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Not on the beach. Roman's advice rang through Seth's head as he took the ring from its hiding place and tucked it in his pocket, hoping Becky didn't pick that moment to glance back. A beach proposal might not have been the most original, but it wasn't exactly like their relationship hadn't been steeped in cliches from the start. Friends to lovers, workplace romance—they could have started a checklist. So one more wouldn't hurt, and more importantly Becky loved Hawaii, and that was all that mattered.
"Everything okay?" Becky called back.
The quiet stretch of beach where they had stopped to take pictures of the sunset was rocky and Seth's knees ached when he looked at it, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. He didn't have any set plans, but he didn't want to keep worrying about losing the ring—or worse, Becky finding it. It was the second day of their vacation, so it wasn't like he had proposed the second they landed. "Yeah. Be right there." After shutting the trunk, he jogged down to the beach, pointing out at the sunset. "That would make a great shot with the waves."
Thankfully Becky took the bait, fishing her phone out of her pocket and setting up her shot, which gave him time to get the ring out of his pocket and ease down to a knee. Should have picked a SANDY beach, he thought, hoping Becky would turn around soon. Having to clear his throat to get her attention wouldn't entirely ruin the moment, but it would take some of the shine off the story.
When she finally did turn around, Becky stumbled back in surprise. "What are you—oh my god." Seth thought she was about to drop her phone, but she ended up holding it in a death grip so tight he could hear the protective case squeaking in protest. "Are you—is this for real?" All her sentences were coming in fragments, punctuated by sharp blinks. "Why are you—but... your knees. Your knees—"
The expression on Becky's face was better than any yes could be, but Seth still wanted to hear it anyway. He would have been happy to get married in a courthouse, or do like Renee and Jon had done and go for the spur of the moment, but the amazement in her eyes made it all worthwhile: designing the ring and keeping it secret for months, trying to arrange the trip to Hawaii without her getting suspicious, even packing the ring. "Yes, of course it's real. Now can I finish before my knees crack?"
Becky let out something between a laugh and a sob as she rocked back on her heels. "Yeah, yeah."
Seth hadn't planned out the proposal word for word; he wanted to leave room to ease in, to capitalize on some beautiful moment. This is it, he thought, carefully opening the ring box. If he lost the ring now, it was going to fall amongst hundreds of rocks, and that definitely wasn't the memory he wanted Becky to have. The words came slowly at first, and he was sure he had repeated himself at least twice, but it didn't stop Becky from pressing her hands to her mouth to keep from sobbing—or, possibly, interrupting him. When it was time to put the ring on her finger, Seth had to give her a nudge. "Left hand," he said softly when she finally lowered her right. "Though it's up to you, really."
"Right, right... I mean—oh, you know." Becky quickly switched hands, gazing down at the ring as soon as Seth started to get to his feet. "How—when.... you've been so busy...."
"I gotta have some secrets." Grimacing, Seth rubbed his knees. The rocks definitely looked nicer than they felt. He was just about to lean in to kiss Becky when he heard the tell-tale clack of rocks behind him. Please don't be a fan, he thought as he started to turn. He had stopped at that specific spot because of the isolation—definitely not the rocks—and he could have sworn there was no one in sight. I didn't take THAT long getting the ring out of the back....
When he looked, though, it was an unassuming woman with a camera that looked like it was bigger than her head. "Hi. I don't want to interrupt, but... if you'd like a picture?" She hoisted her camera and it was very evident that it was no simple point-and-shoot model.
Becky was already tugging on Seth's arm. "Yes, please. That would be lovely."
Seth gamely shuffled back with Becky, laughing when she stepped on his foot. "Is that going to be a habit now?" he joked as she pressed close to his side. When he had been looking back through photos of them earlier, he noticed she almost always seemed to stepping slightly on his left foot.
She grinned up at him. "For the rest of your life," she said, echoing his proposal. He had never been happier to have his own words thrown back at him—maybe never happier at all.