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“I close my eyes and the flashback starts,” echoes through Zurich as my own flashback starts. I'm transported back to when she first smiled at me. Her eyes twinkled with a hint of mischief. I think back to when I felt the warmth of her body against mine for the first time. I wrapped my arms around her, offering solace in a world that is too cold for her. I think back to our first kiss that sealed our connection. As the song continues to fill the summer air, each verse sets the stage of what’s to come.
“See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns.” She’s an ethereal beauty that leaves me breathless. Her shimmering long hair cascades down her shoulders, catching the light. Her gold-fringed minidress clings to her curves in all the right places, accentuating every graceful movement she makes and igniting a fire within me. On stage, she looks like a red-lipped goddess among mortals, captivating everyone who dares to gaze upon her.
“Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone.” As she utters those words, her voice carries a delicate urgency. Fifty thousand pairs of eyes follow each step she takes towards the front of the stage. An aura of confidence and poise surrounds her. I watch her with a mixture of awe and pride. My heart swells with admiration for the woman she has become. She's worked tirelessly to reach this point, overcoming obstacles and challenges with unwavering determination. And now, as she stands before the crowd, bathing in the glow of their admiration, I know that she deserves every bit of it.
“Little did I know.”
I grin. She has absolutely no idea this is coming. It was a secret I had guarded closely. I only shared it with select members of the crew this afternoon. Anticipation thrums through my veins. Dressed in my finest black suit, I hop onto the stage from the very back. As soon as the fans spot me, the crowd erupts into deafening cheers. She remains oblivious, lost in the rhythm of the music and the adoration of her fans. Little does she know that amidst the sea of faces, there is one who holds a surprise unlike any other, a moment that will make history.
As I inch closer to the diamond stage, the grin on my face widens with every step. As I draw nearer, I can't help but marvel at the sheer audacity of it all. My anticipation hangs heavy in the humid air, mingling with the pulsating rhythm of the music that echoes through the stadium. I can't shake the overwhelming sense of nervousness that courses through my veins, a mixture of excitement and apprehension that leaves my stomach tied in knots. Even during the Super Bowl, I've never experienced nerves quite like this.
As she gracefully dances back to the diamond stage, unknowingly striding towards her destiny, her mind is fully immersed in the performance, each step practiced a thousand times. I can't help but wonder how she'll react to what awaits her. One thing is certain: the fans have seen me, so there’s no going back. Despite my nerves that threaten to consume me, I wouldn't trade this moment for anything in the world. My heart pounds with the promise that something truly magical is going to happen.
“I got tired of waiting. Wonderin' if you were ever comin' around.”
As the floor lighting of the stage undergoes a transformation, shifting from the usual black backdrop and the familiar yellow glow of the guitar to a luminous white, a hushed murmur ripples through the crowd. The change is subtle yet striking, casting an ethereal glow that bathes the stage in a soft, radiant light. For a moment, she seems taken aback, her gaze flickers uncertainly towards one of the guitarists, a silent question lingering in her eyes. In response, he offers a reassuring nod. With a gesture, he prompts her to turn around.
As she pivots on her heels, her eyes widen in surprise and a gasp escapes her lips as she catches sight of me stepping onto the diamond stage. Time seems to stand still as our glances meet across the expanse of the stage. She must know what this means. The world fades away, leaving only the two of us. Amidst the sea of faces and the symphony of sounds that surround us, nothing else matters but the connection that binds us together. Her eyes mirror the intensity of my own, each glance a silent declaration of the love and adoration that flows between us.
“My faith in you was fading. When I met you on the outskirts of town,” she sings towards me. Her voice is already trembling with raw emotion. Her vulnerability is palpable, each note carrying the weight of what’s to come. Her voice is full of longing and yearning mixed with fear. The song is almost finished. I quicken my pace, striding towards her with giant strides. The stage beneath my feet blurs as I move, my focus fixed solely on her, bathed in the soft glow of the stage lights. Her presence is magnetic, drawing me closer with each passing second, until finally, I stand in front of her and our gazes lock.
“Romeo, save me, I've been feeling so alone.”
"I know, Tay," I whisper softly, inaudibly. I feel her pain as if it were my own. I will never let her be alone anymore. Together, we can overcome anything that life throws our way.
“I keep waiting for you, but you never come.”
She looks at me with a silent confession of the pain and disappointment that my love has eluded her for far too long. I'm sorry for waiting so long to come into your life, my eyes silently convey, a silent apology for the time that has slipped through our fingers. I mourn the moments we could have shared but never did. For over twenty years, she had waited, her heart filled with hope and uncertainty. It breaks my heart to know that she had to sing this song all this time, a constant reminder of unfulfilled promises and shattered dreams. Always the girlfriend, never the bride.
“Is this in my head? I don't know what to think.”
For too long, she's been trapped in the confines of her own mind, lost in a labyrinth of doubts. It's time to banish these doubts. The beat of the drums intensifies. I kneel to the ground and pull out a ring and sing:
“Marry me, Taylor. You'll never have to be alone. I love you and that's all I really know. I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress. It's a love story, baby, just say ‘yes’.”
Tears stream down her cheeks and she sinks to the floor beside me. Her sobs are lost amidst the deafening roar of the crowd. Without a moment's hesitation, I reach out to her, enfolding her trembling form in my arms. Through tear-streaked lashes, she gazes up at me and whispers a breathless "yes," a single word weighted with the promise to hold fast to each other through our life’s highs and lows.
Our lips crash together in a fierce and desperate kiss. Pure happiness flows through me, the purest form I’ve ever experienced. I gently brush away the tears that streak her cheeks and whisper into her ear the words that have been echoing in my heart for so long. "I want you to be my wife and the mother of my children," I murmur, each word infused with the depth of my love and commitment to her. "I love you," she manages to utter between sobs.
As the music continues to pulse through the air and the fans continue to scream, we remain locked in each other's embrace, lost in this moment. Too happy and too exhausted to stand, we simply kneel there, content to revel in the warmth of each other's presence, knowing that we have found our home in each other's arms.