But my love is fairer than any

Mary woke up feeling a little drained. Her face was flushed, and she felt all warm and sweaty.

She’d had a very sensual dream. The kind of dream she wasn’t used to having, but had been… wonderful.

…Well, it wasn’t a dream she would have asked for, of course! Certainly not! Mary was a pure woman who would never dream about such tantalizing things! But Morgana had written Mary’s name in her diary, so she’d had no choice.

No choice… like when Nick pushed her down, and ripped open her dress… she had no choice but to lie back and take it, let him fuck into her until she…

…

She laughed giddily and rolled around in bed. Maybe someday soon, that dream would become a reality!

Oh, I almost forgot. Picturing the dream and imagining it as real brought her back down to earth. She had bigger things to think about right now! She had her date with Nick!

Luckily she’d woken up early. She rushed to the bathroom to get prepared! She scrubbed herself clean in the shower, brushed her hair dry, and made sure everything looked perfect. She even put on a bit of makeup, even though she knew Nick preferred a more natural, “tomboy” look. I need to look my best, she reminded herself. If I want today’s date to be a success, I need to wow him! So that when we… when we… um… wait, what was the plan for today?

She froze and started to sweat.

That’s when Mary realized she’d spent so much time yesterday preparing for the date by asking the other girls for permission, she’d completely neglected coming up with an actual plan.

Aargh! How could I be so stupid?! Mary chastised herself. This is the most important date of your life! This is the moment when you determine the future between you and the man you love! And you couldn’t even come up with a plan!?

She knew that she could be a little bit of an airhead, but this was really pushing it.

Either way, I need to come up with something… or… maybe? She had an idea. A good wife would leave such things up to her husband, wouldn’t she?

Yes, that was the case. She’d defer to what Nick wanted to do! As for her other preparations…

Her eyes landed on a bottle that she had tried very hard not to touch all week. It contained dozens and dozens of small pink pills.

She swallowed.

That’s right… there’s nothing wrong with this, she encouraged herself. It’s just… to get ready. Just to put myself in the right mindset, I don’t need to do anything else.

She reached for the bottle and unscrewed it, taking out one of the pills. Taking a deep breath, she popped it into her mouth.

The pill dissolved on her tongue, and the liquid flooded down her throat. Her body shook, and she felt a surge of warmness shoot through her spine, down into her womb, which began to throb. She just knew she was ovulating now! The thought of that… the idea of what happened if Nick didn’t want to wait for marriage… if he pushed her down…

Oh no! What if the date goes so well that he can’t hold himself back?! She wailed internally, while rubbing her thighs together. He’ll push me down, and thrust inside me, and I won’t be able to stop him! And then… when he cums… we’ll have babies!

She actually started to drool. Her fingers were inching towards the bottle again, eager to see what would happen if she took another, and it took all of her self-control to pull back and not do that again.

No! Bad Mary! Save these for later! She rebuked herself again. She put the bottle away and sealed it nice and tight, and then ran out of her bedroom to prevent herself from giving into temptation.

There was something else she needed to do.

It was early in the morning… the perfect time for breakfast. She waited patiently by the elevator, feeling antsy with anticipation. But when the elevator reached her floor, she gasped.

“Carly?! Marley!?” She sputtered, her eyes widening. “How… huh?”

That’s right, she’d almost forgotten. Last night was the twins’ night. So this was their walk back to their room.

They were both half-naked, holding piles of clothing in their arms. Marley was red in the face, while Carly was bright with delight.

“Ah, good morning Mary!” Carly greeted her with a wave. “All ready for your date? Nick’s getting ready himself, so…”

She licked her lips. “I hope you enjoy yourself.”

Mary turned white. She didn’t know how she could let Carly get to her like this, but she shook, feeling the surge of expectation coming.

Nick was waiting for her… it couldn’t be that he planned to skip the date entirely, could it?! What if he didn’t even want to wait, and would just push her down the second she entered the Master’s Suite… they would forgo the wedding ceremony, and just spend the entire day making babies!

NO! NO, BAD! She shook her head frantically and pushed past the two women, running into the elevator. That dream was putting naughty thoughts in her head! Thoughts that would never have entered her head if not for the dream, certainly! After all, it wasn’t like she was a pervert or anything, she was a respectable young lady in love!

She used the time in the elevator to catch her breath and cool down. But when she arrived in the entry hall, she found her heart pounding in her chest.

Okay… moment of truth! This will be… the most important date of my life! She knocked on the door, and hoped that Nick would be in a good mood when he answered.

She thought back to Carly and Marley, and considered just how good his mood would be after a night with the two of them.

…He would be wearing clothes, right?

Thankfully he was. And even better, he actually seemed happy to see her! That lessened some of the anxiety burning a hole in Mary’s chest, and she let out a sigh of relief. She’d been worried that she’d browbeat him into agreeing to go on a date with her, but it looked just the opposite.

“Hey, Mary, you’re here early,” Nick greeted her. He took the fact that she’d come so early to mean she was looking forward to this as much as he was.

“Yeah…” She nodded, a dreamy expression on her face.

Neither one of them said anything until Holly cleared her throat.

“Oh! Holly!” Mary gasped. “Good morning!”

“Good morning, Mary!” Holly greeted her with a smile. “I’m so glad to see you!”

She walked up to Nick and pointedly elbowed him in the side.

“OH!” Nick gasped. “Oh, you look amazing, by the way!”

Mary lit up like a Christmas tree and smiled, curling one of her pigtails. “Thank you, I… I tried to look nice for you. For our date.”

“Well, you do,” Nick assured her. “Look nice, I mean.”

“I know, you just said it,” Mary giggled.

The two stared at each other with more awkward silence.

“…So, when’s the wedding?” Holly sniggered.

“HOLLY!” Nick exclaimed, turning as red as a tomato.

“There’s no wedding yet!” Mary sputtered.

Holly wiggled her eyebrows. “Ooh, ‘yet’?”

Now it was Mary’s turn to flush crimson. Her eyes shot from Nick to Holly and then back again, and her mouth flopped open and shut uselessly.

“…HOLLY!” Mary wailed.

“All I’m saying, a girl shows up this early to a guy’s place, it means something. Could be she wants something mooooore!” She sang.

“I came to make him breakfast!” Mary exclaimed. She glanced anxiously at the table. “You haven’t already… right?”

Holly smirked. “No-pe.” She popped the “pe” with her lips. “Methinks Nick held off on asking me for breakfast because he would hope you’d be preparing something sweet.”

“I’m going to prepare him something nutritious,” Mary corrected her, the innuendo completely going over her head. She turned to Nick with watery eyes. “Just wait a little, okay? I promise it’ll be worthwhile!”

“I’m sure whatever you make will be delicious,” Nick assured her with a smile.

Mary turned red and scurried into the kitchen where she was safe from wandering eyes.

Holly watched her go. “…I’ll help out!” She decided, heading after her. She arrived in the kitchen to see Mary fretting like crazy. It was actually hard to watch. Holly was an excellent cook, but Mary was even better; it was one of the things they’d bonded over at the beginning of her friendship!

So to see her friend stumbling around the kitchen like a chicken with its head cut off was kind of surreal.

“Holly!” Mary hissed. “I don’t need help! I’m going to do this myself!”

“Yeah, but did you remember to take your lithium?”

“Lithium?”

“Because it looks like you’re having a mental break.”

Mary seethed at her while Holly snickered. Then she sobered up. “Okay, seriously, what’s going on here?” She asked. “Is this just nerves because of your date?”

“It’s…” Mary looked down at the ground.

“Wait… you’re not going to propose, are you?!” Holly exclaimed.

“No!” Mary’s jaw dropped. “Why do you think I’m going to propose?!”

“Uh… because you’re you?” It was a pretty simple question to answer.

Mary shook her head. “No, I’m not proposing. I’m just… pre-proposing.”

“That’s not a thing.”

“It’s totally a thing! It’s called testing out the relationship to make sure you’re ready to propose, and everybody does it!”

Holly blinked. “What, you mean cohabitation?”

Mary’s jaw dropped. “Sleeping under the same roof?! That’s such sinful behavior! I can’t believe you would think I-”

Okay this was going nowhere. Holly put a quick stop to it.

“Well, okay. So you’re trying to make sure that Nick is ‘the one’ before you propose. Well… I guess you want him to propose? Oh… but he’s dense enough to not do that… plus the whole harem thing… so it’s gonna have to be you after all? But then…”

Holly sighed.

“…You’re making this more complicated than it needs to be, Mary. Just go on your date!” Holly urged her. “Talk to him about how you feel! It’s gonna be fine! And if you’re not both ready for marriage, it’s not the end of the world. I’m sure that the time will come.”

Mary looked at her hopefully. “Really?”

“Totally,” Holly nodded. “He could hardly look you in the eye.”

“And… that’s good?”

“Well, do you want to know where he was looking?” Holly smirked.

Mary gasped and pulled her shirt tight over her breasts. She frantically shook her head. “NO!”

“Well, whatever,” Holly shrugged. “It’s Nick. You and Nick together always have a great time! What have you got planned?”

Ah. Therein lay the problem.

“I… don’t have anything planned,” Mary admitted.

“What? Dude, that’s not good. You’ve gotta have a plan!” Holly cried. “You’re the one who did the asking out! That’s, like, rule one of dating! If you’re the one who asks the other person out, then you have to be the one to plan the date!”

“There are rules like that?!” Mary exclaimed.

Holly paused. “Well, I mean… maybe? I don’t know, I’ve never actually asked anybody out.”

“Yeah… me neither.”

Both women were complete virgins. Especially in regards to actual relationships.

“So… what do you think I should do?!” Mary was starting to panic. “I thought it was okay not to plan anything, since, you know, as the wife I should just do whatever my husband says!”

Holly raised two fingers. “Okay, first off? Sexist as fuck. Second off? So fucking hot. You’re just so perfect, Mary! I love it!”

Mary looked at her friend, a little grossed out.

“Holly…”

“Sorry, sorry.” Holly waved her hand dismissively. “Anyway, look, I get it, okay, you want to do what Nick wants so you can be the perfect wife… but I think you’re underestimating wives.”

“I’m underestimating them? What do you mean?” Mary asked, scrunching up her face.

Holly shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. “Mary… you’re too naïve about what is required for a wife!”

Mary gasped. “No!”

“Yes!” Holly nodded. “It isn’t enough for a wife to just do what her husband wants! No, an exceptional wife must anticipate her husband’s wants, and provide them of her own accord!”

Gosh! How could Mary have been such a fool!? Holly was completely right! She wanted to marry Nick, and yet she was behaving like such an immature girl! Could she really say she was ready to be his wife if she couldn’t even plan out a fun date for him?!

She wanted to curl up on the floor and die of shame. But she couldn’t do that! She had an important date with Nick! One he was looking forward to! Even though she didn’t have anything planned for it, she had to do SOMETHING to make him happy!

“Holly! What should I do?!” Mary begged. Holly knew more about Nick than anyone! But the brunette shook her head.

“Mary, if you want to prove your worth to be Nick’s wife, you need to come up with the answer on your own,” she said, carrying herself like some great dispenser of sage advice.

Mary sighed, feeling deflated. She nodded reluctantly, knowing that her friend was right. She needed to come up with something on her own.

Okay, what do I know about Nick? He likes reading, he likes old music, he likes hiding from his problems, he likes… wait! I just thought of something!

She came up with an idea. But it made her feel sick to her stomach. Specifically, the person she needed to ask for help brought a feeling of discomfort to her.

But if she wanted to make Nick happy, then getting some info from Sylvia about what she could do at this hotel was the best bet.

---

A few minutes later, Mary came out with a big plate of food in her hands. She wore an apron over her clothes, which was surprising for about a moment. Then Nick realized her apron looked like the kind worn by workers in a chuck wagon, and had a big slit down the front to show off her cleavage, making it rather useless as an apron, but good for fetishizing her position as a homemaker.

“Here you are! A nice, hearty breakfast omelet with sausage, bacon and potatoes inside the omelet!” Mary explained. “It’s a breakfast in a single dish!”

“Thank you, Mary, it smells amazing, and it looks delicious.” He glanced down at the massive omelet on his plate. “But, uh… how many eggs did you use? This thing is huge! Did you make it in a wok or something?”

Mary blushed, and smiled sheepishly. “I, uh… I got really excited cooking for you, so… maybe I made it a little too big. But it’s okay! Eat your fill! We can save the leftovers for later!”

Nick realized that she didn’t make any food for herself. “…Aren’t you going to eat anything?”

“I, uh…” Mary fidgeted awkwardly. The fact was, she’d had so many butterflies in her stomach she hadn’t even thought to make anything, because she wasn’t hungry. She was pretty certain that if she tried to eat, she’d just throw it up immediately which would be… not the best way to start a date. So she just shook her head. “I guess I… forgot?”

Nick knew Mary could be an airhead sometimes, but forgetting to make herself breakfast? I thought she just hadn’t made anything for herself to show how devoted she was to me or something crazy like that, but forgetting entirely? She must be really nervous. There’s gotta be something I can do to help her relax.

“Mary, why don’t you sit down?” Normally it would be better to sit across the table from the person you’re eating with, but Nick patted the chair next to his. Mary blushed and her eyes widened, but she acquiesced and sat beside him.

Sitting beside Nick while he’s eating the food I made for him! This is bliss!

Holly watched from the kitchen with an exasperated expression on her face. She shook her head. That girl… she’s so easily pleased. I hope this little idea of hers doesn’t crash and burn.

“This is delicious! Amazing as always, Mary!” Nick complimented her dish, but even as she basked in his praise he felt uncomfortable eating in front of her like this, while she went hungry. It gave him the same awkward feeling as when Holly one-sidedly fawned all over him. Then he came up with an idea. It might just end up killing the shy redhead, but if she wasn’t willing to do something like this then he would have a lot of doubts about their date.

He cut a piece off his omelet and held it out to her.

“Here, try some,” he offered.

Mary’s eyes widened larger than the industrial-sized cooking pan she’d used to make the omelet.

“R-really?!” She stammered, blown away by his generosity.

He nodded. “Yeah, of course! I mean, you made it for me, and it’s way too much food anyway. So why don’t we share it?”

Mary’s face turned red and the butterflies came back. But this time they brought her appetite with them. She suddenly wanted nothing more than to taste the delicacy she’d carefully made for Nick. So with a bright smile she opened her mouth wide, and let him feed her.

It really did taste amazing. She was an excellent chef!

Then she realized something.

Wait… this fork… Nick’s been eating with it the whole time! That means… isn’t this an indirect kiss?! My lips touched a fork that his lips touched! How lewd! How scandalous! Yeeeeeeek!

She clutched her cheeks as her face turned red, and her eyeballs swam in her head.

Shared an Indirect Kiss with the Master! +0 VP!

Holly sighed and shook her head in exasperation. This date already looked off to a rocky start.

When they finished breakfast, it was time to go for the date proper. Nick was curious to know what Mary had planned.

Probably a library or bookstore. Knowing her, she’d spend hours just reading in the library. Or maybe another picnic by the lake? He noticed that Mary was carrying a picnic basket with her as they entered the elevator, full of supplies she’d filched from the golden refrigerator.

But when he asked her what the plan was, she just gave him a cryptic “It… it’s a surprise,” and dropped the subject completely.

Well, he was fine with surprises.

I’m certain she’s planning to propose, Nick thought. But honestly, I have no idea if that’s something I want or not… being married… is it? If she did propose, how would he react?

Oh gosh! Mary tried her best to keep her nervous side from showing. Calm down! You have to be cool! All this pressure is in your head! It’s not like he’s expecting you to propose or anything! This is just going to be a simple date for us to have fun together, and for me to see what his opinion is on marriage in general!

The two were on very separate wavelengths in this regard.

Nick was surprised when the elevator reached the lobby. “So we aren’t going to have our date in the hotel?”

Mary shook her head. “No, I… I have something special planned,” she explained. She took a map from the concierge desk and studied it carefully, leading him out of the hotel and towards the beach.

A walk down the beach? Nick was fine with that. They made small talk while they went, and both parties tried very hard to direct the conversation away from the one topic that was burning in their heads. Instead, they discussed things like reading and writing. When Nick asked if Mary had managed to get her book published, she just gave him a stony expression that suggested he drop the subject. He happily obliged and they shifted to a more general conversation about books they’d read recently. Then Mary asked if Nick had any other writing projects in the work, and he had to confess that, no, he didn’t.

“Imagine if I wrote a book about this mess?” He laughed, waving his arm at the hotel behind them. “A guy trapped on an island with a bunch of beautiful women, that would probably sell a few copies!”

Another stony expression crossed Mary’s face and he realized he’d fucked up. This was Mary he was talking about, she hated reading about smut, and she certainly wasn’t happy to be here. He mentally punched himself in the face, frustrated that he’d said something so insensitive.

“I think… it would be very popular,” she said, surprising him. “I mean… among certain people, anyway. And you’re a good writer, Nick, so I think… I think you could make it appealing. There are a lot of books with similar subject matter, aren’t there?”

That… wasn’t the answer he expected her to give. He stared at her with an incredulous look on his face, wondering what was going on. This wasn’t the Mary he knew and loved. She actually seemed open to the idea.

How much had she been changed in her time here?

“Mary, it was just a joke,” he assured her. “Trust me, I wouldn’t want to write a story about something like this. It would be one thing if it was fictional, but to tell the world about the horrible things that happened to us? I wouldn’t do that.”

Mary gave him a smile devoid of any suspicion or doubt. She showed just how much faith she had in him with the expression on her face. “I know that. Because you’re a wonderful person, Nick. That’s what I love about you.”

It had just slipped out. Words that once upon a time would have taken days to build up to left her lips without hesitation. And as the confession hung in the air between the two of them, she felt no desire to take it back or try to explain it away. She loved him, and she was fine with him knowing it.

Nick turned red, not sure how to respond. He knew he felt serious about Mary. Maybe even more than the other girls, his relationship with Mary was always something he’d been careful about, because he knew how sensitive she was.

Words like “I love you” had a different meaning depending on who heard them. A girl like Carly would hear “I love you” and it would hardly impact her at all. Dawn would probably not make a big deal out of it, and Gina would shrug it off with a laugh but inside it would affect her greatly.

Mary, though… everything he said to Mary, everything she said to him, it had weight to it. It felt serious, and real. That wasn’t to say he loved any of the women in his life any less, but with Mary… those words couldn’t be used half-heartedly.

“I love you, too.”

Which was why he even surprised himself when they came out of his lips so naturally.

Mary’s eyes widened momentarily, as if she wasn’t expecting such a reply. Then she smiled. This was not the first time she’d felt Nick’s love, not by a long shot, but just hearing him say it on their date together meant the world to her.

Could he love me so easily and not want to marry me? I don’t believe he’s that kind of person, she thought, and the fire of confidence in her decision flared up even hotter.

“Come on,” she said, taking him by the hand. A brazenly forceful gesture from the timid girl he knew. “I think you’re really going to like what I have planned.”

She checked the map again, and smiled when she saw they were still a good ways away from their destination. She had all the time in the world to hold his hand, and she enjoyed the feeling of his body heat mixing with hers.

It brought to mind memories of her dream the night before. Memories that made her face heat up with shame as she struggled to suppress them. There was a place for thoughts like those, but the date of her dreams certainly wasn’t one of them!

Finally, after what felt like hours of bliss to Mary but was really only a few minutes, they reached a long wooden dock sticking out of the island like a gnarled finger. A white boat was tied up to it.

“A dock?!” Nick gasped, surprised. “Wait, are you telling me there’s been a dock on this island the whole time?!”

“I saw it in the first challenge, when we had to run all the way around the island,” Mary explained. Then she remembered how that particular challenge turned out for her, and cleared her throat. “Err… well, before… things happened. But there wasn’t a boat last time…”

“Of course there wasn’t!” A faerie popped up in front of them with a smug look on her face. She had short blue hair and wore a patch over her left eye, and her blue dress was frayed at the ends like she’d been through a storm. “The boat’s just here for tours!”

“Tours?” Nick looked to Mary, and she nodded.

“That’s right, mister master!” The blue faerie chortled, punching him in the arm. “A guided tour, by yours truly! This girl here set it up with the boss lady just a little while ago! A nice boat ride for the two of you, to see the sights!”

Mary hadn’t felt good about asking for Sylvia’s advice, but she was just grateful something like this didn’t cost any money. If she wanted to buy that ring eventually, she needed to be frugal.

“You can call me ‘Captain’ by the way,” the faerie said, popping on a blue captain’s hat. “And don’t worry, the boat’s completely safe! We wouldn’t want anything happening to you!”

Nick wasn’t so sure about that. This pixie was about the size of his foot. He stared nervously at the water. As gentle as the waves might be, the thought of falling in…

He may have gotten some swimming lessons from Dakota, but that didn’t mean his fear of water had been cured overnight.

“Are you able to drive the boat?” He asked. “Or… pilot it, I guess?” He realized that he had no idea what the actual terminology was for someone behind the wheel of a boat.

“Yeah, not a problem,” the faerie laughed, waving her hand. “Of course, my feet can’t touch the gas pedal, but-”

“What?!”

“It’s a joke.” She rolled her eye. “Boats don’t have gas pedals you moron. Now get on already! You don’t want to keep the lady waiting, do you?”

Nick glanced at Mary, who smiled back at him. That hopeful look on her face… it was enough to make his worries and doubts a distant memory.

“Okay then,” he nodded, and the two of them got onto the boat. It was rather comfy, in fact. The back area was fully exposed, like a wide lounge, and every edge was covered in plush red seats. The floor was completely bare and stainless white, and a small cooler sat in the corner filled with ice and bottles of champagne. A nice romantic gesture, but one wasted on his partner for the day.

Which was why he was completely gobsmacked when she fished out a bottle and cracked it open.

“Mary?! Are you… what are you doing?”

“What? It’s… champagne…” She mumbled, looking a little downcast at his rebuke. “You don’t want any?”

“No, I mean… it’s not that…” He just had no idea what she was doing. “But… you don’t drink.”

“I know,” she nodded. “But… it’s a special occasion.” She sat down beside him, her face red and giddy. “I thought… we could celebrate. Just a little bit, I mean.”

Champagne?! Nick couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Pure, wholesome, teetotaler Mary was actually considering drinking alcohol?! He never would have believed it. Again, only one logical conclusion came to his mind. She really is planning to propose to me and she needs it for confidence!

While Mary filled two champagne flutes, Nick considered the possibility of her proposal more seriously than ever before.

Actually getting married… is that something I want? I mean, at one point, I definitely felt like she was the one… we just connected in so many ways. I didn’t have any hesitation back then about marrying her… but maybe I should have. Maybe that was just me being an immature kid, trying to get into the skirt of a girl I liked without considering the ramifications. And that’s not even factoring in how much has changed since then. The other girls… what would they think? Yeah, marriage… that’s something serious.

But he still accepted the flute from his partner. They clinked glasses together as the boat left the dock and he drained his dry, marveling at how smoothly it went down. They really pulled out all the stops with food and drink at this place.

Mary was far more hesitant. She took a tiny sip, and made a face. Not a grossed-out face, just… a face.

“…Huh. It’s not… as bad as I thought.” She took another, deeper sip, and nodded. She finished her drink a few seconds later.

“So… how was it?” Nick asked. He half-expected Mary to turn completely shitfaced after one drink, given how much she hated alcohol. But she seemed remarkably put together.

“Well… I don’t love it,” she admitted. “But it’s fine. Tastes kinda… I don’t really know how to describe it, to be honest.”

She beamed at him. “It was romantic though, don’t you think?”

Maybe she was more affected by the booze than he thought, if she could say such blunt things without hesitation. Nick felt his face heat up and quickly corked the champagne again and returned it to the ice chest.

“I think that’s enough for now,” he decided.

“Agreed,” Mary nodded. “And just this is enough for now.”

She linked her arm through his and snuggled up close, resting her head on his shoulder.

A voice buzzed over the intercom.

“Greetings, lovebirds!” The Captain declared. “I just want to inform you both that this is a full-service tour boat, and if you want to engage in any amorous liaisons, you may do so at your discretion! But I would encourage you to postpone such activities for a short period of time, so that you can enjoy the fine feature of this tour!”

That’s right, this was a tour. Nick had been wondering what that meant, since the boat seemed to just be sailing off into the ocean. What kind of tour was…

Hey, wait a minute!

“We’re not going to have any ‘amorous liaisons’ if that means what I think it means!” Nick exclaimed.

“Yeah!” Mary cried. “We’re not going to do stuff like that until we get married!”

A hush fell over the boat. She’d just come right out and said it. Yeah, the champagne definitely had some effect.

The two looked into each other’s eyes, their faces flushed as they tried to search out the other’s intentions in their eyes. But neither one said a word.

Then something seized their attention and didn’t let it go. The bottom of the boat began to shimmer, and then it disappeared completely. Nick panicked, thinking they were about to fall in, and in his flailing he only made that an inevitability as he tumbled off the soft silk pillows and into the drink.

…Only instead of hitting the water he faceplanted onto a plane of glass.

“What?” He pressed his hands against the translucent surface, confused.

“Nick!” Mary cried, rushing to him. “Are you okay?!”

“Yeah, I just… wait, is this a glass-bottom boat?” He tested his hand against the clear material and felt how solid it was.

“You bet it is!” The Captain called over the intercom. “What I offer here is tours of the ocean floor! You can just relax and watch the sea life pass by in the company of your best gal! Hope you two enjoy!”

Nick stood up, and nearly fell over again. The Captain was driving the boat perfectly, but the feeling of standing on the water’s surface like this just felt surreal. He could hardly keep his balance as he stumbled back to the side mattresses.

“I, um…” Mary fidgeted with her fingers. “I know how much you like fish. But I didn’t want to do an aquarium date because Holly already did, so… this was the best I could think of.”

She looked up at him with her watery green orbs, her face a twisted mixture of worry and hope.

“Do you… not like it?”

How could Nick say no to that face?

“Not at all!” He assured her. “It’s amazing! This is such a great idea, Mary! A glass-bottom boat… wow!”

“You mean it!?” All of Mary’s hesitation vanished in that moment and she threw her arms around him. “Oh, I’m so glad you like it! I was so worried, since you don’t like water, but I thought that if you were close to it like this, maybe it would be fine!”

Wow, she really did this for me? No matter what she did, Mary was always thinking of him. What did he ever do to deserve such devotion?

“Stop it!”

For a second Nick thought he heard Holly’s voice. He looked around, wondering if she’d snuck aboard somehow (he wouldn’t put it past her) but no, aside from the faerie in the cabin, they were the only souls around for miles.

“It’s me! Your inner Holly!”

My what?

“Stop it with all the self-doubt and whining!” Nick’s inner Holly chastised him. “Is it really so hard to believe that a lovely girl like Mary would want to be with you? That she would want to marry you? Just accept it for what it is, love! And stop being so cautious! The girl is throwing herself at you, and you’re really hesitating about your feelings now?!”

I’m not hesitating! Nick replied to… himself. I just… I don’t know if marrying her is what I want.

“Then talk about it with her! That’s a million times better than having an argument with your own hallucination, you moron!”

Wow, Nick’s inner Holly gave him just as good advice as the real thing.

“Mary, can we talk?” Nick turned to the redhead and she flinched when she saw the look on his face. She must have been able to tell what he was about to say, because she got tense.

“Yeah… I think we should,” she nodded.

Well, he couldn’t beat around the bush forever. “Mary, what do you think about getting married?”

“It’s what I want more than anything,” she answered automatically. “To be bound together with the one I love more than anyone else, to know that he loves me and wants to spend the rest of his life with me… to know that we’ll make a loving family together… it’s been my dream ever since I was a little girl.”

She turned to Nick. “And what do you think?”

Now that was the question. Nick had never given marriage any serious thought. First he’d assumed it would just happen someday, because he was an immature child like that. Then after getting beaten down by the world enough times, he doubted it would ever happen to him. And when he came here… that just made things even more complicated.

“…I don’t know,” he admitted. “Marriage… it’s a massive commitment. And I don’t know if I’m ready for that yet. I mean, I love you, Mary… but I have to think about the other girls, too, and their feelings. I mean, you can’t say that we have the most traditional relationship, can you?”

Mary shook her head sadly. “No, we don’t,” she agreed. “But does that matter? Does that change… how you feel about me? Have you really never once thought about the two of us, married?”

“Of course I have,” Nick assured her. The last thing he wanted to do was have her think that he wasn’t serious about her. “But the others…”

“Forget the others for a moment,” Mary urged him. Then she realized how that sounded and quickly corrected herself. “No, I mean… imagine if it was just the two of us. Me and you, the way we are now… without the others… if it was just us, would you… would you still feel that way?”

Nick couldn’t separate them like that. But if he just considered Mary in a vacuum, the sweet, clumsy redhead who liked pure romance and mystery novels, the naïve farmgirl who tried her best at everything and wanted to make him happy…

If he just thought about her… what would his answer be?

“Mary… you know that I love you,” Nick said, placing his hand over hers. Her breathing hitched as she anticipated what he would say next. “So if it was just the two of us, then yeah, I would give serious thought into marrying you.”

He expected her to deflate from his words. Instead, the opposite happened. Her eyes widened and a giddy smile crossed her face. “Really?! You mean it?!”

“I mean, yeah, of course,” Nick said, confused by how happy she was. “But you realize that it’s not so simple, right? The others, they have feelings for me, too, and I can’t just toss them aside and accept your proposal!”

“That’s fine, that’s not what- wait, what proposal?” She gave him a blank stare and he looked back at her, both of them confused.

“The… proposal. You know, the one you were going to give me today? That’s my answer.”

Now it was Mary’s turn to fall out of her seat.

“I-I wasn’t going to propose to you today, though?!” She exclaimed, steam practically coming out of her ears.

“Wait, you weren’t?!” Nick had been so certain… “Then wait, what was this all about then?!”

“I wanted to see how you felt about marriage in general!” Mary cried. “You know, if you thought you were in a good enough place mentally to get married, if you were looking at me seriously with marriage in mind! Today’s date was supposed to be a test of our feelings, and if they were strong enough for you to seriously think about me as a marriage prospect, not… not me proposing to you!”

Nick wanted to die out of shame. Once again he had completely misread the situation and assumed what a girl he liked was feeling. Would he ever stop making that mistake?

I can’t believe I was so stupid!

Mary saw the look on her face and her eyes widened. She practically catapulted herself into his lap.

“Nick, marry me!” She shouted.

“WHAT?!” Now he was completely flabbergasted. “Mary!”

“Do it! I’m proposing to you right now, marry me!” She begged.

“What are you doing?!” Nick’s head was swimming as he felt himself completely at odds with reality. Did Sylvia put psychedelics in the champagne or something?!

“Marry me! Now! I’m proposing to you!” She cried, shaking his collar. “Please don’t cry, I’ll propose to you as much as you want! Don’t feel bad! I love you so much, I would propose to you all over the place if you wanted that! It’s what I want more than anything! I just want to push you down and get on top of you and propose you into the ground! I’m going to propose to you so hard you won’t even be able to walk in the morning, you can turn me down, break my heart, just… please… please stop being sad…”

Her babbling came to an end as she started to shake, and then it became about Nick comforting her.

“Please just be happy I really did want to propose…” Mary whimpered through her tears.

“Mary, it’s fine. I’m fine now.” Nick had been down a little about getting it wrong, and Mary’s outburst had just highlighted how stupid that was. So he made a mistake and Mary hadn’t arranged this date to propose. That didn’t mean she didn’t love him, or that she didn’t want to marry him. He’d just gotten into his head about nothing.

He loved her for making him see through that stupid bout of self-doubt.

“So you’re not… upset that I wasn’t planning to propose to you?” Mary asked cautiously.

“I’m not,” he assured her. “Don’t worry.”

Mary sighed in relief, her entire body going slack as she could finally relax. “Oh, thank the lord… I was so afraid…”

Nick watched her wipe away her tears as she shed new ones and wondered what he ever could have done to deserve someone who cared about him that much.

“I love you,” he whispered, holding her close. She hugged him back, resting her chin on his shoulder.

“I love you too,” she whispered back to him. “And please… don’t worry about the others. All that matters right now is how you feel about me. If you don’t want to marry me… I can live with that. Even if means we’ll never be together like that.”

Nick’s heart ached as he heard the resignation in her voice. Why did he have to hurt her like this? And why even now was he wishing that he could just say yes to her proposal, damn what anyone else thought?

Did I really want to marry her after all?