Stay With Me

The day started out like any other Saturday morning. Matt awoke at the ungodly hour of 5 A.M., grabbed his gym bag from the closet, and made his way downstairs to the kitchen to grab a few waters and a protein bar. He made sure that everything he usually took in the morning was in his bag before setting the duffle down next to the counter.

Since the start of the offseason, early Saturday mornings were always dedicated to extreme work outs, in order to keep in shape and be in tip-top condition for the start of camp and the next season. Today, however, was different.

He had to pretend like he was actually leaving to workout, or else his girlfriend Emily would wake up and the entire surprise for the day would be ruined.

He quietly tiptoed through the house to get to his small office and when he entered the room he walked directly to his desk. He opened the top left drawer and pulled out a stack of envelopes containing letters he had written over the last week.

They were a part of this elaborate romantic plan that he had created in the hopes that she would agree to take the next step in their relationship together. The stack of letters were neatly tied together with beige material and a simple light pink ribbon was intertwined at the top of the stack to form a small bow, two of Emily’s favorite colors.

He took out a notepad that he kept within the same drawer and ripped out a page. He grabbed his favorite red pen and wrote out a small note to tape onto the top of the ribbon.

Em,
Do not open all of the letters at once. Follow the directions on each envelope and then read the letters inside.


Once it was securely on top of the stack, Matt grabbed the letters and made his way back into the kitchen. He placed them on the center of the counter, a place where he knew she would see them once she awoke. He glanced up at the time and realized that he had taken far too long. He should have been out of the door five minutes ago.

He quickly picked up his bag, which contained one of his nicest suits, a pair of his favorite dress shoes, and an item that was his second most expensive purchase to date. He grabbed his car keys off of the hanger and walked towards the front door. He made sure to set the locks and close it as softly as he could. He grinned from ear to ear as he unlocked his truck and got in, thinking about what was going to take place throughout the day. He felt as if he were leaving his house as one man and was going to return home later in the evening as someone completely different.

This is it, he thought as he backed out of the driveway. Today’s the big day.