She touched the little box in her pocket and smiled.

She touched the little box in her pocket and smiled as the subway train destined to carry her out of Brooklyn rushed into the Church Avenue station, blowing her carefully groomed hair over her eyes. She tucked the hair behind her ear, holding it down with the earpiece of the glasses she’d been holding her hand. The train squeaked loudly to a stop as the sound of the braked steel wheels sliding along the track echoed loudly through the station. She patted a tear on her cheek away with the hoodie she was wearing as she waited for the doors to slide open.

“Now boarding: B Line to Bedford Park, stops in Lower Manhattan and Central Park. All aboard for the B Line”

The automated message blared through the empty station as Allison stepped onto the nearly empty train. She took stock of her surroundings while carefully selecting a seat that looked clean. She wasn’t expecting many people on the train at this time of night, and she wasn’t surprised to find that the only people she was riding with were a pair of homeless gentleman sleeping near the back of the car. She was careful to be quiet as she sat down, clutching the plain messenger bag she uses as a purse substitute close to her chest, both hiding and protecting the box in the pocket of the hoodie.

Her right hand held the bag to her chest as her left hand cradled the felt-covered box in the hoodie pocket. As she ran her fingers over the seam and hinge of the small box, her thoughts carried her far away from the train now barreling through the New York subway system. She thought back to her lonely apartment in Brooklyn where she had been not half an hour earlier, holding her cat for comfort as she nervously picked up the phone and dialed a number.

“Can I see you tonight? I have something I need to tell you.”
“Of course. When will you be here?”

She could almost see the numbers jumbling in her head as she attempted to estimate the timing of the late-night subway trip.

“About 45 minutes. Do you have any wine?”
“Wine? Maybe. I could go get some?”
“No, it’s okay. You don’t have to. I’m going to leave now, see you soon?”
“Of course, love.”

She hung up the phone as she felt the goosebumps build and disperse on her back, the tingling sensation betraying the confidence in her mind. “It’s now or never” she thought to herself.

Station after station blasted by the window as the vision repeated in her head, her nerves calmed by the gentle rocking of the train and the texture of the tiny box. Eventually the train pulled into the 125^th Street station where she stepped off. She breathed a heavy sigh as she stood for a moment on the platform, recollecting herself and attempting to regain her composure as she patted another set of tears from her cheeks.

The walk from the station to his apartment was a short one, covering only five blocks. His upscale Manhattan apartment building flanked on either side by commercial real estate that had been renovated to contain Business Law specialists and Stock Advisor’s offices. She stepped up the white marble steps and approached the buzzer panel. She pulled a hand mirror out of her bag and double-checked her makeup, remembering as she did so that she’d opted to skip the mascara that at this point would have been smeared around her eyes, and run down her cheeks. She’d managed to stem the tears on the train, containing her joy and excitement as her nerves took their place. There was another heavy sigh as she pressed the buzzer next to the listing for apartment 6D: James Grant. The “kachunk” noise of the deadbolt being electrically pulled away caused her to jump as she pulled open the door and stepped inside. The door closed behind her with a resounding thud.

She walked up the six flights of stairs to find the door to the apartment propped open for her. She stepped in and closed the door behind her. She walked down the short hallway to find James on the couch in the living room playing Madden. He finished the play he was in the middle of and paused the game, turning off the TV as he stood up to greet her. As he set the remote down, she approached from behind and wrapped her arms around his stomach, smelling the sweet odor of his cologne mixed with his pheromones, a scent which had entranced her for the past five years every single time she had hugged him. He twisted around in her arms as she loosened her grip and kissed her.

“Hey you.”
“Heya!”
“You sounded excited on the phone, what’s up?”
“You may want to sit down for this.”
“Oh…kay…”

She held his hands as they both sat down on the comfortable suede couch. The smile he had when she had entered the room faded into a look of confusion at the formality of the situation.
“Don’t worry, it’s good news”
He still had his worries as he watched her pull an envelope from her bag. She slipped the contents out and handed them to him.
“Read it aloud.”

“Dear Ms. Jones:

You have been selected for admission and are authorized to report to the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York on 2 July, 2015, before 10:00 A.M. Daylight Saving Time…

You got in!”

His voice grew with excitement and pride as he read the letter, throwing it aside when he was done as he leapt across the couch to hug her.

“Congratulations, Alley. I’m so proud of you.”
“There’s something else I wanted to talk to you about too.”

He awkwardly crawled off of her and went back to his adjacent seat as she grasped his hands again.

“This is going to be a little… unorthodox, but bear with me.”
“Always.”
“James, how long have we been together?”
“About four years.”
“Four years is a long time, James, and you’ve been there for me even longer than that. You’ve always been there, encouraged me, driven me further than I’d ever imagined I’d go. Without you, this wouldn’t have ever happened.”
“Psh, you’d have made it without me. I didn’t do anything but encourage you. You’ve done all of this.”
“No. You’ve done more than you’ll ever know. So much of what I’ve done was because I knew you believed in me. So many things I’ve been afraid of, and so many times I’ve been ready to give up, you’ve come through and with a few words made me feel like I can take on the world. This hasn’t been an easy four years for the both of us, but we’ve made it. You’ve been my muse and my guidance, and I don’t think I could ever live without you so…”
She reached into her pocket, pulling out the small felted box.
“I know this is a bit of a faux pas, what with picking out both rings myself and all but…”
“Wait, what?”
“Shh…”
“Okay.”

“James. I love you. Will you marry me?”