smile to my face. "Are we!"

The beach always held happy memories for me. My mom standing on the beach telling me how much she loved me was how I chose to remember her, instead of her quietly watching while my father spewed insults at me as I packed a bag.

It was also the first place Connor and I kissed. A typical school field trip that had turned out to be the start of the best thing that had ever happened to me.

"Surprise!" Connor exclaimed, giving my hand a little squeeze.

I immediately leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Mahalo (thank you)! This is wonderful!"

As soon as Connor parked the car I hopped out, visibly bouncing as I waited for him to get out of the car. He popped the boot, and pulled out two plastic bags which I assumed were filled with food. I grabbed the swim trunks that were also tossed in there and offered to take a bag which Connor declined.

I giggled and sprinted ahead of him, rushing towards the sand, ridding myself of my shoes off as I went. We had been to the beach three times in the last four years. Our schedules didn't always align, the drive was long and we had only gotten the car about a year and a half ago, so needless to say, I was on cloud nine.

My toes curled in the warm sand as I enjoyed the grainy but soft texture. I dumped my shoes next to a tree before running up and down on the beach, giggling like a crazy person and would definitely have scared people if the beach wasn't deserted.

Deciding to leave going into the water until Connor could join me, I went in search of him, finding him sitting on a checkered blanket under the tree where I had left my shoes. Three large Tupperware bowls sat atop the blanket in between a food flash and three water bottles.

"For you," Connor murmured, grinning and holding out a beautiful red rose to me.

I giggled and straddled him before taking the rose from him and sniffing it. "Con, this is all so beautiful, and perfect. I love this and you so much!" Before he could respond I glued my lips to his, pouring all of my love and gratitude into the kiss.

When we broke the kiss, we were both all smiles and gasping for air. My tummy rumbled, and I giggled again, gently placing the rose on the blanket.

"What did you make us?" I chirped, getting off his lap and sitting in front of him while I opened one of the bowls. "Wings!" I exclaimed. My face lit up as I gazed upon the reddish brown, barbecue chicken wings.

Connor laughed, a deep laugh in which his joy was unmissable. I reached for the flask and once I saw the contents, I threw myself at Connor, smothering him with kisses all over his perfect face.

"Curly fries for my Curly Fry," he murmured, laughing and half heartedly trying to get me to stop kissing him.

When I thought he finally had enough, I sat back up and opened the last two containers. One was filled with chicken katsu, another favourite of mine, and the other contained some vegetables. My faces scrunched up at the sight of the vegetables and Connor burst out laughing. "Don't worry, I won't force you to eat vegetables today," when my lips curved up into a smile, he quickly added, "but only for today."

I giggled and nodded, and we began to eat.

I always had a sweet tooth and loved eating junk food, so Connor had always forced me to eat healthy sometimes. Now I was used to it and actually liked some fruits and vegetables, but I often still gave him a hard time just to annoy him, and because I knew that if I bugged him long enough, he would cave and let me eat snacks.

While we ate, we watched the waves crashing against the shore, sneaking glancing at each other and laughing whenever we got caught. Now we were cuddling as we watched the setting sun cast its orange glow over everything.

"Want to go for a swim?" Connor whispered, pressing a kiss to my hair.

"Yes!" I exclaimed, immediately hopping up. Connor laughed and shook his head before starting to take off his jeans, revealing his sky-blue swim trunks, while I slipped out of my clothes and into my red swim trunks.

Once I was finished, I turned around to seek out a suspiciously quiet Connor, and I almost tripped over him and face planted. My clothes fell from my hands, landing in the sand as I gasped and covered my mouth, tears springing to my eyes.

Connor was in nothing but his swim trunks and on one knee in front of me. The radiant smile on his face was more than enough to make my heart flutter. His eyes were locked onto mine, conveying all the love and affection in the world, and in his hand was a large jewelry box.

He slowly moved his hand and opened the box. I burst into a delighted fit of giggles when I saw the blue and red swirl ring pop nestled there, and my reaction caused Connor's grin to widen.

I was definitely ready to scream "yes," but Connor started talking.

"Kimo, you were always kind to me, even when it made you an outcast for hanging out with me. I don't know how I would have gotten through high school without you. You were my first understanding of what the word friend meant, and now I would like you to be my first understanding of what the word family means." His voice cracked and he wiped a stray tear from his eye before smiling and continuing.

"You are my best friend and the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. I want to make you happy for the rest of our lives because seeing you happy makes me happy. Actually, since I met you, I've never been happier. I know we don't have much, but I also believe that if we have each other, we can get through anything."

I clawed at the tears of joy streaming down my face, noticing the ones running unfettered down Connor's cheeks. My smile was just as bright, happy and filled with love as his as we gazed into each other's eyes.

"You are the light at the end of my tunnel, my happily ever after. I love you with all my heart, more than I've ever loved anyone or anything. Kimo, will you marry me?" 

A/N

Thank you for reading! ❤

What did you think of the chapter? And Connor's proposal? Shoutout to sapphire1612 for guessing correctly. 

What's your favourite song? Mine changes constantly but as of right now, it's the song that Connor sang for Kimo "Shivers." 

If you have any feedback or questions or spot any grammatical or spelling errors, please let me know!

Also, I'll try to update this book at least once a week, on Saturdays.

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