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Hunter

Mel and I walk out to the parking lot hand in hand as we make our way to my car. Admittedly, I had been nervous about this date all day, even letting my mind wander during the game, but now that I was with her the nerves all seemed to melt away. I still kept thinking about whether or not she was going to like what I had planned being as I have never actually planned a real date, but I was hoping that what I had planned was special enough to make her happy.

I opened the car door for her and helped her hop up inside before walking around and climbing in myself.

"You were amazing today. I have never been to a game, or really into sports, but the energy in the stadium is contagious. I can see why you love it so much."

"Yeah, there is nothing quite packed stands of excited fans getting you pumped up for a game. I don't think I am going to be ready to give that up when I leave this place."

"Are you planning on trying to go pro after college? From what it looked like today, you are definitely good enough."

It was a question I had given countless hours of thought to and resulted in its fair share of fights at the Woods' house. "Honestly I don't know what I am going to do. If it were up to me, it would be football all the way, but my dad has other ideas. He was big in the pros, one of the greats, and often wonder if he thinks I am good enough to follow in his footsteps. He rides me hard, always has, but recently he started talking about other options like he has given up on the dream."

"That sounds hard, the constant pressure to live up, but I think you should go for what makes you truly happy. I don't think that you talk about anything quite as excitedly or passionately as you do football." Her answer was thoughtful, and it meant a lot to know that she noticed the things I was passionate about and was making an effort to learn about them.

"So are you really not going to tell me where we are going?" She asks again, clearly curious.

I chuckled at her eagerness to find out, and almost cracked when I turned my head and saw the adorable smile on her face, but I stood my ground and said, "Nope! But we will be there soon."

I turned on the radio for the remainder of the ride, and after a moment I started to faintly hear Mel humming along. The sweet sound brought a smile to my face and I got the sudden urge to touch her, so I reached over and placed my hand on her thigh.

After another few minutes, we had arrived downtown and at our destination. I pulled in front of one of the high-rise financial buildings that graced the city skyline and walked around to open Melanie's door. Once she hopped out I grabbed her hand and led us into the building and toward the elevators.

"Is our date at the bank?" She asked, somewhat teasingly.

I laughed as we walked into the elevators and hit the button that said 'Roof'. "More like on top of the banks."

After passing all 57 floors, the elevator dinged signaling that we reached our destination on the roof. Well here goes nothing, I thought as the doors opened.

Mel immediately stepped out, and when she saw what I had set up stopped in her tracks. On the roof, there was a small table for two surrounded by white lights, with the sun setting over the city and campus as the backdrop.

I was worried it was too much for a first date, or that Mel wouldn't like it, but when I looked at the astonished look on her face, I was hoping that I had done well. To confirm my thoughts she finally spoke, "This is incredible Hunter, I think it is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her, resting my chin on the top of her head. I planted a kiss on her head and said "The first time I met you, you told me you were up in that library because it was like your little corner of campus where you felt safe. I wanted to create a place where you felt safe with me up here looking out over the world, as our little corner of the universe."