I had no idea that my life… our lives were actually a fairy tale in disguise.

Lying on my right side in bed, my eyes opened to see him there. Miles was sitting on the floor beside my bed with my hand permanently, protectively in his. As I looked into his breath-taking face, my eyes softened on their own accord. While I slept in utter contentment and bliss, he took the opportunity to strip down the wilting red and white roses of their petals, spreading them overtop my blanket and pillowcases. Some of them were still hidden in the strands of my hair…..

There I was, amongst the rose petals with my beloved in the middle of the night. It will be four months to the day tomorrow since we first met….. It already felt like an infinite amount of time, and merely an instance. I stared into those deep, endless brown eyes and it's like I've known him forever. This wasn't romance what we had- it was so, so much more. I doubt there's a word for it in the English language; nothing of human creation could ever do it justice. He just radiated love for me, and I him. He's like the first man to ever walk the planet, to breathe the air and drink the water… to embrace a woman. What we had, what we were was the material they wrote novels and poems about; not what actually happened to real people in reality. Yet somehow it had happened to me- you couldn't call me a special one since this no one else ever experienced such joy before. We were rare, truly one of a kind…..

I looked into Miles eyes, and I felt eternity staring back at me.

Miles's lips smiled so profoundly as his free hand reached over to stroke my head. His eyes lowered and his thumb ran across my hair repeatedly. Matching his enraptured expression, I leaned up from my pillow to kiss him. We maintained that pose, kissing and embracing one another for some time. When our lips finally pulled away, our eyes linger on the other's, his hand sliding down to the bottom on my cheek. My hand lifted to cover his, pressing it into my skin.

"I am so happy you're here….." I never wanted him to be anywhere else but by my side. Miles smiled again, bringing my hand to his mouth for a kiss as he calmly shut his eyes. I giggled, immensely enjoying the sensation of his soft lips on my bare skin. "Do you that often? Watch me sleep like that?" And he chuckled as he gently bobbed his head up and down. My own grin intensifying, my hand stretched to caress the side of his cheek. "Don't worry, Miles. I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here…. I'll always be here for you," my voice was low and sweet. His only response was to lean in so to kiss my forehead- my third kiss since I've woken that night, tehe. He was being extra affectionate tonight, though I didn't think anything of it. Instead my hand gave his a warm squeeze as I flashed him another loving smile.

"Why don't you sleep in here tonight?" I offered and he, of course, hesitated like the gentleman he is. My head shook as I tugged his arm in toward the bed. "It's alright. I know you won't try anything; I trust you completely. It's just that it's late and you're here already… You might as well sleep beside me," holding me as you did so, naturally.

To my very mild surprise, Miles didn't need much more coaxing than that. Still, he was reluctant for a moment, but after quickly thinking it over, he carefully climbed over me, laying down on his side on the other end of the bed. I don't I'd ever smiled so wide, so wonderfully before when his strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me into a tight yet gentle embrace. He cradled me there like that, nuzzling his nose into the top of my head. And let me tell you, if you've never been held by a muscular man like that before, you have no idea what you're missing. It's like being a child all over again, protected and adored. I'd never felt so safe in my life…. I'll never forget that feeling, or how much I loved him in that instant. I think that's when everything was cemented for me- that very moment in time. I already knew that I loved Miles, but man, did I love him. I'd never felt "taken" before now, but it hit me like a bullet train: I was supremely, irrefutably, undeniably, forevermore taken. I was his.

I belonged to him, body and soul.

Existing in an ecstasy I've never known until now, both Miles and I closed our eyes in perfect harmony. Our breathing mirrored like a symphony, and our arms clung to one another, like we were afraid to let the other go. As our inhaling and exhaling gradually slowed, my mind drifted off to this joyous place where I could still feel Miles's essence all around me. That's how the two of us felt asleep in the same bed for the first time.

Little did I know that would be our last night together in the 21st century.