As soon as the lid was off the box, my hand flew to my mouth as I gasped and my breath caught. I sat there in a type of stupor for a second, looking from the box, to an excited Ashley, back to the box.  My hand reached in, and gently lifted what was inside. I watched as the iridescent rays of morning light bounced off of each little diamond that coated the surface of the heart. It sparkled gloriously in various rainbow hues, becoming a blur behind a thin sheet of tears that I could feel welling in my eyes. My mouth gaped slightly as I watched my little heart twist and twinkle.

            “Ashley, I – ”

            “Open it.” She said quietly. My fingers ever so gingerly popped the locket open, and inside there was a tiny new picture of my Ashley, flashing a winning smile. “This way, even when I’m being difficult, you’ll have me close to your heart.” She said while my eyes were still locked on the locket.

            “Ashley!” I exclaimed excitedly. “How on earth did you – ”

            “I’ve been putting small payments on it for ages. Ever since you hocked it, actually. I put the final payment down this morning, using a chunk of my guitar earnings.” She had barely finished the word when I enveloped her in a suffocating embrace. My arms wrapped tightly around her neck and I squeezed her so hard that I thought for a moment I might have killed her, until her arms wrapped around my back and squeezed with the same intensity.

            “Thank you so much, Ash.” I whispered into her ear. My hands found their way into her hair, and I moved my face to hers. Our lips pressed together, and I had taken her lower lip in mine when suddenly I pulled away. I felt my face grow serious. “I thought that money was for rent. What are we going to do about the rent?” I regretted the words the instant they’d escaped my lips. Leave it to me to wreck the moment with finance talk. Her eyes darted between each of mine, and a small smirk grew larger by the moment. Her head began to shake from side to side.