A feeling of love sweeps over me, through me. I turn to him and snake my arms around his neck. “When I close my eyes, I can still see the lights. This is amazing, thank you.”
Alexandre’s eyes lock on mine, and I can see them sparkle. My heart is hammering in my chest as I place my lips on his. I can feel the warmth of his lips and the familiar taste I love so much. As he deepens the kiss, I can hear a horn sound in the distance, and I’m forced to pull away, breaking the delicious kiss as I remember our location. I look around me and take in my surroundings. From this location on the Brooklyn Bridge I can see The Manhattan Bridge twinkling in the distance. Past that I can see Williamsburg Bridge. The New York skyline is alive in the distance as the lights atop each structure dance in the night. I might be biased, but this is by far the most enchanting evening of my life. Alexandre has me completely captivated.
An hour later, and as the date draws to a close, I find myself lying on Alexandre’s lap on our living room couch.
“I don’t want to go to sleep,” I whisper in a gentle voice.
“Tomorrow brings new beginnings, Ava, close your eyes.” His hand begins to trace circles on my back, running down my spine to the swell of my hip.
“Don’t say goodbye,” I breathed out on a sigh as my body relaxed into his touch.
“I won’t…” He holds me until my eyes grow heavy.
“Can you,” my words come out mumbled as sleep begins to find me, “if I fall again, can you catch me?”
“Don’t you know by now? I will always catch you,” he says, and those are the last words I hear as I finally succumb to sleep.
I wake some time later on the couch. Alexandre is fast asleep next to me. His face is so peaceful, he looks so young.
“I never stopped loving you. I thought I did, but you made me remember,” I whisper to him, he can’t hear me, but it feels good telling him anyway.
I place a gentle kiss on his head as I stand and go to the bathroom. When I return, I curl into his body.
“Where did you go?” he asks with sleep still in his voice.
“Just the bathroom.”
“It felt like you were gone forever.” He places a light kiss on my forehead. Bleary-eyed I look at him.
“I was only gone a moment,” I mutter back, my last bit of energy draining out of me.
“It was still too long,” he whispers. My eyeslids flutter closed as I drift back into a deep sleep.
THE NEXT MORNING I wake up alone. There is a folded note on the couch pillow next to me. I can’t believe we had slept here, and even though it was both of us scrunched up on a couch, it was the deepest sleep I’d had in ages. I lift the white paper creased down the center. Lifting the edge, I open it.
One thing I know for certain is that I’m not perfect. And neither is Alexandre. But I’ve come to accept that together we can be.
I pop up from the couch and run to the bathroom to tidy myself up. I look like I, well, slept scrunched up on the couch cuddled up with someone. Not just anyone. Alexandre.
I quickly jump in the shower, and after I get dressed and freshened up, I then keep myself busy with cleaning the kitchen. I’m about to make a pot of coffee for us, and as I fill the water, Alexandre walks into the kitchen. He looks dashing as always, not at all like he slept on a couch. Of course.
As our eyes meet, he looks at me with a flirtatious smile that I haven't seen in years.
“What are you doing, babe?” I can hear the desire in his voice. It makes my heart beat erratically, my pulse accelerate, and my body feel weightless.
“Grabbing a coffee. What are you doing? I wasn't expecting you back so soon.”
“I hurried back…I missed you if I’m being truthful. I couldn't stop thinking of you laying on the couch sleeping, so I decided to bypass a shower and come back.”
I couldn't help but melt. I wasn't sure who this man was, but I never wanted him to leave. Had he been here all along and I had just forgotten? Had he forgotten? He pulls me toward the counter. Lifting me by my arms and placing me on the cold marble countertop, my skirt hitches up, and I can feel the stone grazing my bare legs. My pulse picks up, my legs quiver, begging to be touched. His fingers trace circles on my upper thigh, my skirt pushes up further. Our eyes lock, and I realize it's okay for me to love him again. It’s the small things that make you fall in love, the tiny incidental moments you take for granted. This was a moment. “I love you,” I whisper. His eyes still fixed on mine. He leans down. His face burrows in the crook of my neck. He places soft kisses. Each pass of his tongue sends chills up my body as he makes contact with my sensitive skin. He leaves a trail of kisses until his lips capture mine. A wave of pleasure rushes through my body. My breathing grows ragged.