he set up a folding chair in his living room

a dozen long stem roses for the lone guest

two candles

one of which to see her

one for breath control

she is a vision, his heart stops as she takes her seat

he regrets only a dozen blooms as they pale in comparison to her

he could have lined the room with every type of flower and they would have seemed fake next to her radiance

his pulse raced and he brought the candle up

the flame flickered and forced him to relax

her eyes locked on his

a singular moment of intensity

the words he practiced all day suddenly meaningless

he tossed it away

instead he opened his chest to her, let the words flow directly from his heart to her ears

his lips directly to hers

he longed to stepped to her, to lift her into his arms, to end the performance and take her breath away with his burning passion, to kiss her until where he ends and she begins blurs

to hold her and never let her go

to dedicate his every ounce of energy to keeping the smile in her eyes

to show what she means to him

when it was done he could not recall a single word he spoke

the candle never flickered as he waxed and waned his every darkest secret

as he danced around her, letting his heartbeat set a tempo the words could cascade off of

he bowed deeply when he had exhausted himself

when the music in his mind finally faded

he bowed low at the waist to her

and blew the candle out