Andy and I had our first official date at a nice little Italian place in the ritzier part of Richmond. The date was nice and he was nothing short of a gentleman. I was completely enamored by the end of it. The highlight to me was that he didn't try to steal a kiss on the first date. 

It felt so right. Being with him felt like I was finding a missing piece I didn't even know wasn't there. We didn't go on another official date, but we saw each other a lot when I went over to see Melissa, who was quickly becoming one of my best friends. 

I still remember the day of our first kiss. The air was cold as we walked from the place we'd just eaten at to the park. The sky was overcast and the clouds looked like it was going to rain at any moment. I hoped it wouldn't, but that was how things usually worked out for me.

We held hands as we walked down the path. There was a small bridge where families gathered for their children to feed ducks on the weekend, and that's where we went. Feeling his hand in mine was sending tingles up my arm. The warmth of his skin seeped into my cold fingers. 

At the apex of the bridge, we stopped and he released my hand to prop his elbows on the railing. "This was the first park I visited when we moved here," Andy said as he looked around. 

I did the same, trying to imagine him, ten years younger, a junior in high school, walking around and maybe kicking rocks. It was adorable. I hadn't seen any pictures of him from before now, but I was pretty sure he was a cutie. There was no way he would have been anything less.

He rubbed his leg against mine and I leaned into him a little. The moment felt so relaxed and calm. "Hey," he said quietly. I turned and found his face next to mine. My heart felt like it was pounding. Was this it? He leaned a little closer and I closed my eyes. It wasn't my first kiss - that was a kiss I wished I could forget - but I was scared and excited like it was.

Fingers lifted my face up gently and lips gently touched mine. A slow heat filled me from the inside out as my heart raced. Our lips moved against each other for a long moment before he pulled away and looked down at me. His gaze was so tender that it felt like a caress. I tried to pull him back in for another kiss, but he didn't let me.

"We should probably head back," he said. "It's probably going to rain."

Disappointed, I let him take my hand and lead me to his car. He had impeccable timing, though - right as we got in, big, fat raindrops began to fall.

 The rain fell hard, the windshield wipers a droning metronome to the music playing. I held his hand and looked over at him. He looked  at me as we came to a stop at a red light. "What?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing." That wasn't true. When we ended the kiss, words tried to bubble up and I needed to say them. I really, really needed to say them. It had been building for the two months we'd been dating. At the next red light, I looked at him again and took a deep breath. "I like you," I said softly. "I like you a lot." Well, liking him wasn't quite true. I'd fallen for him a long time ago, but this felt like the right place to start.

He smiled over at me. "I like you a lot, too." He lifted my hand and placed a gentle kiss on the back. I pulled his hand to me and kissed the back it, too, sealing our confessions.

In the moment, inside our own little world in the middle of a rainstorm, it felt like a seal. Like the words were heavier than what they were and the kiss felt like we were swearing to something. I wanted to believe that we were swearing to the beginning of something lasting a very, very long time. I let myself sink into those thoughts as I looked forward again. 

They were a cozy place at the time, full of white lace and flowers, of moving boxes and sweet words, full of warm emotions and contented happiness. 

I wish I could sink into them again. 

Whenever the thought crosses my mind about what was, there's a longing for it all over again that I have a hard time pushing down. I try to tell myself that it wasn't as good of a place as I thought it was. What was ahead of me back then isn't something I want to experience again.

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I feel like I have to make a confession before I tell you more. It's the least I owe you for following my story this far. 

It's probably kind of obvious, but I knew who Andy was before he approached me in the coffee shop. No, we hadn't met or anything, but I'd seen him several times before then, and I knew his sister. I really had met her not too long before that day. 

He was a regular at that shop. I had frequented the shop since I'd moved to Richmond four years before, but my visits became almost daily when I started college that September. The reason was that I had run into a really nice older guy that I was instantly attracted to. My crush on him had started over a month before I met him for the first time. 

I'd watched him every time he came in and the more I did, the more I realized my initial impression was right. He was kind, sweet, and caring. His voice was a cadence that sounded so good to my ears, and his eyes were gentle. 

I fell a little more everyday, and my crush was going stronger than ever on the day he sat across from me. It was like a fantasy coming true. I wanted to chase it and make it into my everyday reality. 

It still felt like a fantasy-come-true four months in. In fact, it felt even more like I was living a fairytale. He'd been nothing but sweet and romantic. We were out on a date when it began to snow. The snow was glinting in the lights as we walked to his car. Flakes were landing in his hair and sticking to his car, making everything sparkle. It was like everything was coated in a dream-like haze. 

He grinned as he watched it land in my hair. His fingers brushed it from my hair and then they gently stroke my cheek. Our eyes met and he leaned in, lips meeting mine in our second kiss. It felt surreal. I wanted even more to make this dream in human form mine. 

When I woke up the next morning to a world of white, it made the night before feel even more like I dreamed the entire relationship. The light coming in my window lit up my room with an ethereal glow, seemingly reinforcing the notions.

I decided that morning that I would invite him over to meet my parents when we hit six months. If we were going to stay together, I wanted to make my intentions as clear as possible. That was the only way I could think of.

Five months in, and he agreed to make our first two dates after the six month mark the days we met each other's parents.

My parents still talk about him, if I'm being honest. They don't know why we didn't make it, and, sometimes, I wonder why, too. 

That night, Andy came over and he seemed to be in rare form. When I went to answer the door, he held out a single rose. I sucked in a breath as I took it. "Happy six months," he said, leaning in and kissing my forehead. 

"Thank you," I said breathlessly as I gave him a hug. "It's so pretty."

"Elise! Who's at the door?" Mom called as she poked her head around the corner. 

I jumped back from him and turned. "It's Andy!"

"Hi, Mrs. Alden," he said, stepping inside next to me and closing the door. "I'm Andy Oden. It's a pleasure to meet you." I looked up and he was grinning at her. 

"Oh, well, it's nice to meet you! Our Elise has told us a lot about you."

He chuckled. "All good, I hope."

"Of course. Come on in here to the dining room. Dinner is nearly ready." Mom disappeared back into the kitchen.

Andy followed me to the dining room where Dad was sitting with a couple of beers. He picked up one and held it out. "Want one?" he asked Andy. 

"Sure." He sat in the chair next to my dad and cracked it open. "It's nice to meet you, sir. I'm Andy Oden."

"Jeff Alden. What kind of job do you have?" He cracked his beer open, an eye trained on Andy as he sipped.

"I work in IT. Basically, I help people troubleshoot software made by the company I work for. "

While they chatted about Andy's job, I excused myself to the kitchen where my mom was watching what was going on. "He seems nice," she said quietly as I passed her.

"He really is." I gave her a side hug and leaned on her lightly. "He's one of the sweetest I've ever met."

"He's older than I thought he would be," she said. "Are you sure you're okay with the age gap?"

I nodded. "I am. Ten years isn't a problem." It really wasn't. Not for me. I could overlook that. No problem. While I wasn't into older guys, I could somehow make the exception for him. He looked young for his age, and I was gone for him long before I found out how old he was. Because of that, I didn't really care how old he was.

"If you're sure, then okay." Mom turned to me with a smile. "You're pretty serious then?" 

I nodded and looked at her. "I am."

"Good." She gave me another hug and went back to cooking. 

I stayed where I was so I could watch the guys. Andy was sipping at his beer and making small talk with Dad, who was drinking his beer pretty fast. They weren't laughing, but it didn't look like it was too tense, either. I let out a relieved breath before helping my mom finish getting dinner ready.

The rest of the evening flowed. We brought dinner out, everyone ate and seemed to be in good spirits, and then we all went to the living room to chat. Mom and I got glasses of wine and joined Dad and Andy with their beers in the living room. We relaxed and everything kept flowing. 

My parents loved Andy. He seemed to like them, as well. It was everything I could ask for. The best possible first meeting. 

When it was time for him to leave and head home, though, my dad stopped him. In front of myself and Mom, he asked point-blank: "What are your intentions with our Elise?"

Andy froze and looked at me. I didn't give him anything because, actually, I wanted to know too. He never talked about our future or if we even had one. Between us, all we had was 'right now' and maybe 'tomorrow,' so I wanted to know if that really was all that existed between us, or if I could go on hoping for long-term.

After a long moment, he smiled. It didn't quite touch the rest of his face, but in that moment, I didn't think about it. "I want something long-term," he said, returning his attention to my dad. "I think Elise could be that something."

Dad smiled and nodded. I was over the moon. It wasn't just me who thought this would last forever. My dreams for us weren't unfounded. It was all I could do to not kiss him in front of my parents.

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Word Count: 2023