Hey There Delilah

I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her into my lap. 

“Please? For me?”

I gently strummed the guitar that rested in my other arm. I was trying to convince her to sing as I played, but as per usual, she was being stubborn. As much as I pleaded with her, she never wanted to sing in front of others, not even me. She had always been a bit bashful and reserved, but it was another thing I loved about her. She was mine. Nobody would ever see her the way I did, no one would ever see how she truly was, behind the walls she put up to hide from people.

“No way, but you should sing for me!”

I sighed. Sometimes I wished she could see herself the way I saw her. I wished she could hear her angelic voice the way I heard it, and the way her eyes glittered and crinkled up when she got to the lines she liked. I could listen to her forever, and yet she would never hear herself the way I heard her.

I was quickly drawn out of my thoughts by her squeezing my hand, and I looked up to see her eyes shining hopefully. A small smile rested on her face, and I would do anything to keep it there, so I gave in. I gently strummed the starting chords to “Hey There Delilah” one of her favorite songs. Some days I could hear her quietly sing it in the shower, when she thought no one was around. Those were my favorite days. She would sing without a care in the world, so pure and free.

“Hey there, Delilah, what’s it like in New York City?” 

She started giggling happily, and rested her head on my chest, and it was all worth it. Maybe I would never get her to sing for me, but those enchanting giggles would draw me in, over and over again. Everything about her drew me in. Whenever I look at her, I see her the same way I did the first time I saw her.

The image of her sitting there, her cheeks flushed pink, golden hair flowing through the wind carelessly, would be tattooed on my soul forever. And I wanted it all. I wanted her fingerprints pressed into my skin forever, her eyes raw and emotional, staring into my endless abyss of love for her.

Even more prominent in my mind, was the day I asked her to be mine, to let me love her the way I always dreamed to.

Her cheeks were a dusty pink, she was a sun kissed goddess. Her piercing blue eyes would be intimidating but the homely crinkles at the corners gave away the gentle truth. Her cheekbones and fluffy bangs kept her together and tore me apart all the same. every piece of her, tore me apart. Her smile took my breath away, her gaze turned my cheeks rosy and her touch melted me in a way I never knew was possible.

That day on the field marked the most amazing, life-changing decision I ever made. I knew from then on, that this was it. She was it. She was the girl I was going to marry, and everyday, I think about the beautiful, crazy, messy and remarkable future we can have. I knew I wanted her forever, and yet there was something stopping me from asking her. Maybe I was afraid to step out of the delicate safety bubble we had created around us, scared it would pop and turn our relationship into a fragile memory.

“Hey there Delilah, i’ve got so much left to say, if every simple song I wrote to you, would take your breath away, i’d write it all. Even more in love with me you’d fall, we’d have it all.”

Isn’t that the truth? If the world was ending, I would slow it down, just to see that precious smile one more time, just to see the crinkle in her eyes before whispering goodbye. I would do absolutely anything to take her breath away, to make her love me even more. I want her smile to last forever, even if mine disappears for just as long.

When I was with her, all I could think about was her. She would fully consume my senses, until all I could conjure up was the image of her dainty smile, and all I could hear was her soft whispers. Her sweet strawberry aroma would flood me completely, until I was drowning, suffocating, in her. Her body fit perfectly with mine, as if we were created to be together. My arms wrapped around her waist, her head in the crook of my neck, our souls, intertwined.

“A thousand miles seems pretty far-”

“-but they’ve got planes and trains and cars,”

My head jerked up in surprise, and she smiled with the most pure, innocent, unfiltered beauty. And then my eyes met hers. Her gaze was warm, like a blanket, soothing and comforting. Any pain I'd ever felt was all gone, as if it never existed, and I wondered if it really did. Everything shone, golden heat streaming through my soul. Pure bliss. It took my breath away, it was electrifying, but the most calming thing I'd ever felt. It was like a warm embrace in my soul, a thousand hugs would never come close to the feeling. it was love past the surface, passed the kisses, and i love you. It was the love from soulmates, platonic and romantic, that fed my soul what it craved the most. 

“Hey there Delilah, here’s to you, this ones for you, because I love you.” I shakily put the guitar down, and her head tipped in confusion. I gently reached into my pocket, and pulled out the box with trembling hands. Everything led up to this moment, and yet I felt a strange amount of peace mixed with the nerves.

“Delilah, will you marry me?”