Elspeth

There was a rose, with blush pink petals and sparkles of gold, taped to my dorm door.

I looked down the hallway, as if I could find the mysterious man.

Before anyone could see, I torn the rose from my dorm and closed the door behind me.

A small card hung from the rose’s thorns.

In elegant gold writing, it read:

Even in a crowd of red roses,

I’d chose the pink one,

Not only for its beauty

But for its delicate uniqueness.

~Your secret admirer

I reasoned with myself whether this display of admiration was creepy, or worse, a foolish joke. But as I tried to think it through, no one would take the time to do this…especially for me.

With a small shard of happiness, I put the rose in a small cup of water.

Maybe I was worth more than I believed.

Declan

I couldn’t stop my smile from growing as I overheard Elspeth talking to Alice about the rose she found taped to her door.

“Man, did you do that?” Ethan whispered.

I nodded, taking a bite of the somewhat sour mashed potatoes.

The clinking and clatter of silverware thankfully was too loud for Elspeth to overhear Ethan revealing me as her secret admirer.

I wish I could just go up to her and tell her straight, but—

“Declan you have to just make the move,” Ethan said, interrupting my thoughts.

I sighed. “What if she says no?”

“Is your fancy rose in the trash?”

“No.”

“There’s your answer.”

I looked at Elspeth, and came to the conclusion

I’d tell her tonight.

Elspeth

It was almost eight pm when I heard a soft knock at the door.

I opened it without a second thought to see Declan standing before me.

I froze.

“Uh, hey,” he said.

Why was Declan Steller at my door right now?

“Um, are you lost?” I managed to say.

Declan’s face went blush pink. “No, uh, I don’t think so. You’re Elspeth.”

“You’re here for me?” I blurted.

Wait.

“Wait, you. Are you my secret admirer?”

Declan nodded with a big smile.

I blushed. “Come in.”

Declan

We talked for almost three hours, but weariness cut us off from talking more.

It was late, and I could tell Elspeth needed rest.

“Goodnight, Elspeth,” I said.

“Goodnight Secert Admirer.”

As I walked back to my dorm, I couldn’t help but think why I didn’t ask her sooner.