The ginormous diamond on my new ring sparkled with a myriad of stars as I held it against the train's lights. It came from De-fricking-Prisco, the finest and by far the most expensive jeweler in town.

My head spun just thinking about its dozen-or-more-thousands-of-dollars price.

I swear it was all so hazy, so new and so... unbelievable.

It felt as if it were happening to someone else and not to me.

Everyone around me seemed to be thrilled about it.

Rena had definitely stopped using the rollercoaster line for good.

And my Mom was over the moon. Her attitude had done a 180 degrees backflip. She finally got off my back.

My eyes went to the ring again. It hogged my finger like a shiny alien.

Jayden had chosen it himself as a surprise.

Lesser women would kill for a gem like that. Diamonds were, after all, best friends of many a girl.

Since childhood, I had dreamt of a Hobbiton-set wedding and secretly had wanted to wear the One Ring to rule my man.

One Ring to rule my man. One Ring to find him. One Ring to bring him to me and in darkness bind him.

However, the ring on my finger was not the One Ring. Yet.

But strangely enough...

I didn't really care about it.

An engagement ring was only important to me because of what it symbolized.

It meant a promise. Jayden was finally ready to commit to me.

To us.

He had jokingly said that he proposed "before that train guy snatched me away."

He had also given me a holiday gift. Er... A gift holiday.

A trip to bloody Cancun!

Yes, yes, all the brochures had described it as a "sunny paradise with temperatures in the 80s even in the dead of winter," "tropical vibes everywhere you turn," "10th most searched destination by Boston residents," and so on and so forth.

Oh, I simply could not wait to explore the ruins of Chichen Itza and to visit an underwater museum!

I fidgeted in anticipation as we passed Park Street station.

New experiences acquired while traveling were soul food and a constant inspiration source not just for me, but for just about any artist.

Just four more hours till our plane took us to the adventure of a lifetime!

"I don't get it. Why did we have to take the Red Line, Iris?" Jayden wrinkled his nose at an old man with a yellowish beard sitting opposite us. "I mean, I could've just gotten my dad's chauffeur to drive us straight to your comic book store."

"Awwww, who's my poshie-posh? Don't tell me: is the Red Line too low-class for you? And no, we couldn't have gotten your dad's chauffeur to drive us because it's rush hour, silly." I playfully kissed the top of Jay-Jay's nose, which made his face light up in an instant. "It's faster like this, believe me. We just need to open up the comic book store and handle the early customers until Rena comes in. And then, off to catch the plane we go! If it means so much to you, we can get your dad's chauffeur to drive us to the airport later on."

Jayden wasn't at all accustomed to the trains. Such a shame! They were so life-enriching. To move around Boston, he would always either call a cab or "work" from home.

His dad was the corporate magnate beast, not him.

Jay-Jay was bothered by that, being overshadowed by his father. I was trying to get him to change and to get more involved with his father's company. I had to succeed. After all, I had gotten him to become more relaxed and playful, and less posh, and I had thought that was an impossible task back when I had met him five years ago.

"Hey there, sexy," Jayden deep-voiced. The bass-y sound sent a shiver down my spine. His right hand tugged at the string of my crotchet hat, pulling me closer to him.

"Nooooo! Jay Jay!" I pushed his invading pincers away. "You know my hair is terrible today!"

A coppery crimson mane was what I had aimed for in an attempt to join Marvel's and DC's red army heroines—Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, and Jean Grey.

I wanted to emerge like a copper butterfly from beneath the Vermillion Permanent Color 7.40 dye chrysalis.

But all I got was the tinge of an aging Irish setter—a red head-fur full of silver streaks.

The bloody Bostonian air was not helping. Why thank you, April humidity, I always wanted to be the Lion King!

Lucky for me, in the fairy kingdom, there was a pretty easy solution formula for a Bad Hair Day.

And that formula was the following one:

1 cute, tight t-shirt + 1 rock-that-messy bun= Mediocre Hair Day.

Voila!

In addition to using said t-shirt, I had decided to turn it up all the way to "No Hair Day."

My geeky blueish "Police Box" crochet hat hid most of my head all the way down to my eyes.

Argh. I was determined not to show the world the horribly failed transition experiment from platinum-blonde to red.

"That t-shirt you're wearing today, Iris, it so flatters your curves..." Jayden redirected his attention, now whispering into my ear. My breathing sped up when I felt his smoothly shaven cheek rub against mine.

"It catches your eye, doesn't it?" I teased him. "Good. That's just what I wanted, to avert your and everyone else's attention from my hair."

"About your hair... I have to say... I liked you as a platinum blonde most," he whined like a lost pup. "I really think you should have left it on for a while longer. Do you really have to change your color so often?"

"Yes, I do. And you'll like the red, too, I promise." I blew a raspberry at him.

"Oh, I am sure I will," he muttered. "Especially because it compliments your fiery personality."

His left hand with its five mischievous tentacles invaded my t-shirt from the bottom, and I giggled, feeling a familiar tingle in my tummy at his touch.

We had spent the whole night together; and suffice to say, I had to wobble to the train like a duck due to how intense that experience was.

There was always something exciting about the way Jayden was touching me in a public place; while oblivious passengers were not even noticing what we were doing.

As the train pulled into Charles/MGH, a message flashed on Jayden's cell phone, and I cringed at the sight of "MOM" in capital letters.

That woman, Cecilia, sadly still very much hated my guts.

Jayden's Mom held a Master's degree in Shit.

She more than excelled at stirring it, talking it, and making it up.

Also, she played the victim so often she could even start carrying around her own body chalk.

I yawned and then crossed my arms defensively. All the firey feelings I had moments ago were now replaced by icey  icicles.

Something flashed across my face, and I instinctively raised my hand to shield it from...

Sunlight?

But it was really cloudy today (with no chance of meatballs, sadly), the last time I had checked! So it couldn't be sunlight!

So what was it?

I squinted, trying to pinpoint what the heck was blinding me.

Squee! It was Mr. Ruffles Bunny!

He was holding a mini flashlight in his hand, which, I realized seconds later, was actually his jacket zipper at the same time! How cool!

Eager for details, I pressed my face closer to the window.

He wore a black beanie that looked irresistibly cute on him, but it also made him almost unrecognizable. His bed-hair nest was gone with the wind—or rather, hiding under his beanie. I wondered how he'd even recognized me under my crochet hat.

He seemed so happy to see me, too, and he looked a lot better than the last time I saw him. His grin was contagious and enthusiastic. I waved at him. He held up a hand, as if gesturing me to wait. I could see him fumble with his tablet.

Seconds ticked away—his train could leave at any moment. Before that happened, I so wanted to share my bliss with him.

Everything was going so great in my life. I was truly hoping it was the same in his case.

I held up my ringed hand and pointed at my engagement gift.

As he looked up, his mouth fell open. Then he smiled, giving me a thumbs-up.

He was happy for me!

Jayden's hand wrapped around my hips like a lasso, and I shrank back in alarm. I had almost forgotten he was sitting right there next to me.

"What's that all about?" he slowly inquired in a careful, honey-glazed voice. "Hey, is that guy your train affair you had told me about?" He inquired, emphasizing the that in a tone of disbelief.

"Oh." I fussed with my Tardis key necklace. "Um... Yes, that's him. That's..." I successfully suppressed the urge to say: 'Mr. Ruffles Bunny.'

Jay-Jay laughed. "That's him? That imp? You can't be serious."

His arm-lasso tightened around my waist as Jayden slipped his tongue between my lips. I closed my eyes, kissing him back, relishing in the shivers it gave me.