Dress nicely. That's what's on my mind as I'm ravaging through my closet, trying to find something decent enough to wear. There's hundreds of different options, yet I can't seem to narrow down on a single one. 

Somehow, it seems as if taking law school exams are easier than this. 

Eventually, as I'm looking at the many different options, Elena walks in looking like she just heard someone scream, "FREE ICE CREAM!" She looks at me rummaging through my closet, and just gives me the slight side eye. "Damn, okay, this looks important. I didn't know that a date would be this important for you to completely destroy your closet." 

I let out an exhale, turn around, and give her a slightly dirty look. "I'm sorry, okay? Ash told me to dress nicely, and he sounded like he really meant it today. I don't know, I feel like I'm being paranoid, but I know when Ash really means something or when he just wants to tease me about something random. What should I do?" I ask her, as she begins to dive into my closet to find something decent for me to wear. 

Elena is the queen of fashion, so I know that's going to fish out something that I never thought existed and somehow make it work on me. "Alright, try this. It will look good on you. Especially if Ash is really emphasizing that you should dress nice today," she tells me, as she pulls out a dark blue dress. 

I look at it with an affirmative look on my face, while thinking, Damn, why don't I wear this more often? This looks really awesome. I take it, and then hold it up to see if it has any stains, because then it means I have to do laundry, and that's a whole other chore that I don't want to deal with today. I don't even have time today to do it. Thankfully, there's no stains, and I'm glad about that, because it means that I don't have to rummage through my closet one more time to find something else that looks just as good. 

"Sweet. This looks fine. So what about hair and makeup? Should I do a French braid, curl it, straighten it, leave it as is? What should I do?" I'm hoping she doesn't say French braid, because I don't want to tire my arms out completely. Although, the my arms would be completely jacked and it would mean I don't have to go to the gym to lift weights. Elena looks at my hair and studies it, like a college student studying a textbook the night before the final in an attempt to cram everything in. 

"Tell you what. Clip the sides back, because it's simplistic and cute. And as for makeup, do light pink lipstick, and some mascara. Do highlight if you want, but I wouldn't overdo it. It's up to you, honestly," Elena tells me, with a thought to ponder over as she trots out of the room confidently. Fine. I'll go a little bit more simplistic today. Sometimes, less is more.

The one thing that I'm hoping for when I exit the room is that Ash and Dom don't have a random debate on the most miscellaneous topics ever. One minute, they're having a debate on whether or not Oreos are better with mint ice cream or vanilla ice cream, and the next minute, they're having a debate on whether or not orangutans are better than kangaroos. 

I've never understood their logic, but even if I don't, it's still cute to see them involved enough to debate about random subjects and to yell at each other for every reason in which they believe the other is wrong. I would ship them if Dom wasn't straight and married, and if Ash wasn't dating me. Elena walks into my room as I'm applying mascara, and I'm glad she didn't surprise me and cause me to stab myself in the eye. 

I look back at her, and then she jingles her car keys in her hand. "I'm going back home. Jess has something to show me and Roy needs my help with something. You'll be fine?" I nod, and then look at my phone to see if Ash is going to be back anytime soon. 

"Be home in 10 minutes. Can't wait," he texts, with a smiley face at the end. I smile, as I make sure that my hair isn't a mess and that I actually look fairly presentable for our date today. I hear Elena close the front door, lock it, and with that, I don't hear anything for the next couple of minutes. I'm just contemplating on what this date is going to be about. 

Is it going to be one of our cute dates, where we just talk over food and have our heart to hearts, or we do something completely fun and unexpected. Ash is someone who's always a person of mystery in that sense, which is awesome because I always love a mystery when it comes to things like dates. Unless someone decides to drug me, put me in the back of their car, and then take me to an unknown location and kill me. 

In that case, then mystery would be my least favorite genre. 

I fiddle around with my fingers a little bit, until I hear Ash come through the door. "Nicole, you ready?" I hear him call, as the door closes. I stand up from my bed, while inhaling deep, and I confidently trot out to the living room. Ash is standing in the middle, with some of the most casual clothes on, and when he sees me, his eyes bulge out of his head. 

His jaw drops a little bit, as he stares at my minimalist self. I find it hilarious that he finds me stunning in such a simple dress, but at the same time, I'm lucky. I can walk out wearing nothing but a food stained T-shirt and a pair of faded jeans, and Ash will look at me like I'm a goddess. I give a little smile at Ash, and then he straightens up. "Babe, you look absolutely stunning. I can't wait for tonight." 

I smile, and then grab my purse from the couch. I walk up to him, while he snakes an arm around my waist, and then take his hand. "You know that I can't wait for tonight either, Ash."

I'm right to expect the best when it comes to Ash. It's a big, gorgeous, park with lots of lights and happiness, and it has an ice cream shop right next to it. Somehow, I can feel Ash getting a little bit nervous, which makes me nervous as to what he plans to do tonight. I'm always good with just chilling, talking about life, and enjoying our ice cream together. 

Somehow, I feel like Ash has something else up his sleeve. Ash takes me to the little garden a good distance from the shop, and then stops there. "You want the usual? Mint chocolate chip?" he asks, and I nod. 

"You know me. Do you want me to find a place to sit?" 

"No, it's fine. I was thinking that after we walk, we can just walk around and have a heart to heart. You know, kind of like the good days when we first started dating. Throw back to memory lane?" 

I giggle a little bit, as I remember how much of a positive impact those conversations made on me. I'm so glad that I was able to find someone like Ash, who loves me for who I am and will never hesitate to tell me how amazing I am on a daily basis. "That sounds great. Best throw back ever." 

He smiles, and then heads into the ice cream shop to get our cones. I look around to see the garden, and yet the beauty of it hits me only then. I can see the gently blooming flowers, and the little lights that are strung around to give the evening a little pop of color. 

I smile to myself, as I see, out of the corner of my eye, Ash's friend, Luke. He's walking down the pathway, towards the shop as well, and then I call out, "Hey, Luke!" 

He turns around, with his eyes lighting up when he sees me. "Hey, Nicole! How's it going?" he asks, as he walks over to where I'm standing. 

"Oh, nothing much. I'm on a date with Ash. He's just getting our ice cream. You?" 

"Oh, I'm just here to get some ice cream before the lines come. I don't want to have to wait for 30 minutes." I smile, and then, he looks over his shoulder. "I'm not going to intrude on your night. I'll see you later," he says, and I wave. He walks off to the shop, as I continue to look around the garden, admiring the scenery. 

I'm glad Ash took me someplace like this, because it's honestly so pretty to look at. I can almost spend hours just looking at the amount of nature present. After a few minutes, Ash hurries back, and then hands me my ice cream cone. "Mint chocolate chip, for my special lady," he announces, as he hands me my one. I smile, thank him, and take it. 

Right when I'm about to eat it, I see something on top of the brownie piece that's on top of the ice cream. Something that I never thought would be on a cone. A shiny ring. My jaw falls open, as I take the ring off of the brownie. I look at Ash, who just has a smile on his face. Right when I look at him, he takes the ring from my hand and gets down on one knee. My hand flies up to cover my mouth. 

"So, Nicole, I know that we'd been talking about marriage a lot, and how it doesn't seem unlikely in the near future. Well, I was thinking, we should make it official. I honestly love you so much, and I can definitely see me having a future with you. I recently realized that I can't imagine spending the rest of my life without you by side, and I don't know why it took me that long. Nicole, you make me so incredibly happy. And I remember you saying on the first day of us meeting at my workplace that if I proposed to you with a cone of mint chocolate chip ice cream, then you would be mine. So, would you make me feel like the luckiest man in the world by letting me marry you?" 

I can't help but feel my heart beating like someone is hitting it repeatedly with a hammer. A flood of emotions are rushing throughout me, such as happiness, shock, and excitement. All I can do is squeal, "Yes, yes, of course I will!" 

A big smile flashes on Ash's face, and then he gets up quickly. He slides the ring on my finger, and then someone yells, "OH, CONGRATULATIONS!" and starts clapping. Several other people start to clap as well, and Ash and I look at each other with a big smile on each other's faces. He plants a kiss on my lips and then comes in for a hug. 

I smile, and hug him back, while being careful not to drop the precious ice cream. "How does it feel, Nicole?" Luke asks, as he walks towards us, while holding another ice cream one in his hand and a phone in the other. "You were recording us?" 

"Yeah, Ash wanted me to record the moment so you could look back at it and smile. He bribed me with ice cream." I smile, and then Ash just snakes an arm around me. I can't help but smile yet again. 

I feel so blessed that I'm with a wonderful man like Asher whom I'm going to spend the rest of my life with. It's been a hell of a ride so far but I'm glad it's gotten to this point. 

All I can say is one thing, and it's something that I didn't think I'd ever say; I can't wait to be Nicole Mitchell again. 

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Awwww, I love these kinds of chapters! I love how Ash remembered something seemingly so minor and made it into something special. Do you think that Ash is perfect for Nicole? Let me know in the comments. 

Hey everyone! I know, it took me FOREVER to get this out, and I apologize. Lots of exams and stress, so I'm sorry. I'm going to try to get back into the groove with INI rewrites because it's been a while since I have done one. 

Also, the Wattys countdown starts! Can't wait to enter Phoenix! 

That's all I got. Hope you guys liked this chapter! Feel free to request another idea (I promise, it won't take this long again haha.)

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Love you guys, 

Shree