Clare's POV
I stood in the airport, taping my foot against the tile floor. Two years I have been waiting for this. God, I missed him so much. Eli was drafted in the Army. This was the last time we had to go through this. He was done; he had served his time. He promised me that he would come home safe and sound to me. All I need to see is his walking from his plane to know that he kept his promise.
Flash Back
" God, I'm going to miss you." I said pressing my face into one of our pillows. Eli and I had been living together for the past year and a half, after we both graduated from college.
" I know, I wish I didn't have to go. But hey, this is the last time I am ever going to leave you." I looked up to see him smile. I flashed his a small smile, turning onto my side. He finished packing his small backpack. He buttoned up the shirt part of his uniform. I could feel tears threatening to spill over but I knew that I had to keep my cool. I sat up, looking right at Eli. He sat down next to me and pulled me into his lap. I nuzzled my face into the crook of his neck. He rubbed circles on my back, slow and lovingly. He pressed kisses in my hair. I looked up at him, taking his hands in mine. I leaned in slowly, pressing my lips against his. The kiss was anything but fast and lustful, it was slow and passionate. He laid me down on my back, never removing his lips from mine. I entangled my hands in his hair, pulling him closer. A couple more minutes of kissing, we both pulled away, but stayed close.
" As much as I love doing this, we have to get going." He said, standing up and pulling me with him.
We sat silently in the car, our fingers intertwined. Neither of us spoke. The ride to the airport was short. We parked the car and caught a bus to take us to his terminal. Our fingers stayed connected, like they never wanted to let go. The bus driver dropped us off along with a couple other families at the terminal. We slowly walked, not wanting to face the time when we had to part. When we got to the gate, there were not many other people there. We sat down, waiting for boarding to start.
" Eli?" I whispered.
" Hmm?"
" Please don't forget about me." I looked into his eyes. Mine were probably glossed with tears.
" How could I forget about the one I love the most?" He said, wiping the fallen tears away with his thumb. I didn't want him to see me break down. My bottom lip started to quiver. All of a sudden, we heard a woman's voice over the intercom, asking for passengers to line up for the flight. Eli stood up, slinging his pack around his arm. I stood up with him, wrapping my arms around his waist. He did the same and gave me a gentle squeeze. He used his index finger to lift me chin up. He placed his lips on mine. They moved in slow synchronization. I felt more tears fall, wiping onto his cheeks.
" Promise me you will come back." I said against his lips.
" I promise you. I will write to you every night I am not on duty." He said, pulling me back into his embrace. I looked up at Eli and he had tears forming in the corners of his eyes. I smiled faintly.
" We are now boarding! Please have your boarding passes in hand." The woman's voice rang again. We pulled apart.
" I love you, please don't forget that." He said, cupping my face in his warm hands.
" I love you too." I said, more tears falling as Eli touched his lips with mine for the last time for the next two years. We pulled apart. I watched him walk into the tunnel. He turned around and smiled, blowing a small kiss. I laughed a little and blew him one back.
Present Time
Those two years were hard. I spent holidays thinking about him, wondering if he was still okay. He kept his promise; he wrote me constantly. He never miss my birthday or or anniversary. We counted down the days together until he would come home.
The doors to the tunnel had opened. My eyes lit up, waiting for Eli to emerge. The first person came out, followed by several others. Suddenly, a loud crashed turned my attention away from the terminal.
" Clare!" I whipped my head around. There he was, uniform on and bag in hand. I bolted towards him, jumping into his arms. I cupped his face in my hands and feverishly pressed my lips to his. Our lips moved together in pure love and passion.
" I missed you so much." I said in the middle of the kiss. Eli put me down, but leaned his forehead against mine.
" You couldn't believe how much I missed you. I missed waking up next to you every morning, kissing you, holding you." He smiled, pressing his lips, once again, to mine. We didn't care that we were passionately making out in the middle of the airport, all that mattered was that we were in each other's presence. Minutes later, we both pulled away breathless. He pulled my to him and wrapped his arms around me. I inhaled his scent.
" Let's go home." He said, lacing his fingers with mine.
" That is exactly where we belong." I smiled as we walked to the car.
( At the house )
We opened up the door and Eli stepped inside, smelling the house. I giggled at his actions and led him into the kitchen. I turned around to face him, wrapping my arms around his waist.
" What would you like for your welcome-home dinner?" I asked, looking up into his eyes.
" Well, I thought we could go out for dinner and afterwards I have a surprise for you." He smirked.
" What kind of surprise?"
" You know me well enough, I'm not going to tell you." He placed a kiss on my forehead. I smiled up at him.
" Do I have to dress up?" I asked, heading up the stairs to get ready for dinner.
" Yes you do." He smiled at me, following me up the stairs to our room. I walked over to the closet to find a dress to to wear. I rummaged threw the close until I found the perfect dress. It was a bright orange dress. The material twisted into a small rose at the top of the dress. It had a black lace-like layer underneath the outer layer of the dress. I went into the bathroom and curled my hair and pinned my bangs back with a bobby pin. I applied some mascara and a little bit of eyeliner. I grabbed a pair of black heels from the closet and slipped them on. I went down the stairs to see Eli standing by the front door. He had on a black dress shirt on with a white tie. He had a pair of black pants on too.
" Wow, you look…amazing." He smiled, handing me my coat. It could be pretty harsh during winter in Canada. I slipped on the coat then gave him a quick kiss.
" You don't look so bad yourself." I smirked as he opened the door for me.
The place we went for dinner was amazing. All the lights were dim and it was quiet. I ordered a salad and so did Eli. We caught up with each other. I told him about how hard it was to spend his birthday without him. He said he felt the same way when it was my birthday or or anniversary. We finished dinner and he paid the bill. I started walking towards the car when Eli stopped me.
" We aren't going home quiet yet." He said, taking my hand and walking the other direction. The cold wind blew against my face and I could feel my cheeks getting red. I looped my arm around Eli's.
" Eli, where are we?" I asked after we had been walking for a little bit.
" I'm hurt that you don't remember where we are!" He faked hurt, pressing his free hand against his chest.
" This is where we skipped class together during Dawes' class." He sat down on the bench, pulling me with him. His thumb stroked small circles on my cold hand.
" I love you, you know that right?" He said smiling at me.
" Of course I know that. And I love you too." I smiled back at him. All of a sudden, Eli released my hand and stood in front of me.
" Eli, what ar-." I was cut off by Eli, getting down on one knee.
" Clare, you don't know how much I love you. The past two years, I was counting down the days until I got to hold you and see you again. You are my everything, my soul mate. I honestly don't know what I would do without you. I promise you that I will love you and care for you for the rest of our days. So Clare Edwards, will you marry me?" He pulled a small, velvet box out of his pocket. He flipped open the top to reveal a silver band. It had three diamonds on it; the one in the middle was slightly larger than the other two. It was stunning. I was zoning out.
" Clare…?" Eli said, snapping me out of my trance.
" Yes! Oh my gosh yes!" I smiled. A huge grin appeared on his face. He slipped the ring on to my forth finger and gently kissed it. He picked me up in his arms and spun me around. I cupped his face, feverishly pressed my lips to his. I put as much passion in the kiss as I possibly could. His tongue swept against my bottom lip. He gently bit down, making me gasp. He slipped his tongue into my mouth. Our tongues danced together until we both ran out of air. He set me down.
" Well, Mrs.-soon-to-be-Goldsworthy, it looks like we have a wedding to plan." He said, taking my hand in his, leading me back to the car. I smiled and wrapped my arm around his waist.
" I love you, Eli." I said, looking up at him.
" I love you too." He said placing a sweet kiss on my head, bringing me closer to him. Everything was just falling into its place. This was the perfect end to the day that will begin the rest of my life.