The Meet

She leaned against the wall, staring at nothing in particular. The surroundings were familiar but from what seemed like another life. She felt the urge to shove her hands in her pockets and rock on her heels but the thin line pencil skirt and glossy navy blue heels prevented it.

“What am I doing here?” she breathed to no one, letting out a heavy sigh. There was no answer to that question and that fact bothered her to no end. Maybe there was an answer, but not one she could deal with.

Her head hung at a slight angle and her thick brown hair fell around her face. She was so deep in thought that she didn’t hear the quiet footsteps approaching. “Uh… do you work here?” the voice said. She turned with a “no” that dropped from her bottom lip and hung in the air as she spun around and realized who she was talking to.

He had been walking towards her but stopped in his tracks. Recognition and shock spread across both of their faces. “Renae,” he nearly whispered.

He stepped closer to her and tried to take measured breaths to calm his quickly ignited nervous system. It had been a lifetime. And here she was, standing where he had seen her last. Internally they both questioned if it was real.

“What…are you doing here?” he gulped. “I…uh…guess I’m lost,” she said with forced ease and a grin. He chuckled knowing she knew this place inside and out.

“Can I…I mean…could I have a hug?” ‘Dammit, why’d you say that? How stupid,’ he mentally reprimanded himself. His hand was nervously rubbing the back of his neck and his gaze trailed down her form and to the floor. He could feel his cheeks lighting on fire.

“Yes,” she breathed with a tone of relief. Her arms reached out to wrap around his neck. The fabric of his shirt was soft and he smelled sweet and musky, just as she expected. She adjusted their hug and pulled him in even tighter, resting her chin on his shoulder and squeezing her eyes shut. He seemed to reciprocate.

After several moments, they pulled apart, his eyes glancing at her glossed pink lips, and then at her eyes. She couldn’t describe the look on his face using every single word in her arsenal. 

She wasn’t used to feeling like she had the power. He was commanding and overbearing and ridiculous but in this moment…she knew she had the power. The way he was looking at her and not looking at her and then looking again... She could almost hear his thoughts racing, almost feel his heart beating, his palms sweating.

A smile crept across her face as she drank in this newfound power. 

“Why are you smiling?” he smiled back.

“Nothing…no reason,” she said brushing her hair behind her ears. “It’s just…it’s just good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too,” he said moving past her to lean againt the wall, just as she had been. She joined him and together they stood looking in front of them.

She studied his face as he stared at his past. 

He was there to remember the past. She was there to remember him.

He could feel her eyes trained on him, and then to his relief, she looked where he was looking once again.

A minute passed and then she turned to lean against the wall with her left shoulder and face him. “Do you miss it?” she asked, already knowing the answer. He first looked down at the ground in consideration and then turned to face her, also leaning against the wall. “You know I do.”

“What’d you miss most,” she said playfully with a glimmer in her eyes and the beginnings of a smile. “Am I supposed to say you?” 

“You never know what you’re supposed to say, why start now?” she retorted. His lips spread into a smile as he laughed.

She stared into the face that she missed, drinking in all the details so that it wouldn't fade away again. “I wasn’t ready…for this,” she said becoming serious. Staring at a single button on his shirt. Maybe her confidence was fading. “Ready for what?” he asked.

“To see you.”

“I’m glad…” he paused “I’m glad to see you,” he finished with a whisper.

She put a hand to his chest giving it a light pat and gave him a somewhat sad smile. He slid along the concrete wall, coming just a bit closer to her. He knew why she had an air of bravado but an expression of sadness. This was just a moment, just a fleeting extradition from reality that maybe neither of them wanted to pass.

It hurt him more than he expected to see her sense of longing, out in the open, unprotected, honest as always. Saying the things her lips wouldn’t form with her eyes.

He found himself drawing even nearer to her. He could feel her breath on her face. Suddenly it didn’t feel like she had the power anymore. He brought a hand up to her face, at first just letting his fingertips skim her milky soft skin; then taking the side of her face in his hand.

Finally she looked up at him, searching his eyes.

She was breaking him, pulling him in closer, making him realize things he never knew. Finally he took a deep breath and came so close that his lips brushed hers. They both hesitated, caught in a world of impossibilities. 

"This makes no sense," she said. 

"I know...," he began to whisper, but his words trailed off into her mouth as she closed the gap and kissed him.