"Josh, where are you taking me? You know I still have to get ready, right?" She asked in a confused tone, as he pulled her down the hall and through the open door way into the dorm room. She glanced at the two equally confused college students.

"Sorry, we will only be a minute, and since my girl is graduating today, I won't have another chance to do this how I planned." He smiled at the two guys, who still looked confused, one of them mentioned something about lunch, the other shrugged and said something about messing with their stuff. Josh smiled.

"Do you remember this room?" He watched as she took in the extremely messy room.

"Should I?" she shrugged.

"Eight years ago you barged into this room, and declared that you liked me."

She smiled in acknowledgement.

"Prior to that moment, you were just my niece's psycho best friend…" She scoffed. "who had a crazy crush on me. Then you got this serious, and really mature tone, and opened up to me. I don't think I had ever seen that side of you before…." He swallowed, "and that really scared me. Not only were you three years younger than me, but you were so sure of yourself. How did you know that long ago? I wasn't even sure where I was going to be that fall."

She laughed, "I didn't barge into the room, I was pushed against my will, by your niece. Besides, that year was the most unsure I have ever felt about myself."

She bit her lower lip, she was more open with him than anyone else besides Riley, although she still got self-conscious about it. He took hold of her hand and continued,

"Could have fooled me…. you know they were right, when they said 'it's the small choices that you make for yourself that help you to grow.' Over those 4 years, I watched you make those small choices, until suddenly you weren't just Riley's psycho best friend anymore."

She laughed and rolled her eyes, "I wasn't that bad!" giving him a soft punch to his shoulder.

"You jumped on my back…repeatedly" he chuckled, as he jokingly rubbed at the spot she hit. "but you weren't that girl anymore, you turned into this intensely beautiful woman taking the prospective student tour of the Quad, and I just had to talk to you."

She blinked back the sudden wetness that was threatening to spill from her eyes.

"You had grown up, and I didn't know where that left me, so I subtly asked you to help me learn how to draw so I could spend more time with you until I could get up the courage to ask you out."

"Yeah, wasn't that subtle." She laughed as he looked at her, as though she had burst his bubble. "face it, none of you Matthews' have a subtle bone in your body."

"Ok, well you said yes, that's what matters" He cocked his eyebrow as if to dare an interruption. When she didn't take the bait he continued, "When your acceptance letter came with a full scholarship, I was immensely proud but I was also so relieved 'Four more years in New York with Josh!' he pumped his fists in the air once before taking hold of her hand again. "That's the moment I realized that I was in love with you…. I think I have always been in love with you, since that moment when you were four, and you punched me in the stomach for kissing you on the cheek, even though Uncle Shawn dared me to."

She laughed as the joyful tears fell freely from her eyes. "I know, he dared me to punch you, just not that hard, that lost me ten bucks."

"I should have known…. that double crosser. Anyways that was the moment that I decided that I was in it for the long game. Now standing here with you four years later, this is the moment I want to remember." Her vision got blurry as he pulled the tiny velvet box from his jacket, and he lowered to his knee. "I love you Maya Penelope Hart. Will you marry me?" he looked at her expectantly.

"I always wanted to be a Matthews!" she fell to her knees in front of him.

"Yeah, but that's not why you are saying yes is it? I mean that isn't technically an answer." he joked as she kissed him.

"Yes, Joshua Gabriel Mathews, I will most definitely marry you." She grinned as he slid the stunning ring onto her finger. "I told you I was in it for the long game." She whispered as he kissed her again.