Story Time: Second Chances

It'd been two months since they'd seen each other and if she were honest with herself, she would admit that she was terrified. She had no idea if coming here was a good idea or some burst of insanity on her part. When they had parted last, she had been so lost and confused. His words had spoken one thing and his actions another. For the past months, she had held tight onto the memories of his actions. In her head, she had relived the first time they had kissed, the first time they had made love.  Now, she would find out if he felt the same way about her as she did about him.

Stepping off of the airplane, she paused and took a deep breath. She still needed to make her way out of the terminal and down to baggage claim where they would be meeting, but she needed this time to compose herself. On the outside, she looked confidant. There was a way about her that made people smile. She had this way of talking to people that made them each feel as if no matter what was happening, somehow everything would be ok. What few people knew, especially in this moment, was that on the inside, she was the same terrified little girl whose parents had rejected her.

She had made this entire trip terrified that they would come together again and the magic would no longer be there. She was terrified that she had imagined the look in his eyes when he looked at her. It didn't matter what other people had told her. It didn't matter that people had told her that he glowed when he saw her or that his eyes were shining and so full of love for her. Things had been different since that trip and she was scared.  

She sighed softly, reminding herself that he had asked her to come see him. Surely that must be a sign that he wanted her. With a slight frown, the one he would know immediately meant she was over thinking something, she picked up her bag and crossed the terminal. There was only one way she was going to know the answers and standing at a gate, twitching in her shoes wasn't the way.

He waited at the baggage claim, his eyes scanning the crowds of people coming down the escalators. He knew her flight had landed and that soon she would be standing there in front of him. Like her, he had spent the past couple of months reliving their previous time together. It had been like nothing either of them had either experienced before and he had allowed his fears to stand in the way of it becoming anything more than that one weekend. He had pulled back and he knew she felt it. If she were nothing else, she was always honest with him and that included how she was feeling. He knew that he had hurt her and for that, he was deeply sorrowed. He loved her and to know that he had caused her pain was almost too much for him to bear.

Now, there she was. He saw her at the top of the escalator and could hear in his head, her muttered whisper of 1..2...3. She hated down escalators and would do that every single time she had to step onto one. He never told her that he thought it was cute. He had never told her a lot of things, like how the first time they'd stepped onto an escalator together, he'd known how much she trusted him because she never let go of his hand.  She had shown him in so many unspoken ways just how much she loved and trusted him. He had been in awe of the connection that they had felt and he felt the tug of it now as she made her way down towards where he was standing.

She saw him there. She saw him standing there, watching her and she felt it too. She felt the need to run into his arms and to beg him to love her. She did neither though. She stood on the escalator, watching him slowly come closer and closer as it made its way down. When it reached the bottom she stepped off and slowly walked towards him.

They were two people who could talk themselves out of anything, even love. Yet, somehow, here they were, together again. There was the briefest of hesitations as they stood facing each other. Then, it was just like the first time all over again. She moved into his arms and he held her close. His lips pressed softly to her forehead and then moved down to cling to hers. It was if they were reliving those first moments together all over again.

Her hands slid up his arms to rest on his shoulders as two pairs of soft lips found each other over and over again. The world faded away until the only things left were two people who had tried hard to ignore the feelings that they created within one another.  They were two people who had been so hurt by life and yet when they came together, it was as if there were no past, only the present and the future.

Stepping back, she looked at him. Her big brown eyes looked deep into his, as if trying to reach his very soul. He knew, without asking, what was going on inside her mind. He knew that this time, there would be no turning back. If he wanted this woman, he would have to show her without a doubt. Reaching for her hands, he pulled her close to him again, hugging her tight. He loved her there, snuggled close in his arms and it was in that moment..that one singular, clarifying moment..that he knew. He knew that no matter the obstacles or the challenges, this was the woman that he wanted to share his life with. This beautiful soul was the one that he wanted to spend the rest of his life waking up next to. Even when things looked the bleakest, she had stood by him. She had held his hand through all of the hurts and the dramas. She had been his best friend and his lover.  She had opened up her heart and her life to him even though he hadn't always done the same for her. She never held herself back from him, even when he knew he had hurt her. This time, no matter what happened, he wasn't going to let her go.