Some people say that in an hour your whole life can change.

I never believed that until tonight happened. Truth is, it took twelve hours for my whole life to change.

"Ticket ma'am?" asked the conductor.

The kind voice of the old man standing next me broke me out of my trance; the recent memories enveloping me like a fog and making me oblivious to everything else around me, even my train fare.

I reached into my purse to grab my ticket. I had stuck it in the side compartment of my wallet.

I reached for it and noticed a folded up receipt next to it. I knew I had not put the receipt there. With one hand, I handed the ticket to the conductor; with the other, I unfolded the receipt.

The best $3.49 I have ever spent. Don't ever forget.

Yours always, Jax.

Oblivious to the conductor trying to hand me back my now punched ticket; I let it fall to the ground. I memorized the written message on top of the Starbucks receipt, my only tangible piece that these past twelve hours were not a dream. I noticed his hand writing was neat, but masculine. I ran my finger over the curl in the J, like I had ran my fingers through his hair only a few hours before. I brought the receipt to my nose, hoping to get a whiff of the tobacco, cologne and air from the open road that gave him his unique, but irresistible sent. I was sure his scent could no longer be smelt on me and that knowledge made my soul cry.

How could I fall in love with a man in only twelve hours?

I didn't know how it happened, but it did.

I was not nor have I ever been a hopeless romantic. I did not believe in love at first sight. I was a doctor—a women of science. A woman who believed in rational thought and scientific theory. My life was a never ending hypothesis and I was constantly trying to prove it with facts and experiments.

Emotions and fantasy had no place in my life.

But that was until I met him.

Now, I felt nothing but emotion. Gone were the rational thought and logical ideas. He broke every wall I had ever put up. He filled my body and my heart with his own. I could still feel him moving inside of me and breathing words of devotion in my ear.

I love you Tara. I always will

I held on to the receipt with my life, feeling if I let go of it, I would let go of him. I could not lose him twice.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be arriving in San Diego in a little over two hours. So relax and thank you for traveling Amtrak."

I had two hours to think and reminisce. I wished his hands were still on body. I wished his blue eyes were still staring into mine.

But he was gone, left behind. He had begged me to come with him, but I couldn't. I had to go home. I was a woman with responsibilities. I could not just hop on the back of his motorcycle and drive off into the sunset.

That is what my logical mind was saying. My now emotional heart was telling me to pull the emergency brake and stop the train so I could jump off and go back to him.

I leaned my head against the window and watched the trees wiz past me in a blurry jumble clump. I wanted to go back. I needed him, wanted him.

Twelve hours? How could I fall in love in twelve hours?

With my hand still clutching the receipt, I closed my now tear filled eyes and thought of how I now belonged to Jax Teller. And it only took him twelve hours to do it me.