In mid-April, I (Kyle) began plotting with my future best man and house mate Braden. We threw around ideas for awhile of how we would pull of this proposal. I would dream up big plans and then bounce them off Braden for practicality. Meanwhile, I was also thwarting off the hardest person to keep a secret from that I know, my girlfriend.

At the end of the semester, we headed our separate ways, Kyle down to Indy and me all the way to Worcester, Massachusetts. I was going 14 hours away to do research for the summer. It took about two weeks for me to start getting homesick. By mid-June I really missed my family, friends, and of course Kyle. I am blessed by wonderful friends who loved to dream with me about Kyle coming to visit (@Morgan and Jordan), but weekend after weekend he didn't come. I was crying....a lot. The weekend before the surprise was suppose to occur, Kyle took a road trip up to Trine with some buddies. He told me he slept in until 1 pm that Saturday morning, which I BELIEVED. I was slipping in my sleuthing capabilities. He was really meeting with my parents for lunch to ask them an important question. At this point, Kyle was starting to believe his crazy plan might just work. That same Saturday, I went and got my nails done with my roommate who is one of the least frilly people I have ever met. I was again slipping in my discernment because Kyle had orchestrated all of this and I thought nothing of it!

The week leading up to the proposal Braden and I (Kyle) worked long hours to take a half day on Friday. At the end of the week I even convinced Erika I had a dentist appointment, going as far as driving there to take a picture of the sign! Braden and I hit the road, and if you know us at all, you won't be surprised by the fact that it took us 20 minutes to get out of the driveway because we were both frazzled and nervous wrecks. I started driving and made it half way through Ohio when I finally texted Erika back, claiming that I had napped for 3 hours after my dentist appointment. Unfortunately, it wasn't all smooth sailing. Although she did believe me, she thought I might be flying to her during that time. So, she had cried for her whole 2 mile run. At this point, Braden had to take over driving because he was tired of being the middle man during Erika's minor breakdown. I contacted the same roommate from the last weekend and they went out and ate their feelings at Chick-fil-a (nothing the Christian Chicken can't handle). We stopped for the night in Scranton, Pennsylvania. We had almost made it and the cat wasn't out of the bag yet.

In the morning, Braden and I were both grateful that Erika was taking a practice GRE. Braden later told Erika, "we were so excited, four hours we didn't have to lie to you!". We drove the rest of the way to Worcester in peaceful bliss of Erika's ignorance. When we arrived we headed to the proposal site I had scoped out online previously. We marked out places on the ground for me to stand and had an entire game plan for the day. At that point, Erika texted me that she was done with her test and was about to head out to a lake house of one of her local peers. FREAK OUT!

We jumped back in the car, racing to the nearest super market for me to grab flowers. We arrived at Erika's apartment, when I proceeded to call her....I was pretty nervous to say the least. SHE DIDN'T ANSWER THE PHONE. Then, SHE DIDN'T ANSWER AGAIN. (I (Erika) was just doing dishes!) At this point, I thought she had already left and wasn't picking up because she was driving. We did not plan for this! Luckily, she called me right back. I told her I was outside with a special delivery. She was yelling on the phone, making sure I was telling the truth, but come on, really? I know better than to lie about something this important. Our reunion was sweet, a better response than I could have hoped for.

The rest of the day was a blur. It was so hot in Worcester and their AC really wasn't working. Erika took us around campus and showed us all their was to see (something we would be thankful for later). We headed out for dinner at 7pm, leaving Braden behind. While we ate, Braden was going to the proposal site. When he got there, a full-on Cos-Play group was there for a photo shoot in full costume. They told him they would be leaving soon...they didn't.

Braden frantically called me during dinner. We improvised, with Braden hurrying back to a garden on campus. I tried to stall the best I could, but hey, I was really nervous. Erika loves to tell people how I ran a red light due to my anxiety (haven't gotten a ticket, so we are all good). When we arrived back on campus, I casually asked Erika to go on a walk. Getting to the garden, I had her close her eyes. Then I ran up to make sure Braden was set up, the change in venue really left him short on time.

Walking up the garden, Kyle told me to open my eyes. I (Erika) exclaimed "Oh, buddy" and immediately started to tear up. He had done more than I ever dreamed of. Lining the garden bushes were tea candles, rose pedals, and pictures from throughout our relationship. It was a Pinterest worthy proposal and it was mine. At the end of the walk way was Braden "hiding" and taking the most beautiful pictures that I will treasure forever. Kyle got down on one knee, said some sweet words, and I, of course, said yes. He asked me to take the ring then and I said that was his job. It was an awkward moment that was so us...(it's mainly me (Kyle) that is awkward). As with our first date, our celebration was short. The next morning, I took Braden and Kyle to Starbucks and they went on their way for their 14 hour drive back to Indiana for work the next day!

So that's it, our story, here is to us starting forever.