The Tale of Love & Racing: Sarina’s Story – Chapter 50: Their Getaway

Tuesday March 6, 2018

Chase glances over at Sarina, and all he could do was smile. Why couldn’t life always be this simple?

“This was a great idea,” Sarina comments and he nods his head in agreement.

“Absolutely,” he replies. “I’m ready to ski, snowboard, maybe even go tubing if you want, relax, and just spend some nice quiet time together.” All she could do was smile at that thought, as it was always tough to be able to get that quiet time he mentioned.

“Everything sounds great to me, but are you sure you’re up for it?” He almost wanted to roll his eyes as there was that same question she seemed to ask every single day now.

“Are you always going to worry about me?” She gives him a ‘really’ glance back in return.

“Do you blame me?” He sighs, shaking his head no, as he twirls their fingers together.

“I told you that I know how to take care of myself, and I meant that. I’m fine. I’m able to go skiing, snowboarding, whatever I please without a single issue. You don’t need to worry.” She wanted to believe those words, but images of Saturday flashing through her mind didn’t let the worry disappear.

“It’s so hard not to worry. I’m sorry if I get annoy-”

“I’d rather be annoyed by you, than not be with you at all.” He then reaches over, kissing her lips lightly as she smiles.

“Only you could make that so adorable…” He chuckles as he lays back while she checks the messages on her phone. “Oh, can you tell your mom that she doesn’t need to send daily photos of Max? I mean, I get it – he’s cute and adorable and just perfect, but I think she’s going a little overkill.” He chuckles as he looks at the latest photo of Cindy’s new puppy curled up with her in bed.

“But just look at him….” She rolls her eyes.

“I can’t deny his cuteness. I can’t even believe that you got your mom a dog for her birthday, either.” He shrugs his shoulders.

“What do you get for the woman who has everything? What do you get for the Momma  who would do anything for you, always have your back, always be there to support you, and well, she even carried me for nine months? I knew she wanted a new dog, but was having a bit of an issue deciding which to get and from who, so I helped her out.” Sarina smiles as she looks back at the photo. “You know, Max is from a big litter. If you’re so captivated by him, I could always get you one of your own…”

“Are you sure you’re not just asking for a dog for yourself?” He shakes his head no. “I like pets, but let’s face it – our lives a little too chaotic that we may forget to take care of him or her properly.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” He then slowly gets out of the bed, glancing out the window, before turning back to her. “So, what are we going to do today?”

“I guess I could let you go snowboarding….” He smiles as she slowly gets up, walking over, and wrapping her arms around him from behind, laying her head against his shoulder. “Can we make a promise that whenever things get too chaotic that we come here, and spend some time just the two of us no matter what?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” She smiles as she slowly lets go, heading to the bathroom for a shower.

He then turns around and walking back over to where he had dropped his bag the night before, setting it back up on the bed. Reaching through the series of pockets, he finds the small one inside, slowly reaching his hand in. He pulls the small box out, opening it and smiling. Maybe this was the perfect opportunity…..

The day didn’t remain quiet for long as both Chase and Sarina were dressed quickly, and headed out to hills. With laughs to be had, the pair spent the day going down the various hills, enjoying the simplicity of being back in Colorado snowboarding without a care in the world. He even chuckled when she had a slight tumble, too.

Once the fun was had, the pair retreated back to the cabin with a quiet night planned. Sarina insisted that she needed a good bubble bath to soak in after her tumble, and Chase was happy to agree. With her in the bathroom, it gave him enough time to think the final pieces over.

After soaking in the tub for a good hour, the water had gone cold so she drained it, slowly getting out and drying herself off. She smiles as she glances in the mirror, slipping on a pair f Mickey Mouse pajama pants and one of his t-shirts. It wasn’t a rare sight for her, as that’s normally how she slept when they spent weekends apart. Thankfully, that wasn’t going to be the case for the next couple of weeks.

She makes her way out of the bathroom, her jaw almost dropping immediately as she notices the rose pedal trail that seemed to lead down the hall, all the way to the stairs heading back to the main floor.

“Chase?” She questions, a little confused as this had certainly come out of the blue.

She slowly makes her way down the path, stopping when a folded piece of paper laid in the midst of her path. Even more confused, she picks it up, unfolding it.

“I knew from the day that I set my eyes on you that I was in love with you,” she reads. “I never thought I’d believe in love at first sight, but that’s exactly what happened. I just wanted to get to know you more, spend more time with you, and do whatever I could for you.”

A smile immediately forms on her face as she folds the piece of paper back up, wishing that she had a pocket to put it in. But without one in sight, all she could do was clutch it in her finger tips as she continued her way down the path.

It doesn’t take her long to reach the staircase, where another piece of paper blocked her path. Slightly confused by the reason for everything, but totally flattered, she picks it up, unfolding it like the previous.

“I remember when you told me everything that you had wanted to hide, and never face again,” she reads. “My heart opened up big time that night because all I wanted to do was hug you, comfort you, and make it all go away. I still want to do that for you….”

“Some days, I wish you could,” she whispers to herself, before folding it up and holding onto it tightly with the other one.

She makes her way down the staircase, trying to glance around each corner as she does, still confused by the notes – but also totally caught in the moment.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she sees a trail of rose petals, and all she could do was let out a big aww. She follows them down and around, leading straight to the living room, by the fire, with an envelope.

Glancing around, wondering where Chase was in every way possible, she takes a deep breath and picks up the envelope.

“Through thick and thin we’ve stayed together,” she reads. “We’ve always taken care of each other, had each other’s back, and would do whatever it took – even if it meant facing fear directly in the face. I couldn’t see myself spending the rest of my life with anyone else…”

“So I have one question to ask you,” she hears as she looks up, smiling immediately as he enters the room. “Sarina, will you accept this rose?” Her jaw then drops in surprise.

“Rose?” She questions and he nods his head. “Really? You had to go steal a page out of The Bachelor book?” He shrugs his shoulders.

“You’ve fallen in love with the show, say it’s every girl’s dream, and all this about Arie and the girls. I figured – why not? But you see, my rose comes with something special…” He then takes the rose, holding it out to her, as the ring slides up the stem. Her eyes open wider as she looks at the ring intrigued, before looking back at him. “I meant every word. Now, do you want to marry me?” She take a deep breath, seeing red flags fly up immediately, as she takes another deep breath.

“Absolutely.” A smile forms on his face right away, as they share a kiss, followed by him sliding the ring onto her finger. It was perfect – simple silver round in shape, with a small pink gem in the middle. “I love the ring. It’s perfect.”

“I was worried about that actually….” She then wraps her arms around him, pulling him close to her.

“Well, you don’t got to worry about a thing, except whether you’re ready for a fun time in the fantasy suite.” He smirks back in return, as he kisses her lips, before picking her up in his arms to take her upstairs.

After dealing with everyone’s ooos and awwws as soon as they hit the track that weekend, things just seemed to fall in place. All the practice sessions went well, qualifying was decent, and he managed to put together a solid race day at Phoenix with a third.

Arms wrapped around her at day’s end with another kiss upon her lips, he couldn’t complain about the way the past week had gone for them both. He just hoped that the rough waters were behind them, and it’d be smooth sailing from here.