Missing You

It was Thursday. Prom would be on Saturday. Counting down the days to a prom that you aren’t attending is annoying. Counting down the days to a prom that your ex-boyfriend is taking his previous ex-girlfriend to is excruciating.

I don’t recall what prompted the conversation between Tim and I after school that day. I’ve always just assumed that “playing hard to get” (even unintentionally) worked. Within a few short minutes we were laughing together.

“I’ve missed you” he said. “Maybe I could come by and we could hang out or something.”

“Yeah. Okay.” I replied casually; stifling the part of me that wanted to scream with excitement.

He stopped by that very night. We decided to go for a walk and have a late picnic at a small lake near my house. We brought along a few candles and a blanket where we spread out to eat along the bank of the water. We munched and chatted easily and before we knew it, it was dark. We moved from the grass to a large boulder and sat watching the night’s sky reflected in the pond. It was a perfect evening and a perfectly clear sky chock full of stars. Tim repositioned himself so that we were facing each other.

“I’ve really missed this. Just sitting with you and talking to you.” His voice was sincere but with a hint of frustration, like he was confused by his own emotions. “I have never had to work this hard in a relationship and I don’t know what that means. But I like you. I…love you, everything about you.” Again, he seemed as much irritated by the fact as he was passionate about it.

Looking down, he caressed my fingers and took a deep breath. “I know you have a lot to work through but I really want to see where this goes.” His eyes lifted. “I can see spending the rest of my life with you.”

Whoa. Tim was finally saying what I had known all along. There was only one thing left to do. After four months of fighting off vulnerability, I had to quit fighting. He leaned closer and our lips touched ever so softly. Then, seeing that I wasn’t going to resist, he pressed in firmly and fully. I could feel the warmth of his mouth and my toes curled in my shoes. My skin tingled from my scalp to the soles of my feet and everywhere in between. This was the kiss I'd been waiting for.

After a few minutes of reveling in each other’s affection, he snuggled in behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. We sat quietly staring up into the night. Suddenly, a star shot across the sky. “Did you see that?!” We asked at the same time.

“I think we’re supposed to make a wish.”

“I know what I’m wishing for” he said.

I smiled. “Me, too.”