Consolation prize winner of the
Summer Surprises Contest,
written by XerinaFang

The smell of beer and peanuts fill the air as I walk alongside Matt. His golden, brown hair and his soft, tan skin glisten with his beauty as he leads me down to home plate. 

His hand holds mine with such a soft grasp, our eyes meet as he gives me one of his heart throbbing smiles. 

It is the first of July, Canada Day, and the Toronto Blue Jays are wearing pink jerseys to raise awareness for breast cancer. His jersey sways with the wind as he walks me over to the pitching mound. 

The dome is open and I can feel the sun's rays beating down upon my head. He stops me from wandering off aimlessly before he gets down onto one knee to tie up a loose shoelace. 

I lightly laugh in my head, he might be a pitcher, but he'll always be my Shoemaker. 

I look up at the blue sky, not a single cloud dared to drift over head. It is a perfect summer's day.

"I'm ready to pitch the first ball." I speak in a soft tone to let Matt know that I'm ready. 

"Okay, but you'll have to turn around first." He replies with a slight chuckle in his tone as I turn around to look at him. 

My eyes widen and I hold my breath as I see him pull out a small, pink, ring box from his pocket. Still on one knee, he lifts the ring box up and then opens it to reveal the treasure inside. My heart begins to race as my gaze lands upon a sapphire standing proudly on top of a silver ring band.

"Will you make me the happiest man alive, and marry me?" His eyes sparkle with the sun and his smile melts my heart. I can feel the sweat pooling upon my forehead, I can feel my body beginning to heat up. 

It must have been the extreme heat radiating from the sun, or the thousands of eyes that stare heavily at us, for my brain began to melt and I was left without a word to speak. 

"...uhm..." I finally manage to utter a word, yet I can still feel as though all of Toronto were holding their breath, waiting to hear my answer to the question. 

I can see his facial expression slowly begin to shift from happiness to sadness as the silence lingers. 

My gaze shifts from his slowly deteriorating visage, to his teammates on the bench, to the fans in the stadium, and then back to his face. 

"...Uh..." I hesitate more, I'm so indecisive, do I really want to commit to a relationship right now? Is it too early? I don't know if I'm ready. I don't want to break his heart. And I definitely don't want to disappoint the fans. My thoughts run rampage through my head before I shut my eyes and finally come to a decision. I look deeply into his eyes as I reply..., 

"...no..."