Stay With Me

The buzz of an obnoxious alarm clock filled Matt and Emily’s shared room, rudely awakening Emily from her slumber. It took her awhile to climb out of bed, and when she did she decided to get dressed and ready for the day. After scavenging through her closet and drawers, she picked out her favorite denim jeans and settled with a cute light pink lacey camisole, covered by a long-sleeved beige blazer. She was in and out of the bathroom within five minutes, only applying a small amount of make-up and putting on the diamond necklace Matt had given her as a graduation gift.

Emily started down the stairs and, out of habit, glanced up at the clock that was perched on the wall opposite of the banister. It was nearing 10:15, which seemed to be an abnormally late start for her. With a small yawn she headed straight towards the fridge and pulled out a bottle of orange juice. Grabbing a clean glass from the cupboard, she turned around to face the center of the counter. As she set down her glass, the stack of letters Matt left for her caught her eye. She quickly poured her juice, put the container back in the fridge, and took a seat at the counter. As she took her first sip, she hooked her finger into the side of the ribbon and pulled the stack closer to her.

She read over Matt’s note and her whole face lit up. She absolutely adored Matt’s surprises and it made her feel a little giddy inside. With a few tugs she removed the ribbon entirely, giggling softly to herself when she realized that the ribbons matched the colors of the clothes she was wearing.

Go into the living room and turn on the T.V. Press play on the DVD player and watch. Open the envelope when it’s over.

With her juice still tightly gripped in one hand, she bounded towards the living room and did everything the directions said to do. The video started just as she got comfortable on the sofa and even though video was of poor quality, she instantly recognized what it was. Half way through it Emily felt her cheeks turn red.

Why am I watching this? she thought.

The screen went black and Emily wasted no time ripping open the envelope. She was careful not to damage it too much, because she had every intention of keeping it. She always kept the little love letters and silly cards Matt had written for her over the years.

Em,

To this day, it’s embarrassing to recall and tell the story of how we met.

It was a Saturday morning at the rink and hockey practice had just finished. As most of us players were walking out of the locker room, my teammate Callum and I started to push and shove each other. It was all in good fun, of course, until I threw my bag behind me without even thinking.

It was like you had suddenly come out of nowhere and everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Before I even had time to react, you tripped over my bag and nearly face-planted it onto the floor.

A mixture of laughs and gasps from my teammates only seemed to add to the embarrassment. What was more embarrassing, though, was that Travis, who I’m sure you still remember, happened to catch the entire thing on video. I remember standing frozen in one spot for a few moments, silently wishing that I could disappear, before I ran over to you and asked if you were okay. I was never the “smooth” one when it came to girls and this was like the icing on the cake.

“I-I’m really sorry,” I immediately spit out. I probably seemed like a stuttering idiot.

God, I felt so horrible. When you started laughing though, you have no idea how relieved I was that you were okay. I thought that you might slap me. I would have deserved it for making you fall like that.

“I’m fine,” you smiled and told me. With that infectious laugh of yours, I couldn’t help but let go and laugh too. You stayed on the floor and rolled around and then you snorted. I had never seen someone’s face turn so red before in my life.

“I can’t believe I just did that,” you said after you calmed down. I remember shaking my head and thinking that it was probably one of the most adorable things I’ve ever seen a girl do. I didn’t realize I had actually said it out loud until you shyly looked away. It was my turn to be embarrassed. We were quiet for sometime, awkwardly staring at each other, and it was then that I really got a good look at you. I know you hate when I say this, but you were perfect in every way possible. Your green eyes had me so mesmerized and I wanted to know so much more about you, but then you told me that you had to go.

“At least let me walk you out to your car,” I boldly offered. I don’t know what made me ask that, but there was something about you that intrigued me.

That walk to your car was much too quick for my liking and I almost let you drive away without even getting your name.

“Emily,” you said softly after you rolled down your window.

“Matt,” I told you. “and I’m really sorry about what happened back in the arena.”

You waved your hand and I took that as you accepting my apology. I wanted to ask you for your number, and I almost did, but I chickened out at the last second. Typical me, right?

“It was nice to meet you Emily,” I nodded my head and turned to walk away. I felt like such an idiot and mentally kicked myself. I knew what the guys in the locker room would say when I told them and thought that I would never live that one down. But then you surprised me and called out my name.

“How about you make it up to me by treating me to ice cream sometime,” you shouted, and I think my eyes just about popped out of their sockets. You hopped out of your car and ran over to me, that beautiful smile of yours never leaving your face.

“Let me see your arm.” In dark red ink you wrote down your telephone number and told me to text you. Then you leaned up and kissed my cheek before running back to your car and pulling out of the parking lot. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. But that’s you Emily, always full of surprises.

My cheek burned where your lips had touched and, if I remember correctly, I did a little dance just as soon as you were out of sight. One little gesture and you made me feel like I was on top of the world.

Thinking back on all of this now, and actually putting it down onto paper, puts a smile on my face. We were so young and we had no idea where life would take us. You laughed at me a few years ago when I told you, but I swear that it was fate you tripped over my bag that day.

And to think that this was only just the beginning of us.