The best memory

They say love is worth a thousand words. It might be one of the most powerful things known to any human. Love can save lives, take lives away, destroy countries, and build cities taller than the eye can see. It lives in our hearts and mind, sliding past our lips and blinding our eyes. Love will set you free, or maybe it'll take away your every last breath.

My life was filled with the love of others, but never once in my life would I believe you’d be this guy, the one to sweep me off my feet. Since the day we’ve met, you have been nothing but this beacon of warmth and light.

I rejected the light. I was afraid. You would never be able to love who I really was. The girl you knew was who I wanted to be. The bright, happy, energetic girl who came with a dash of attitude. I made you know from the beginning that I wasn’t helpless and I didn’t plan on changing now.

I broke down my walls with you. The walls were placed by the hands of many, brick by brick. Then, without laying a single finger, you took it down, brick by brick. Your smile always brings a smile to my face. You never judge. Never once have you criticized. Your words are only full of love and passion.

That’s just how you were. You weren’t a knight in shining armor riding in on a white horse. You were just a guy. Granted, you were a guy who fell in love, and you had fallen in love with me!

In the past, it was easy to believe whoever said they loved me, but now I know that wasn't genuine love.

So, when you asked me out for coffee, I accepted. I couldn’t have imagined that your feelings were anything more than platonic. That had been the way for a while, with more than just you. They didn’t feel like this, though. This was real. This was genuine.

This was radiating warmth down my spine at the thought of me spending a few extra minutes with you. What had officially changed my mind about you, in the blink of an eye, you had paid for my coffee.

Without question or conversation, the whole burden of payment was now within you and your bank account. I slid my wallet back into my purse and thanked you. I was embarrassed and flustered. Someone that wasn’t family has paid for something for me! Such an act could only be described as chivalry. You did it for me. You wanted me to notice your feelings.

The thought was only talked about in movies; the chivalry swam past your lips as you told me that you insisted. So now, making awkward small talk about friends and parents, we sat in a bubble of just us. No one could bother us even if they tried. We engulfed our time and space with just each other.

We walked around. Seeing the sights and commenting on every abnormality, and then you went to grab my hand. My hand! Your unprecipitated hands wrapped its fingers around mine. I didn’t resist. I didn’t want to. It was everything I wanted. We walked around like that until it was finally time for us to go our other ways.

We tried stalling, the struggle of pulling two magnets away from each other. You started walking off, and my heart ached. I wanted you.

I wonder if you felt the same way. Maybe you secretly wanted me to run up to you and tell you never to leave me again. I didn't. I wish I had, though.