Always Love

"This is my favorite part of the city" Rob said quietly.

I was speechless.We were standing at the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park.

"I first came here when I was shooting Remember Me," he continued "I fell so in love with the statue that I decided to read the books. Its now my favorite book, a timeless classic."

I was still smiling like an idiot. This was surreal.

"Alyssa, is there something wrong?" he questioned, obviously confused by my silence.

"N-No." I stuttered.

"Well, seeing as you haven't spoken since we got here I assumed you didn't like it."

I laughed nervously. I could already feel my cheeks flooding with color. "It's just that, I'm sort of, kind of obsessed" I cringed at the word. "with Alice in Wonderland. I know it's a little silly, I know, but I've always loved it."

"Really? How did you come to know it?"

"In the orphanage, there's not much to do besides read. I picked up the book when I was seven and ever since then its been my favorite. "

"What do you like so much about it?"

"I don't know. Probably the whole theme of escaping. I always feel like I'm stuck. Escapes are always welcome."

"I liked because of her struggles." Rob said, thoughtfully.

His response wasn't meant to hurt me, but it did. Those words brought up unknown emotions buried inside. The words blurted form my mouth before I could stop them.

"Struggles!" I snorted. "Its not like she experienced any real struggle. There was no reason for her to run away from her world, neither the first nor the second time. She never had to deal with the constant rejection of the adoption process. The worst Alice had to deal with was an angry, doped up caterpillar."

Unfortunately, I had began to cry during my little rant. Rob looked unsure of what to do. I quickly wiped my eyes as I began to speak.

"I-I'm sorry." I hiccuped. Damn, why couldn't I be embarrassing later. "I didn't mean for that to happen."

Rob surprised me by reaching for my hand and stroking my face with his thumb.

"You'll never have to worry about that. I can protect you from harm,. I'll never hurt you. Maybe, in time, you can see that you can be loved; then, you'll be able to love someone the way they love you"

My head was spinning. Could it be that just a few days ago I met him. Just a few hours ago I told him most of the important things about my life. This was going so fast.

He moved closer and closer until he finally reached my lips. He pressed his, firmly but soft, against mine. I couldn't breathe right. His fingers knotted themselves in my hair. We stayed like this, kissing, for an immeasurable time. Then, too soon, he pulled away. I was overwhelmed.

"We should leave" he whispered, though he looked as if he wanted to stay as much as I did.

"Yeah" I agreed quietly.

We held hands on our way back to my apartment, knowing that neither of us wanted to leave.