Ainsley
“You sure this is what you wanna do?” Sloane questions as I prepare to get out of Scott’s SUV he’s borrowing from his parents. “You’re absolutely sure?”
I take in a deep breath to clear the doubts away she’s steadily
creating.
“What if he doesn’t answer? Or what if he sends you away? Or what if-”
“Sloane,” Scott interrupts for me. “Her night’s going to be perfect just like ours.”
When his fingers reach over to fold with hers, a bright smile twists its way onto my lips.
About a week after shooting my newly requested footage for my final project, Scott made a decision. He stopped letting Sloane run from whatever it was that was between them. He fought to make her listen. He fought harder to make her understand. At the end of all the fighting and fucking, as she so gracefully put it, she realized she’s just scared of being hurt. I did my best in my heart broken state to explain to her being scared is a part of falling in love, but when you’re with the right person the fear feels nonexistent. She confided in me that’s exactly how Scott makes her feel. That’s exactly how Nate made me feel and after the unique way he reached out to me, I know in my heart the two of us aren’t over. It’s just time for us to finally talk.
I open the door and shimmy my way out of the vehicle. With the edge of my dress slightly hiked up to prevent it from dragging on the sidewalk, I wish my friends all the best for the evening, and head inside.
On the elevator ride up, the woman I’m sharing it with can’t stop from staring at my attire. However, despite her obvious desire to question it, she keeps her mouth shut. When she notices our floor happens to be the same, she quietly questions, “Which apartment do you live in?”
“I don’t. My boyfriend lives here.”
Her eyebrows furrow. “May I ask who your boyfriend is?”
“Nate Greene.”
She nods, though it’s obvious she’s surprised. The doors ding open. “3 E. The teacher.”
With a proud smirk, I state, “Yes. But he’s not a teacher anymore.”
At least he’s not at my school and that’s what truly matters.
The woman expresses her opinion in the form of a hum before letting herself into her own apartment.
Thankfully Nate’s is only a couple apartments down the hall, making the somewhat awkward walk in the gown bearable. At his door, I prepare to use my key, the key I never gave back even when I should’ve. All of a sudden, Sloane’s doubts start to tumble towards me again. What if he isn’t home? What if he’s out with his bros or worse…What if he has some rebound in there he’s trying to screw in an attempt to forget about us? When I got his package yesterday afternoon, I didn’t bother sending him a message or any indication I would be showing up tonight. What if I’m wrong about this? What if this was his way of saying goodbye?
I cowardly stare at his door until my own words about fear come barreling back at me, sending my clutch free hand to do the knocking. With my breath held tightly in my chest, I impatiently wait and secretly pray I didn’t misread the situation.
Just when doubt creeps its way up my spine again, his door opens, exposing to me a sight I’ve missed seeing. I drink in his low hanging workout shorts and his gray Clover Rose t-shirt. His tussled hair and sullen unshaven face tell me exactly what I was hoping to hear. He hasn’t been out trying to replace me. He’s been here. Missing me like I’ve been missing him. Nate takes a moment to soak me in in return. His eyes caress the curves of my chest that are covered by the black portion of my strapless gown. The bottom portion is white and pleated. There’s a black flower sprinkled with white glitter on the left side right where the two colors meet. My wavy hair is pinned to one side of my face to allow the dangling earrings I’m wearing visibility.
His mouth cracks open, yet the silence remains.
Deciding to be the first to speak, I say, “While I couldn’t let you be the first person to see me in it like I said I would, I can keep the other half of the promise and have you be the last one to.”
The corner of his mouth attempts to move upward. It takes him an additional beat, but he eventually argues, “I’m not last. Didn’t prom just start an hour ago?”
I nod.
“Aren’t you headed there?”
My grin returns fully as I answer, “No. I’m exactly where I belong.”
Nate’s shoulders sink in relief. He wets the lips I’ve missed on mine, takes a step back, and ushers a hand to invite me in.
Once we’re inside, lingering somewhat awkwardly in his living room, I ask, “How’d you know this was my dream dress?”
He smirks and has a seat on the edge of his couch. “Holden can be helpful at times.”
I shake my head and smile again. “Should’ve known.”
Before the situation can tumble towards uncomfortable silence again, Nate states strongly, “I’m sorry, Ainsley.”
The three words I’ve been waiting weeks to hear swiftly swirl around me, swaying me on my feet.
“I really am,” he continues, sorrow filling his tone. “I fucked up. I know I fucked up. I should’ve trusted you. I should’ve allowed you to explain like you deserved to. Most importantly, I’m sorry for that shit I said about you ruining my life. I was just pissed and…I was the one being childish.”
“Very,” I whisper out.
“Having you come into my life was a blessing I didn’t deserve and a blessing I didn’t mean to fuck up. I love you. I love you more than I love my fucking self. I love you enough to put you on that plane and walk into the fog. That’s what I meant when I wrote ‘We’ll always have Paris’. That was my way of letting you know if you wanna walk away from everything we had, I won’t stop you, not because I don’t love you, but because I love you enough to let you have a better future without me.”
My mouth trembles as I try to reply. I didn’t come here expecting to cry. The thought didn’t even occur to me. I hoped he would apologize, promise to never do it again, and then we’d have really hot make up sex. I never thought he’d say anything like this.
After I’ve manage to swallow my tears, I declare, “I don’t want you to let me walk away, Nate. I want you to be the selfish man Humphrey wasn’t. I want us to have Paris, Rome, London, New York, and anywhere else our love takes us. I want film class, festivals, corn dogs, and afternoons on the couch. I want…I want us.”
His face melts. “I want us too…”
“But I want you to trust me. To believe me. To have the same faith in me that I’ve had in you from the minute I saw your face. This will never work if I have to constantly reassure you I’m not going anywhere. So, tell me, right now Nathaniel Ryan Greene. Do you trust me?”
“Absolutely…”
“Will you trust me in the future? Will you talk to me the next time you have doubts? Will you give our future the actual chance it deserves rather than throw it away because you’re afraid it won’t be the perfect, calculated, textbook romance you assume it should be?”
“Yes.”
With my shoulders pressed slightly back, I do something I don’t often get to in our relationship. I make a demand. “Then kiss me already, Teach.”
Promptly, he’s back on his feet, arms around me, and lips meshed with mine. I drape one arm around his neck and use the other to clutch him closely, nearly dropping my purse in the process. Our mouths part and our tongues relentlessly roll around one another anxious to be sated like never before. I softly moan my desire for more, which is when he pulls away.
Nate’s bright blues lovingly stare into mine. “You should have at least one dance in this dress before I rip it off.”
I give him a smirk. “Fine. One. But then you rip it off and spend the rest of the night marking me as yours…”
He lightly groans, but nods his agreement. “Wait here.”
Doing as requested, I toss my clutch onto the couch while he grabs his phone. It only takes a brief moment before there’s music coming from the speakers of his cell. The tune is one I instantly recognize and my pleased, sweet expression lets him know it.
“Not the original but I like Sinatra’s version a bit more.”
Nate places the phone on the coffee table and retreats back to me. This time he places one hand on my hip and the other in mine. My head instantly falls to his chest as we slightly sway around the small portion of the living room. He quietly sings along to “As Time Goes By”, the sacred song of our beloved film. We tug one another closer and allow ourselves to drift off towards absolution and a happy ending rather than a bittersweet one.