Three more steps. That was all it would take to carry me around the corner. Past the tower of steel and concrete and glass that blocked my view of her. The crowd didn't let me run in the way my mind urged me to do. To bring the moment I would see her on any faster. It felt like an eternity away even with the sight of her so close.
Right foot down, left foot starting up. She would be there waiting for me. Hair the color of a fall sunset. Smile as bright as noon in summer when her eyes landed on him. Freckles painting every inch of her skin in a glorious pattern that never failed to entrance him. And her eyes. Like two green glades surrounding the impenetrable heart of a forest. One she had let me into time and time again.
Left foot down, right foot up. I was almost there. I'd be able to see her again in only a few heartbeats. I knew because I could hear the sound of them in my ears. Even above the roar of the cityscape around me. Not just from the walk uphill from the station. It was the weight of the small box in my pocket. The feel of the soft velvet fuzz against my fingertips. The knowledge of what was inside and whatI was going to say later tonight. If I could even wait that long.
Right foot down, left one back into the air. There it was. Sunlight streaming around the edge of the brick facade in front of me. A dazzling brilliance that would keep me from seeing her for another few seconds. Spots in my eyes danced with every blink. I cursed them for keeping me from seeing her, even for as short a time as it was. But they cleared and there she was.
She peered around between the people, looking for all the world like the shortest meerkat keeping watch. The top of her head only came up to my shoulder. Which left her looking at a world of chests and Adam's apples Still, she watched intently to try and spot me as soon as she could. I paused at the corner then. Only a few seconds. Only long enough to enjoy what I knew was going to come next. Long familiarity informed me of what would happen when she spotted me.
Green eyes locked onto mine. They exploded into a universe of clearly read emotions. Happiness, relief (still there despite the years), and love. Most of all was there love. It spread across her face from those eyes. Down onto her lips to spread them into the smile that seemed to only exist for me. The tips of her ears began to turn red with excitement. Red as strawberries and equally as delicious. A dozen memories of her reacting to my nipping at her ears when she was distracted interrupted the reality of her. Each one accompanied by laughter, soft and husky and dripping with desire.
She took a step towards me then. Her right foot. She hated her right foot. She’d lost her big toe in an accident as a child involving an ice skate. Not that anyone would notice when she wore sneakers (which she typically did) or leather boots (when she was feeling adventurous) or even the sensible black flats (for those rare office meetings). But to see it today all one had to do was look down. Because she was wearing sandals of brown straps laced up around her ankles.
A sign of her growing confidence. One she attributed to the love and affection I showed her. A statement that never failed to make me blush. I did my best to deny it. The confidence had been in her all along. All I had done is see her and let her be herself. She had responded like a flower blooming. Dull colors were replaced with bright hues to make a tropical bird take notice. Bracelets of gold and silver, none of it real, some of it from me, appeared on her wrists to match the necklace around her throat. A drop of green sparkled on her chest. Also from me. That one was real.
There was the sound of a car horn honking off to the left. She turned to look. The smile faded a fraction of an inch. Then the universe exploded. Time and space lost all meaning. My ability to take in the world around me suffered. Turned into blurs of movement interspersed with moments of sharp clarity. Moments I did my best not to remember despite that. They were pieces of the past that cut like knives if I even simply brushed up against them. Wounds that opened again every single time I thought of them.
The world came back into focus around me. Once again, I was standing there. Once again, the sun was making me sweat beneath my formal jacket and black pants. Once again, the world was silent all around me. Not because there was no noise. But because I wasn’t listening. Once again, I was looking down at the standing stone. The last bit of her remaining outside of my own head. A wholly insufficient monument to everything that made her who she was.
So I dove back into the memory. The last one of her I had that I wanted to remember. No matter how much it hurt when it ended. Because, for that brief moment, I was happy again.
Three more steps.
Right foot down, left foot starting up. She would be there waiting for me. Hair the color of a fall sunset. Smile as bright as noon in summer when her eyes landed on him. Freckles painting every inch of her skin in a glorious pattern that never failed to entrance him. And her eyes. Like two green glades surrounding the impenetrable heart of a forest. One she had let me into time and time again.
Left foot down, right foot up. I was almost there. I'd be able to see her again in only a few heartbeats. I knew because I could hear the sound of them in my ears. Even above the roar of the cityscape around me. Not just from the walk uphill from the station. It was the weight of the small box in my pocket. The feel of the soft velvet fuzz against my fingertips. The knowledge of what was inside and whatI was going to say later tonight. If I could even wait that long.
Right foot down, left one back into the air. There it was. Sunlight streaming around the edge of the brick facade in front of me. A dazzling brilliance that would keep me from seeing her for another few seconds. Spots in my eyes danced with every blink. I cursed them for keeping me from seeing her, even for as short a time as it was. But they cleared and there she was.
She peered around between the people, looking for all the world like the shortest meerkat keeping watch. The top of her head only came up to my shoulder. Which left her looking at a world of chests and Adam's apples Still, she watched intently to try and spot me as soon as she could. I paused at the corner then. Only a few seconds. Only long enough to enjoy what I knew was going to come next. Long familiarity informed me of what would happen when she spotted me.
Green eyes locked onto mine. They exploded into a universe of clearly read emotions. Happiness, relief (still there despite the years), and love. Most of all was there love. It spread across her face from those eyes. Down onto her lips to spread them into the smile that seemed to only exist for me. The tips of her ears began to turn red with excitement. Red as strawberries and equally as delicious. A dozen memories of her reacting to my nipping at her ears when she was distracted interrupted the reality of her. Each one accompanied by laughter, soft and husky and dripping with desire.
She took a step towards me then. Her right foot. She hated her right foot. She’d lost her big toe in an accident as a child involving an ice skate. Not that anyone would notice when she wore sneakers (which she typically did) or leather boots (when she was feeling adventurous) or even the sensible black flats (for those rare office meetings). But to see it today all one had to do was look down. Because she was wearing sandals of brown straps laced up around her ankles.
A sign of her growing confidence. One she attributed to the love and affection I showed her. A statement that never failed to make me blush. I did my best to deny it. The confidence had been in her all along. All I had done is see her and let her be herself. She had responded like a flower blooming. Dull colors were replaced with bright hues to make a tropical bird take notice. Bracelets of gold and silver, none of it real, some of it from me, appeared on her wrists to match the necklace around her throat. A drop of green sparkled on her chest. Also from me. That one was real.
There was the sound of a car horn honking off to the left. She turned to look. The smile faded a fraction of an inch. Then the universe exploded. Time and space lost all meaning. My ability to take in the world around me suffered. Turned into blurs of movement interspersed with moments of sharp clarity. Moments I did my best not to remember despite that. They were pieces of the past that cut like knives if I even simply brushed up against them. Wounds that opened again every single time I thought of them.
The world came back into focus around me. Once again, I was standing there. Once again, the sun was making me sweat beneath my formal jacket and black pants. Once again, the world was silent all around me. Not because there was no noise. But because I wasn’t listening. Once again, I was looking down at the standing stone. The last bit of her remaining outside of my own head. A wholly insufficient monument to everything that made her who she was.
So I dove back into the memory. The last one of her I had that I wanted to remember. No matter how much it hurt when it ended. Because, for that brief moment, I was happy again.
Three more steps.
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