Pinball Wizardess

She laid down in the bed next to him, and began to stroke him in a sensitive place. The physical reaction was almost instantaneous, and he began stirring immediately, making happy little sounds. Then his eyes snapped open, and he saw her.

"Am I dreaming?"

"No, Frank, you're not dreaming. I'm really here."

"What, why, are you here?"

"Frank, a little bird told me that you were going to give me something tonight, but then you decided not to. Frank, were you going to give me something tonight?"

"But you seemed so dismayed at the thought that I got a job right here in town, I thought, I must have, maybe it was just, ..." he trailed off into incoherence.

"Maybe you should have let me decide if I wanted your present, or not. You didn't even show me. You didn't even tell me you had something for me. You can't assume I don't want something, if you never even show it to me, now can you?"

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"Frank was there something you wanted to give me? Or was there something you wanted to ask me?"

He took a deep breath. "Yes. Just a minute." He disappeared into the bathroom for a minute. He came back out, looking more awake. (And his face was very wet.) He picked his pants up off the floor. He pulled out the box. He dropped to one knee.

"I don't know how you found out, but it doesn't matter. Once I found out that I could get a job in town, after I was finished being a student, I realized that there was a very important reason I WANTED to stay in town. That reason is you."

"Maybe this is too sudden. Maybe..."

"Maybe you should get to the point. We don't have all night."

He took one last deep breath. "Kelly, I love you. Will you marry me?" Then he opened the box. She saw a glitter, but she was looking into his eyes, not at the box.

"Frank, I was worried that you were going to throw away your professional career, just so you could hang out and play with me after graduation. We can talk about jobs later. We can talk about other really important questions later. You just asked me a very important question, that I did not see coming."

"Yes, Frank, I love you. The answer is 'yes'. I want to marry you. We'll work out the details later. Now come here and seal the deal right now. Take me, I'm yours."

An hour later, she snuck back out the door, and around the side of the building.

A second later, a campus security guard came around. "Excuse me, miss, did you just see a coed come this way?"

Kelly pointed towards the nearest sorority house. "Whoever she was, she got away clean."

"Dang," he said. "The Dean promised me a bonus for every girl I caught sneaking out in the middle of the night. I haven't caught one yet."

She patted him on the shoulder. "Tough luck. I had one go right by me, and she still got away. But I don't think they kidnapped anyone and brought them here by force. And I think they are all chronologically adults. So..." she shrugged.

"I suppose so. But, sometimes, I think these girls just don't know what they're getting into."

"Usually we don't. How many people would get married, if they really knew what they were getting into, after all?" She left him to puzzle that one out. She made it home without further incident. Around noon, Frank came in her back door, up to her room, and further displayed his enthusiasm. He called his parents, and told them he needed to work on a project with a professor over break. He called his house, and told them he was going to spend the week with a friend. They were a little low on groceries by the end of the week, because neither left the house, or even got dressed, all week long.

They were married in a quiet ceremony before the start of the next school year. Mike was best man.