Marcie opened her eyes, shocked to find herself lying on Gabrielle's bench. Oh God... what was she doing sleeping instead of studying? And she could have sworn she just saw...
No... It couldn't be...
She pulled herself to a sitting position and took a deep breath, shutting her eyes. All of a sudden, she felt someone gently rubbing her arm, sending tingles up her spine.
"Sweetie, are you okay? You fainted."
That voice again...
It took Marcie several seconds to focus when she found herself looking into Al's eyes.
"Al?" She said as her voice trembled. She was overcome with emotion at the sight of him and tears streamed down her cheeks. "Oh my God!" she said, throwing her arms around him.
"Sweetie..." he said, holding her tightly. "God, I've missed you so much!" He rubbed her back, inhaling the scent of her perfume; a scent that he had missed so badly.
"What are you doing here?" Marcie asked, unable to believe this was really happening.
"Marcie..." he said, rubbing her tears away with his thumbs. "I couldn't stay away from you."
"But this is impossible!" Marcie said, pulling away from him.
"No honey. It's real." Al said.
"H-how can this be happening? I mean, you're... you were... I was there... I saw you in the hospital... you looked... so peaceful. I was so devastated..." Marcie said, trying to choke back the unexpected sobs that escaped her voice. "The doctor... he said you were gone... there was nothing they could do... they..."
"They were wrong." Al said. "I'm here. I'm real and I'm not going anywhere. I love you." She gasped as he took her in his arms, kissing her with reckless abandon, causing her to gasp at the familiar sensation of his lips on hers.
She backed out of his embrace and looked into his eyes, feeling more light-headed than she had before. His touch was so familiar; it was as though they had never parted. Her insides burned with intense desire for him, and she stared longingly at him.
"Oh Al. I love you so much." Marcie said when she finally regained her composure.
"God, Marcie, you can't imagine how much I've missed you." Al said, running his finger down her cheek.
"But where have you been? What took you so long to come back to me? Why..." Her last words were smothered by his lips on hers.
"Shhh... No more questions." Al said in that sexy voice that made Marcie quiver. "We're together and that's all that matters. I'll never leave you again, I swear it. We're soul mates, Marcie. We were destined to be together forever. That's why I came back to you. I didn't want to leave you all alone." He kissed the top of her head. "I love you so much, baby." He whispered into her hair.
"I love you too, Al. I thought I would never love-" Marcie stopped suddenly, thinking of Michael. This time, instead of the familiar warm feeling she always got when the thought of him, she was filled with pain. She loved Michael more than she ever thought possible. Seeing Al again was like a dream come true. It was more incredible than she had ever imagined.
But why now? She had finally gotten through her grief of losing Al and had allowed herself to fall in love again... deeply in love with Michael, only to have Al come back into her life.
She'd had bad luck in her life before, but this was definitely luck of the worst kind...
and the best...
"What's wrong, Marcie?" Al asked, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. He kissed her mouth, then her cheeks, then her neck, smiling when he heard Marcie's breath catch in her throat.
"I must have been out of my mind to leave you. I'd forgotten how beautiful you are." He said, showering her with kisses. "I know I'm crazy about you, though. Let's get out of here and go somewhere that we can be alone, okay?"
Without waiting for a response, he stood and took her hand. "Let's go to your dorm room." he whispered in that voice that made her knees weak.
She laced her fingers through his and watched as he gathered her books. Marcie felt the dizziness return as Al pulled her along silently toward the Llanview University campus.