/

"I have never been so sure of anything in my life then being right here with you…and loving you…Never."

She's heard those words before – on a wooden dock, on a Paris-bound plane, on a white wedding day, in a busy airport terminal, in another hotel room, in a temporary marriage bed, with imploring gazes, with stuttering voices, with hearts so tenderly on the line.

You'd think she would be wise this time around; love is nice and all but forever is a fantasy. Love is oh so lovely when it starts off, isn't it? Like a fast horse on a dry track, love takes off and leaves sanity in the dust. You'd think she would be smart this time around; take it slow and take it easy and take this all with a well-earned grain of salt.

Because she has heard those words before – from soldiers in the emotional wars, from liars with foreign tongues, from friends who were never sure enough, from women who were never truly in love enough, from fictions with pretty faces.

You'd think she would be immune to the syllables; immune to the lure of another softly spoken speech about devotion. Because love is a mountain she has never been able to reach the summit of and her legs have grown tired of climbing. You'd think she would give up by now; stop trying to grasp the stars and stick to the ground.

But you had to say it, didn't you? You had to say it, just like that, and convince me when I was ready to doubt. You've gone and blown it all away haven't you?

That's when it becomes startlingly apparent that Bianca has never really heard those words at all.

That's when it becomes so clear, becomes so strong, becomes so real that the air just barrels from her lungs and to her throat and then past her lips; that's when every other confession loses its dangerous shine and is replaced so fully by everything that is Marissa – by Marissa's eyes, by Marissa's kiss, by Marissa's honesty, by Marissa's touch.

You had to say it… and just like that, you have me…

And when they are close to breaking, when they are completely intertwined, when they are breathing in each other's moans, when they are speed and slowness all at once…

…suddenly the top of the world is right under their feet.

/

end