August.

Four years and a half earlier.

I was finishing up my last extraction of the day and I could feel the nervousness making its way slowly into my gut. With the strong recommendation of Lauren, my assistant and close friend, I had joined a dating app a couple of months ago. I had a few dates but nothing worth pursuing. If I was being honest, I was very picky with women.

"So, Mr. Stuart, just keep the cotton gauze in there for at least another 40 minutes. And you're on liquid diet for the next twelve hours, alright?"

My patient nodded and I walked him to the front desk. I made sure he was feeling okay and told him to call the clinic if he had interrogations of if something was wrong. I walked back to my office and as I was gathering my things, Lauren leaned against the doorframe.

"So?" she asked me, wiggling her eyebrows. "Tonight's the night?" she continued, making me chuckle.

"Yes. I'm meeting her at seven at this Thai restaurant on Vermont Avenue."

I've swiped right on a 27-year-old lawyer about two weeks ago and we've been texting every day since then but tonight, we were meeting for the first time. Based on the few pictures I saw, she was pretty and all of our conversations made me discover that she was incredibly funny and smart but also ambitious. I've been on dates before, but I was never this nervous about it.

At my apartment, I showered, shaved and put on blue shirt and grey slacks. I completed my outfit with a brown belt and brown shoes. I styled my quiff haircut with texture paste and I was ready to go. I drove to the restaurant downtown, arriving first with fifteen minutes to spare. I decided to go inside and wait for her at the table. With each minute, my heart seemed to pound a little bit more. My hands were a bit sweaty. But then I saw her walk in and it woke up an entire kaleidoscope of butterflies into my stomach. I stood as she approached the table and smiled at her.

"Hi!" she said with a smile that made me go weak in the knees.

"Hi," I replied, pulling the chair out so she could sit down. "It's nice to finally meet you."

She was so much more beautiful than the pictures let on and I wasn't ready for that.

"I hope you weren't waiting for long. I was caught in a bit of traffic on the way," she explained.

"Oh no, not at all, I got here five minutes ago… Would you like something to drink?" I offered.

"Sure," she replied with a smile, taking the menu I was holding out for her.

We settled on a bottle of Sauvignon blanc and ordered Pad Thais. I couldn't take my eyes off her. She was breathtaking. We discussed about a lot of different things we didn't talk about in the past two weeks such as our love for animals and where we had traveled around the globe. We stayed at the restaurant until 10:30pm and it was probably the longest dinner date I've ever had.

I walked Rose to her car, feeling like the happiest man in the world. I had a good feeling about our date and I was hoping she did too because I really wanted to see her again. The fact that we stayed almost four hours at the restaurant was a good thing but still, I couldn't be sure until she told me.

"I loved my evening with you," I admitted as we reached her car.

"I did too," she said, flashing a smile.

"Should we do it again?" I asked.

"I'd like that," she responded.

"Great," I replied and we both laughed nervously. "I won't hold you back any longer, I know it's late. Have a good night."

"Good night."

She opened the door and I walked a few steps behind. She buckled up and finally smiled and waved at me before driving away. I stood there like an idiot longer than I should have. It was our first date, yet I knew I would spend the rest of my life with her.

When I got back to my apartment, my phone chimed. It was Rose telling me that she got home safely and also that she had a great time with me. It warmed my heart. I told her the same thing and we fixed our second date for the next Thursday night, a week from today.

Our second date went as smoothly as the first and we kissed for the first time at the end of it. Rose told me that she felt good with me, and that I was the first man to treat her as an equal. Being with a female lawyer could make some men feel inferior, apparently. Those men didn't have enough self-confidence if they needed to boost their ego over a woman's career.

For our third date, I invited her over to my apartment so I could cook for her. Around six o'clock, as I was cooking dinner, there was a knock on the door. I opened it to see Rose holding a bottle of wine, dressed in a coral summer dress. I invited her in, took the bottle from her hand before we kissed softly.

"Come in," I told her.

"It smells amazing," she said, following me to the kitchen.

She looked impressed by the design of my apartment, and I told her she could go and explore if she wanted to. She smiled and left me in the kitchen to look around the condo. She came back a few minutes later and asked if she could help me with something. I told her to sit down at the counter and poured her a glass of wine.

We spent two hours at the dinner table, eating and making small talk. Rose asked me where I could see myself in ten years and even though I was a bit taken away by her question, I managed to answer.

"I'd like to have a family," I began and she stared at me lovingly. I didn't know if it was my answer or the wine. "Find someone willing to marry me," I said with a laugh. "I just want to be happy, you know?"

She nodded and I returned the question. Basically, she wanted the same thing so it was good. We opened a second bottle and moved to the living room. She looked at my bookshelves in wonder and marveled at my collection of first editions. She asked about them and I answered, standing behind her. I reached out to take one and the smell of her perfume came to my nose. Exquisite. She turned around before I could take the book from the shelf and she stared into my eyes. The next thing I knew, she was kissing me in the dim light of the room. I kissed her back, my hands bringing her closer. I felt her fingers going through my hair at the nape of my neck and goosebumps were soon showing on my arms. A moment later, her hands were on my chest, her fingers undoing the first then second button of my shirt. I didn't expect the evening to go into that direction but I would be damned to stop her. In a couple of seconds, my shirt was completely unbuttoned. I guided her into my bedroom at the end of the hall and once I closed the door behind me, I quickly went for her lips again.

Her skin was soft and smelled of peaches. The soft sounds coming out of her mouth were the most erotic thing I've ever heard. And when I felt her shudder in my arms, my heart was hammering in my chest.

She told me in all honesty that it was the first time she allowed herself to be intimate with a man so soon but that she knew I was different. She didn't want to scare me off but confessed that she wanted us to work, and that she liked me a lot. I told her I felt the same and that I was rather relieved to hear her say that than scared.

We lay there for a while, tangled between the sheets. Her head was fitting perfectly into the crook of my shoulder. I did not remember feeling this much at peace before in my life. I stroke her hair absentmindedly as I felt her drifting into sleep. I kissed her forehead and detached myself from her so she could have her own space. I slept like a log, the best sleep I've had in years.

Present day.

I was watching a bad action movie on TV and Rose was asleep in the bedroom. Today, in physical therapy, she succeeded to stand up from her chair and hold herself up for two minutes straight. Although it was wonderful news, it also exhausted her for the rest of the day. She went to bed at 7:30pm, right after we finished dinner.

It was almost eleven so I cleaned up the coffee table, turned the TV off and joined my wife in bed. Rose looked peaceful but tired, which was understandable. Like most nights, I admired the color of her hair spread on her pillow. A rich auburn. She stirred and opened her eyes, a bit confused.

"Hey," I whispered. "It's just me, go back to sleep, okay?" I continued, leaving a small kiss on her forehead.

"What time is it?"

"Eleven. I'm sorry, I didn't want to wake you up."

She took my hand in hers and closed her eyes, going back to sleep almost instantly. Around five o'clock the next morning, I woke up with Rose's hand on my chest. She was awake but sleep was still all over her face. She looked adorable.

"Good morning," I croaked out and she smiled.

She touched my face, her fingers running softly over my features. I recognized the look in her eyes. I wouldn't hide the fact that I was indeed anxious to have our sex life back but I was aware that her body was still recovering from trauma.

"Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you," I whispered.

"We can try," she simply replied.

My hands roamed on her upper body first then kissed her stomach before going up to her chest then her mouth as I heard her breathing heavily. I could tell she was as anxious as me. There was no hurt in trying. It had been four months since the last time we touched that way.

We made love not only once but twice and spooned for a long time afterwards. I fell asleep in a couple of minutes, my face buried into her hair. The only smell comforting enough to send me to sleep was hers and with the touch of her skin against mine, there was nothing else I could ask for.

We overslept, waking up again at ten o'clock. I hugged her fiercely, her back pressed into my chest and suggested we went out for breakfast, knowing it was her favorite thing to do on a Sunday morning. I helped her getting dressed but she insisted on getting up and out of bed on her own, still on the high of yesterday's achievement. I was so proud of her. She was so strong, a fighter, and I loved her so much.

AN: I do not like this chapter very much but I couldn't seem to do much better no matter how hard I tried. I promise that the next one will be better!