She has no idea

You almost feel bad seeing all the things James has prepared for today. You had known it was your anniversary, your 5th in fact, but you had always simply exchanged gifts and maybe tried something new in the bedroom. You had never seen him go all out like this before, and now you worry that your card and present will seem insensitive. Maybe it was because it was a milestone anniversary, you wonder.

You’re finishing a 4 course meal, first your favorite soup, then a wonderful salad with a new dressing concocted by Alex Peters, your assistant. You just finished some gorgeous fresh caught bass from the lake a couple miles out that he paired with your favorite wine, and now he was bringing out some homemade strawberry ice cream.

“You really have outdone yourself babe. Everything has been so amazing; I don’t even know what to think.” You hope your nervousness isn’t conveyed in your tone, and it seems like it didn’t by the smile that hits his face. “Well nothing’s too good when it comes to celebrating you entering my life. We’ve talked about what my love life looked like before you came along, and I’ll never take for granted the love we share.”

Oh wow. Maybe it’s the wine, but he doesn’t always get like this, at least not until late at night when exhaustion brings up all those bottled emotions he has. “Have I told you yet today I love you?” The smile is worth it. “Probably, but you know I’ll never say no to hearing it an extra time.” He really is in a great mood. You hope you can skip to the eventual sex quicker than normal, if only because you worry that stalling will only give you the chance to ruin this.

After finishing the ice cream, your nerves get the better of you. “So what now hot stuff? I know we just had ice cream, but I’m dying for some more dessert.” He grins “As much as I’d love to take you up on that offer right here, right now, I have 2 more tricks up my sleeve before we get to the, shall we say, climax of the evening.” He laughs at his own joke, and you manage to fake a laugh along with him, but now you’re really on edge. He prepared even MORE surprises? You really aren’t worthy of this man, you swear he’s almost doing this to make you feel bad at this point.

“Alright then hot shot, what’s next?” As he starts cleaning the table, he smiles and says “Well, you’ll like how it starts. Strip.” Wait a minute, all this pushback on speeding up the finale and now he’s ordering you to strip? “You’ll find that I’ve managed to draw you a hot bath without you ever realizing it. I even managed to find those bath salts you really like.”

Holy crap!! “You didn’t! Those are so expensive! And how in the WORLD did you somehow manage to set up a hot bath while also serving dinner?” He laughs “Haven’t you realized by now?” He puffs out his chest and takes his glasses off. “I’m Superman!”

As cheesy as that was, and as shocked by how far he’s gone, you can’t help but start laughing. It seems you have **** but to follow along, but then your gift should be given now before you forget completely, because you’re certain things will speed up after a sensual hot bath. Especially if he plans on joining you… “James, before I go take a bath, and I hope that you’ll be joining me, I want to give you my gift.” He smiles sincerely, but he shakes his head no.

“Sorry hot stuff, we’re going to exchange gifts after the bath. Unless your gift is somehow bath related, it’ll have to wait.” You can’t believe how well he seems to have planned the evening. He even knows exactly when he wants to exchange gifts? You decide to play along, as every effort you’ve made at shaping the night so far have been rebuffed time and again.

You just hope you don’t screw things up too bad… How in the world could someone like him fall for someone like you, who almost forgot to buy a card earlier today and cheaped out on your gift as well?

So you strip, dropping off you clothes in the hamper and working your way towards the bathroom, and what greats you almost sends you to tears. Candles lit throughout the space, rose petals floating on top of the bath, and what looks to be a bottle of champagne literally on ice. It’s like living in one of those cheesy Hallmark movies, but this is making you cry more than any of those movies ever did. Luckily, you managed to slip into the bath before he meets you in there, so any crying just seems to be a result of the bath water.

“Mind if I join you beautiful?” You nod to him, and he slips in next to you. You think about teasing him, but your heart wouldn’t be in it. It’s a surprisingly quiet bath, just luxuriating in the hot water, feeling the bath salts do their work, and sipping on champagne with the man of your dreams. He makes no moves to start anything physical, which tells you he was truthful about his planned timeline for the evening. You wonder what he’ll even think of your gift at this point…

“Melanie? Are you ok?” He noticed… “Melanie?” You can’t help but start to cry. It’s all so much, the food, the bath, and the fact that he has even more planned, all while you bought a cheesy card and a simple wood carved picture frame you made him. You felt like the biggest fraud imaginable, and as he moves to comfort you, you keep him an arm’s length away.

“Melanie, what’s wrong? Let me help.” You can’t speak. You feel worse every moment, knowing that this isn’t fair to him. You’re ruining the night, after all the work he put in and you’re going to ruin it with your tears.

“Melanie… please talk to me. Was it something I did? Did I go overboard on you? You know I can’t help myself sometimes. I just wanted tonight to be perfect.” You **** on your words, but **** yourself to speak none the less. “Th-that’s just i-it. T-Tonight IS perf-perfect. I feel li-like I let you d-down.” He’s silent for a moment as you continue to cry. You want him to comfort you, but you also know it would only make you feel even worse.

“I want you to listen to me very carefully. I’m going to go grab my gift for you, and I want you to just sit in the bath, and relax for a minute ok? I’ll explain everything when I get back.” Before you can say a word he stands up, grabs a towel, and leaves.

A million thoughts race in your mind as you can’t begin to understand what’s happening. You had to have ruined the night right? You’ve made him feel like he did something wrong, when it was you who messed up. You try and steady your breathing, and let the bath water take you again.

It feels like an eternity since he left, but you realize it can’t have even been a full minute yet. You finally steady yourself and decide to close your eyes. Focusing on how the bath feels, and the smell of the candles starts to help you unwind. You hear his footsteps before he even reaches the door, and start your apology before he even opens it.

“James I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me, you just have been so wonderful tonight and I didn’t expect any of it and I felt like I wasn’t doing enough and it all hit me at once and maybe I just drank a bit too much, you know how I get, if there’s any way I can save tonight you just need to tell me and I’ll do it.” He opens the door, takes two steps inside, and gets down on one knee.

“All you need to do is say yes.” You look in his hands and can’t believe it. It all makes sense now, everything. He wasn’t going all out for the anniversary, he was proposing. You start to cry all over again, but instead of coming from a hole in your stomach, it comes from the joy in your heart.

“You jackass.” You joke. “What would ever make you think I’d have said no?” You move to get out of the bath, but he puts the ring on the counter and gets to you before you can stand up fully. He embraces you in a wondrous hug that seems to melt all that anxiety and pain away.

“You did nothing wrong Melanie. You never have. I’ve loved you since I set eyes on you, and I knew that first night we spent together that I never wanted to wake up next to anyone else. You’re my dream girl, and we’ve grown so much over the last 5 years together. I want us to spend the rest of our lives together. I want to raise our children together. You’ve made me the happiest man alive, and I can’t bear the thought of losing you.”

Your heart is bursting as you continue to cry into his chest. You wanted to say all of it back to him, to tell him exactly what he meant to you. But you couldn’t, not yet at least. You wanted to live in this moment for a while longer, this blissful, dream like moment. He just holds you and lets you compose yourself. You cry until the tears run dry, and look up into his beautiful hazel eyes. “I could never explain to you how much you mean to me James. I can’t wait to be your wife, and the mother of your children. Every day I’ve spent with you has felt like a dream, and I can’t imagine any night ever topping this one.”

You kiss, not one of passion, or release, though both would have fit. No, this kiss was one of pure devotion to another human being, a statement so profound it couldn’t be delivered in words. Once you break the kiss, you know what comes next. “Take me to bed James. Take me to bed and make love to your wife.” You feel him get hard almost instantly. “Yes ma’am.”

So he picks you up out of the bath, dripping on the floor as you walk to the bedroom. You break the threshold of the bedroom as a married couple should, and he lays you down on the bed. As he gets on top of you, you start kissing again. “I love you Melanie Brown.” “No. You love Melanie Young. And she loves you back, James Young.” This had to be his most beautiful smile yet. Your mind goes numb as he leans back into the kiss, and the night really begins.