And with the look of a possessed woman, she gets up, takes the candle box and leaves.

I grin to myself. I'm not too worried about what she'll find out. Nobody in the sorority knows what will happen tonight but me.

And what the hell was that anyway about Phillip and me coming to our senses? Whatever. She so knows we are just friends. I don't understand why people always think there is something between us.

I think if there were, I would know.

Duh.

I call Danny on his cell and nearly die laughing, telling him about Lori's visit.

She is going to be so surprised!

I can hardly wait!

Because Lori has verbally abused nearly every sorority member, and no one seems to have a clue about whose candle it is, there is much interest in tonight's ceremony and every member is present and accounted for. Our usual, long lasting, and sometimes even a little boring, business meeting is rushed through in record time.

I hope Danny's ready early.

Finally, it's show time!

In usual presidential fashion, Lori announces that there will be a candlelight ceremony tonight.

But everyone already knows this and is forming the circle. Someone dims the lights while Lori lights the candle and starts the singing.

I knew that, as planned, Danny would be hiding just behind the door to the kitchen with the house mom, Doris, who even though she is old, is female, and as such, adores Danny.

I told him to not get distracted and to peek and listen carefully, so he would come out at just the right time. Lori starts passing the candle around the circle to her right and says, “Promised or Lavaliered.”

I'm strategically standing next to Lori on her left. I know she will practically shit a brick when the candle makes it all the way around to me on Engaged.

The candle makes its first lap, and as Lori starts the second round, she says, “Pinned.”

Once again, the candle makes its way around to Lori without getting blown out.

She pauses, holding the candle for an extra second, then says with dramatic flair, “Engaged.”

Then she starts it on its third go round.

Whenever we get to Engaged, there is a special magic in the air and even though we are all singing, there is kind of a collective OH!

This time is no exception. We know it's the big one!

The candle is almost back to me, and I am FREAKING OUT! I'm using my mind to try and send Danny major telepathic messages.

COME OUT NOW!

Come out NOW!

But it doesn't seem to be working. The candle is just being passed to me. Lori is giving me a look that by all rights should have knocked me dead. She waits for me to blow out the candle.

What a joke that would be!

Me engaged! Ha! And to Phillip!

Although, I mean that wouldn't be an awful thing. He is really hot and adorable.

But oh, yeah, everyone is staring at me. They now know that either Lori or I got engaged. I look at Lori and smile at her. She gives me another death look.

I'm frantic!

So I decide to stall, I take a breath in and pretend like I'm going to blow it out, and THANK YOU GOD, Danny suddenly parts through the other side of the circle.

I shouldn't have freaked. I should have known his timing is always impeccable.

I watch him walking toward us. Danny moves like a panther. Graceful, yet feral. I mean girls can't help but stare, and trust me, when I say all eyes are riveted on him.

Well, all eyes but Lori's.

She's still got her eyes laser locked on the candle she thinks I am about to blow out. I keep the candle in my hand, look at her and bug out my eyes toward Danny.

She sees him and gets a look of horror on her face.

I can tell she is thinking, Oh my God, why is he here? Did something terrible happen?

He stalks up to her, and she whispers, “What's wrong? Why are you here?”

Danny doesn't answer her.

He looks her straight in the eye and slowly bends down on one knee.

The singing stops, and there is a collective gasp of breath from the girls. They've all figured out what is about to happen.

Lori still isn't completely sure what Danny is doing, and if she's figured it out, she can't believe it's really happening. She just stares at him in disbelief.

Danny takes her hand and says, “Lori, you are the most beautiful and brilliant woman I have ever known. I love you more than I ever thought was possible, and I keep falling further in love with you everyday. You've made me so happy. I'm hoping you'd like to keep me that way for the rest of our lives. Make me a happy man, Lori. Marry me?”

Lori and most of the sisters have tears streaming down their cheeks.

Danny stands up.

Lori looks at Danny intensely, throws her arms around him and screams, “YES!”

The girls go aawwhhh and just as they are finishing, a loudmouthed sophomore yells, “Where's the rock, Danny?”

Danny backs away from Lori, into the center of the circle. Then he starts doing what he does best, playing in front of a crowd.

“Come on, ladies,” he says, leaning back and holding both arms out in the air. “I have just pledged my undying love,” he brings both his hands to his heart, “to this woman in front of all of you. Do you really think she needs a ring?”

All of us, Lori included, scream, “YES!”

Danny nods, pulls a gray velvet ring box out of his pocket, drops back and I don't believe what I'm seeing.

For the first time in my life, I see Danny's hand shake as he throws a pass.

He does manage to pass the ring box to Lori, but the pass is wobbly and a bit too high.

I fight my natural reaction to reach up and grab it.

Sadly, this pass is not meant for me.

Lori, bless her heart, who has probably NEVER caught a football or any ball, for that matter, in her life, suddenly develops the reflexes of a cat. She leaps up and snatches that ring box right out of the air. It's amazing what a girl can do with the proper motivation.

She opens the box. I can't see the ring, but when I see the way she looks at it and how happy she is, I start to tear up a little myself.

Danny puts the ring on her finger. The girls cheer and then start singing again.

I gently nudge her shoulder.

“I think this is yours,” I say, and pass her the candle. Danny winks at me, and Lori gives me a huge grin. Now she understands.

She and Danny blow the candle out together.

Someone turns up the lights.

Danny says, “Hey, I understand there is usually serenading after this. How 'bout we head outside.”

Danny and Lori lead the way, with me tagging right behind them.

I've got to see this! I can't imagine what Danny had to promise to get some lowly freshmen football players to come sing to his girlfriend.

This could be a total disaster.

This was the part he and Phillip planned all on their own.

I just hope for her sake, she's not embarrassed if it's totally pathetic.

But as we come out the door, I literally see a SEA of red.

I gaze around at the mass of people that Danny and Phillip have assembled.

There is, what appears to be, like the WHOLE football team dressed in red practice jerseys, pretty much every fraternity boy at the school, each wearing his house letters across his chest, and MY GOD, what must be the majority, NO SHIT, of the Husker marching band!

They are wearing assorted red Husker shirts, shorts and their big band hats.

Like magic, when Danny appears, the music begins. The Husker fight song. After that, they play a song everyone knows, and everyone sings along, “There is no place like Nebraska, dear old Nebraska U, where the girls are the fairest, the boys are the …hum, hum, hum, hum, hum, hum, hum, hum, hum….”