She had always hated flying, especially in those really small planes. It seemed to her that all she had done for the past days is sit in an airplane. Go to her new school, get ready for the next leg of her life journey. She stopped trying to count the number of times that someone asked her what her major was going to be. But now she was on the last plane, the one that would take her home. Home where the people that she loved and the people that loved her were, they were the hardest part of leaving for school. One more short plane ride to get back to them. Of course it would be the one with the most cramped seating and the most irritating man next to her.
But she comforted herself with the thought of her family being there when she landed, of going home to see him again. Seeing him as much as possible before she left for real, as much as she wanted to say it was her family that she missed it was him. She missed seeing his smile, his face, and his eyes when they looked right at her own, and his body. Phone calls and text messages only went so far. She missed him, and knew it would only get worse as she went to school. Not for the first time she wondered why she chose to go to a school so far away from home. But then she saw it in her mind's eye and knew exactly why she did. She loved him as much as one person could love another, when it came to him she wasn't strong anymore. But she also loved the school, and loved the freedom that she could get from it. It was a place she could fit in, a place for her. She sat in the plane jittery at the thought of seeing him. He was her rock, her place to come to as she spun out of control in life. Not to mention she thoroughly enjoyed the view of him from where she sat.
It had been one week since she saw her family. The longest she had ever gone without them. It was definitely and experience, but she found that she liked the feeling of it. Part of her hoped that as she landed that they would surprise her and he would be there as she landed. During landing, just in case he might be there, she checked how she looked in the mirror. It was all she could do to stay seated in the small chair after the plane landed. As she stepped off of the plane and on to the tarmac she saw her parents and aunt waiting for her. No matter what she told herself she was disappointed not to see him waiting for her. Her parents showered her with love and her aunt had brought her a present. It was her life, a doting family. They drove home, to her surprise her family had planned a party of sorts for her.
The whole family was there along with old friends, but he wasn't there. The longer she went without seeing him the more sullen and worried she felt. She wanted him not a party, him. Finally she was able to escape and go to find him. As she drove she worked herself up to a small anger, to hide the pain at his not being there. She told herself that when she saw him she would give him a piece of her mind about not coming to see her. Didn't she matter? Of course she did and she knew it and she also knew he was probably busy that was why he wasn't there but it still stung a bit.
She knew just where she could find him, he was definitely predictable. She drove to the beach, she had to walk closer to the water to be able to see him. He was sitting in the spot that she had found, if you didn't know it was there it was impossible to see anything that happened in that little corner of the beach. There he was, sitting facing the waves with his eyes closed against the setting sun. As she saw him the small amount of anger she had built up shattered, instead she felt that tug that she felt whenever he was near her. It was that tug that drew her closer to him, the tug that made her walk slowly up to him. She stood in front of him silently, he was completely oblivious to her presence. In her mind this was not ok so she moved to straddle his lap facing him, her face inches from his own. His entire body stiffened and his eyes flew open not expecting to see her that close to him.
When he realized it was her he relaxed completely at her touch. They sat staring into each other's eyes in the slowly fading sunlight on the beach. She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him towards her, moving their mouths closer together. She leaned in and kissed him, kissed those lips that she had been missing. What she intended to start out as a soft sweet kiss turned into something that she placed all of her love and hope and sadness at leaving him. He quickly responded, pulling her bottom lip into his mouth. He bit down gently sending pleasant tingles throughout her entire body. Slowly he kissed down her neck and back up to her ear. All the while sending pleasurable shivers throughout her entire body. She drew his mouth back to her own moving to kiss him again. He paused with his lips brushing against her own.
"I love you sweetie." He whispered in a tone that left her no room to doubt him.
She smiled, "I love you back." She pulled him closer to her and kissed him again.