The tension between us had been slowly raising to a fever pitch, partly because our arms were still linked as we walked down the sidewalk by the playground, and partly because I was running out of things to contribute to our small talk, but mostly because every glance I stole of him overwhelmed me more than the last. Gavin’s biceps felt much larger than I remember seeing them as a kid, which was understandable. He had grown into a respectable looking man. I was still a little confused as to how we ended up here together, and what we were doing out there on that chilly October night. Gavin was walking and staring straight forward down the path. He seemed like he was out of small talk topics and was figuring out what to say too.

“What are we doing out here, Gavin?” I hated to put pressure on him with my question. I would have loved for the moment to be full of pure, unadulterated, romance and the things dreams are made of, but this was becoming a little too weird for me. As I looked up at his face, it was so fashioned for a profile, almost statuesque. Even though I had known him as long as I can remember, I felt I really didn’t know him now. He was a stranger that had just whisked me up within a few moments of meeting me, and already had me outside, in the dark without anyone else around. The music was blaring inside. If I had read this scenario incorrectly, no one would hear my calls for help. I wasn’t pinning him as a serial killer or anything, but the entire moment had made me paranoid somewhat. This could be a prank that I was paying for years later. Had I done anything to Gavin that I didn’t remember? This could play out a million ways. More years had passed that that lifetime we held, and mostly in the eyes of children for us. The last fifteen minutes I had experienced with Gavin were too odd not to question. His angelic presence had gone from bedazzling to unsettling, and his charms were starting to seem more devilish than anything. I had to get some sort of answers, I hoped they would give me some feeling of security.

“I haven’t seen you in so long. We’ve both changed so much. We hardly talked much in high school. What is all of this? Why are we out here?” I pulled my arm out of his and turned towards him. I crossed them in front of my chest, which until this moment had almost been heaving in delight as this handsome man was paying attention to me out of everyone here.

Gavin let out a little laugh, and it caught me off guard. “What’s so funny?” I asked.

“Teresa, you really don’t remember much, do you?” This just confused me a whole lot more.

“What are you talking about?” I pressed.

“I know we hardly talked much in high school, but I did say something pretty significant after prom, didn’t I? But I don’t really blame you if you can’t remember, we were all a little drunk at the time. I know I wouldn’t have had the courage to say anything if I hadn’t had that much to drink.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck. It was the first sign of insecurity I had seen on him, and it felt so sincere it was heartwarming. And then it hit me, I did recall what he said.

“You said, you had a giant crush on me since the third grade, and you had never had the confidence to tell me until that moment,” I didn’t want to finish what he said, the last part was far too ridiculous.

“That’s not all I said. I said one day, when I had something to offer you. I would come back for you.” He said, and my heart froze. It was irrational to think that he had kept his crush on me going for all these years, and it was even more irrational to think that he thought it was worth bringing up right now.

Gavin grabbed my hand and pulled me closer. “Teresa, I have kept up with you all of these years. I ask my grandparents about you all of the time. They told me that they are in your restaurant quite often. Didn’t they ever mention it?” He looked me right in the eyes. He sounded so sincere.

He also looked very smooth, and I was falling into the grasp of a fast talker that somehow knew what I wanted to hear. I had never dreamed I would be the object of anyone’s crush, and for this length of time – it was borderline obsession. I was scared before, and this was supposed to make it worse, but it didn’t. How many women could say they had a deity of a man obsessed with them? I squinted my eyes and stared him up and down. He was smooth. He was oh so smooth. There wasn’t one flaw to him. I couldn’t fall into his trap without finding out more about where all of this was coming from.

“Teresa, please don’t look at me like that,” he said, brushing some of my hair back to get a better view of my eyes. “I think about you often. I keep tabs on you by asking my family how you are doing. You’re right. We didn’t hang out much in high school, but trust me, it wasn’t because I didn’t want to. You were so intimidating back then. I had no self-esteem and definitely not enough balls to talk much to you, let alone ask you out. Now I have a bit more confidence, and I try not to let opportunities pass me by anymore these days.” He shifted his body towards mine, almost touching. I could feel his breath again, and my own started to match his. What this man could do just by breathing into me.

His touch was so soft as he held my hand. He reached for my other one. I looked at him deeply, feeling as though we had been in this eye lock for a while. The romantic version of a stare down. He was the real life version of my knight in shining armor. He stood there, looking into my eyes, oh so intensely. I didn’t know what to do. It had been so long since I had felt a man’s touch, other than the occasional handshake at the restaurant. The feeling I was getting was tingling in all of the right places. I wanted him to do things to me. I wanted him to do despicable, erotic and dirty things with me, and oh, the things I wanted to do to him. I decided that I’d take a chance. But I didn’t have to make the decision or take a chance. It was in that moment that in one movement Gavin wrapped one arm around me and put his other hand on my face, cupping my cheek. Just as I thought he was going in for a romantic kiss, he gently caressed my long hair back and pulled it playfully, but enough to show his dominance in the situation. He deeply kissed my exposed neckline, and then lingered up to my lips. What was happening? I still hadn’t gotten my answers, but the electric impulses coursing through the nerves on my neck down to my toes made me care no less. Way less. I needed this, even it wasn’t what I had on the agenda for the evening. I deserved to feel good, at least for tonight.