Are you watching?
Professor Bff
Figured I might as well. Nothing else to do this afternoon.
Now I kind of hope the camera pans over to me. I’ll wave and maybe make the shape of a parabola with my arms so he can laugh at my nerdy ways.
Me
How was the music video?
Professor BFF
He made me sign an NDA. You’ll have to wait until it’s public for me to share. Let’s just say I’ll never hear “Lover” by Taylor Swift the same way again.
I snort a laugh, and Zach glances over at me. “It’s nothing,” I say. “Just a text from Ryan.”
He nods and looks back at the game. I spend the next few minutes texting Ryan back and forth, but then I get to the point where I need a break from the game, the crowd, and the boredom. I get out of my seat and say to Zach, “I’m going to use the restroom.”
His eyes widen, and he looks panicked. “Wait, what?”
I jerk a thumb over my shoulder. “Bathroom. Too much slushie.”
“No, no, you can’t go yet,” he says, yanking me down by the wrist. I sit down hard on my seat and look over at my mom for reassurance that he’s acting weird, but she has the same panicked look in her eyes.
“Why can’t I go to the bathroom?” I ask.
“Just…not yet,” my mom says with a soft smile.
I cross my legs, hoping everything will make sense soon.
The inning finishes, and the announcer starts joking on the loudspeaker about the kiss cam. We watch as a few couples are shown on the screen, that brief moment of realization when they’re paired on camera, and the quick (or not-so-quick) kisses. One pair looks particularly disgusted, and it turns out they’re actually brother and sister.
I lean over to Zach. “Can I go now?”
“Not yet, babe. Almost.”
Almost?
Wait…what?
And then I look up at the screen and see…me.
And Zach.
I roll my eyes and turn to Zach. “Is this what we were waiting for? Did Rick set us up on the kiss cam?” I lean over to kiss him, but he doesn’t press his lips to mine.
Instead, he moves from his seat down to the ground.
On one knee.
Oh.
With a big, bright smile, Zach reaches inside his jacket pocket and pulls out a red velvet box. “Claire, I love you. You’ve been my supporter for so many years, and I just know I’m gonna make it big. And when that happens, I want you by my side. So…will you marry me?”
He’s PROPOSING.
My heart stops for a split second. I blink at him a few times, trying to understand what’s happening, and then the chant begins. It’s just a few people at first, the voices low, and slowly they build until the entire stadium—all fifty thousand people—are chanting, “SAY YES! SAY YES! SAY YES!”
