The commentator screams into the microphone and the stadium echoes with winning cheers. Declan Rice scores the last-minute winning goal for Arsenal.

They win the home game by 1-0, a relatively easy but equally important win. Odegaard is screaming and running around the field, and Gabriel is kicking off his shoes up in the sky; forgetting about gravity accidentally hitting himself. The manager is pumping his fist in the air and hugging the boys one by one.

The rival team, Spurs has already left for their locker rooms. Fans are gradually leaving the stadium.

Saka is pulling in Declan for a catcher hug, Ben is smiling his "this is just a casual win, it'll happen more" smile, and everyone is cheering.

The autumn breeze is soft and musty. There he is, suddenly staring at me like no one else exists in this universe, except us. Smiling, he takes a few slow steps towards me and then sprints faster. My insides flutter. His ocean-blue eyes bore into mine and the rest of the world disappeared. He has this effect on me, the effect of making me wonder where my senses go when he's looking at me. He comes closer. I mouth "What's up? What are you doing?" but he doesn't answer. He leans in and asks for my hand. I offer. Slowly taking me by my hand, he leads me to the middle of the pitch. The grass is damp and withered from the 95 minutes of the game. The cheers are slowing down.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I whisper in his ear but instead of answering me, he takes a microphone from Saka's hand and taps it gently. We are right in the center of the ground and my hair flitters. The air is cold with a bleak smell of sweat.

"Well, I don't know how to begin or what to say. Do you remember how we met? Of course, you do," he speaks with a tinge of sarcasm in his voice.

I laugh and nod my head.

"It's an interesting story but extremely personal to me, so I won't share it with thousands of people but I remember feeling my heart belong to you in that very moment. The moment you looked up and laid your eyes on me. The moment you parted your lips but nothing more than a whisper came out. The moment when you turned around to look at me before leaving. And, every moment that came after."

Tears are pricking my eyes.

"Yes," I say.

"Everything you touch turns to gold and happiness. You're the loudest one in our house when I'm on the TV. You've loved me beyond the seas and the stars, you've loved me at my best and my worst, and you've loved me when there was no one else to love me. I want to do that for you. Today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life."

He drops to his knees, pulling a Tiffany & Co. box out of nowhere. He flips it open, brandishing a huge diamond ring.

"Sam, will you marry me?"

"Yes," I whisper. It's barely audible but he gets it.

"A thousand times, yes," I say with tears in my eyes.

He throws his head back and laughs. Getting back up, he pulls the ring out of the box and slips it on my finger. I look at my hand for a while and then I kiss him. I kiss the love of my life. My boyfriend, my best friend, and everything that I kept looking for when I was away from home.

The stadium is booming with cheers and applause. I register the world around me for the first time. The boys are clapping and popping bottles of champagne, the wags are coming to congratulate us, and the manager is smiling and waiting for his turn to pat us on the head. It all feels so surreal as if I'm imagining this thing.

Am I?