Hazed (Palm South University)

“So, tacos,” Cassie says, releasing my hand to loop her arm through mine, instead. The main street of Breckenridge is what you’d expect any western town to look like, except with mountains sprawling up all around and snow covering every inch. We walk carefully even in our snow boots to make sure we don’t slip on the ice hidden in patches. “What about that place,” she says, nodding toward a little Mexican restaurant at the end of the strip.

“Looks perfect,” I say, and then I glance around, making sure everyone and everything is in place. “But first, you should come over here.”

I drag her toward a staircase lined with fairy lights and flowers that leads up to the outlet mall on the main strip, smiling at her confusion the whole way.

“I don’t really feel like shopping.”

“We’re not. Just stand here,” I say, placing her in the middle of the staircase about halfway up. “It’ll be a nice picture.”

She chuckles at that, crossing her arms over her chest. “Since when have you been on the lookout for photo ops?”

I grin, kissing her forehead before I hop down the stairs two at a time. When I get to the bottom, I turn to face her again. “Since now.”

Suddenly, the music coming from the speakers lining the main street goes dead, and four of my brothers scramble from where they’d been blending in at various outdoor dining tables along the street. They gather right in the middle of the road — one with a guitar, one with a cajón, and one with a tambourine — while the last of them starts singing into the wireless microphone now connected to the speakers.

Jason Mraz.

“I’m Yours.”

Cassie’s brows tug inward at first, and then she laughs, shaking her head and looking from the band to me and back again. “What in the wo—”

Before she can finish her sentence, a few more of my brothers jump up from where they’d been pretending to shop or eat, and start dancing. Then, a handful of Cassie’s sisters do the same. It’s a waterfall effect, and as the first verse is sweetly sung, dozens and dozens of Alpha Sigmas and Kappa Kappa Betas start filling the street below Cassie and dancing in a choreographed flash mob.

Cassie is laughing and clapping along, and every time her eyes find mine, she’s looking at me like I’ve lost my mind. I can see the confusion in her eyes, and she mouths, “What is this?!”

When the first chorus finishes, my brother who was singing tosses me the mic, and I catch it with a spin just as everyone else freezes.

Suddenly, the jubilant affair is at a stand-still, and Cassie gasps, still smiling as she looks around at everyone frozen in various dance moves.

“Cassie McBee,” I start, still standing at the foot of the stairs with the microphone in my hand. “You and I… we have put each other through the wringer. From other people stealing our attention to our own damn pride standing in the way, we have taken anything but the easy route to finally being together.”

She chuckles at that, and already, I can see her eyes welling with tears.

“From the first moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you’d be mine. Even if I didn’t realize at the time what the feeling was, I can look back now and say with confidence that the way the world tilted, the way my breath caught, the way everything before that moment seemed to fade away — it was my body and soul’s recognition of forever standing right in front of me.”

I start slowly walking up the stairs, one by one.

“It killed me to see you hurt by others while I fought my way to you. It killed me even more that I was so blind to see what we had from the start, that it took us both so long to finally make this official. But one thing I know without a single doubt is that I wouldn’t change any of it. Because all the pain, all the heartache, all the frustration,” I add with a chuckle. “It all led us right here, to this moment, to this incredible, one-of-a-kind love that no one else in this world has.”

The first tears slip free when Cassie blinks as I step up to stand on the step right below her.

“You’re my person, Cassie,” I say, reaching into my pocket for the delicate silver chain with my fraternity’s letters on it. When I withdraw it and let it dangle from my fingers, Cassie gasps, covering her mouth with both hands. The tears flow stronger. “You’re my now. You’re my forever. And though I may have a lot to figure out still, I know I can do anything with you by my side.”

“Adam…”

I step up to meet her, tucking the microphone between my arm and ribs long enough to unclasp the necklace and hold it up.