When Did Your Heart Go Missing?

"Frank!" I yelled after him. He laughed and ran. Away from my house. I ran after him.

"Frank, this isn't funny!" I yelled again. Truth be told, I was sort of amused. But at the same time curious.

"Catch me if you can, pretty girl!" he yelled back at me. I smiled. Pretty, huh?

I chased him all the way down to a park, through trees and finally he stopped at an empty patch in between the mini-forest. Frank fell to the grass, smiling and with his eyes closed.

"Frank, what was the point in that?" I asked, trying to control my normal breathing. Frank sat up and patted the ground beside him. I sighed and sat down. He held my hand in his.

"You remember this place, Layla?" Frank asked, staring down at our hands. I looked around, my eyebrows furrowed.

"No," I said. Frank laughed.

"We used to go here when we were little," he whispered, drawing invisible circles on the back of my hand with his thumb.

"How little?" I asked. I felt genuinely happy. Frank calling me pretty, holding my hand...

"Oh, I don't know...six years old?"

"Frank, that was more than half our lives ago! How do you remember that?"

Frank laughed.

"Don't you remember?" he asked again. "At all?"

I shook my head.

"It was the summer before first grade," Frank said, still drawing those circles. "I'd run to your house with two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches my mom made. And you'd come out with me with two bottles of orange juice. And we'd put it all in a picnic basket, along with a blanket, and come and eat it here. Every other day. All summer."

I was starting to remember. Slightly.

"And when we were done," Frank continued, smiling, "the sprinklers would go off and we'd get soaked."

"And one time you got sick and since I lived closest, you slept over," I said, slowly remembering.

"And you'd sneak some of your Halloween candy into the guest room for me," Frank said. I laughed.

"Wow, Frank," I said. "I can't believe...you remembered that."

"I remember every moment of my life I spent with you."

I looked up at him. He brought his hand to my cheek.

"You're so important to me, Layla," he whispered. "Have I ever told you that?"

There was something about the way he looked at me that I just can't explain. Or complain, for that matter. Because around Frank, I never felt uncomfortable. I always felt at ease. And like I was floating on a cloud, just because he held me. His slightest touch was enough to warm me entirely. And I don't know how to describe how I feel...

It's so confusing. But comforting.

Frank stared into my eyes intensely.

"No," I whispered. "I don't think you ever told me that."

He smiled. "Well, now you know."

His face slowly inched towards mine. When our lips met, I felt complete bliss. Each second, the kiss deepened, with our tongues now playing in each other's mouths. I held his face with my hands, wanting it more than anything else.

But I pulled away. I pulled away and I looked away because I just couldn't face him.

"Layla," Frank said softly. His voice was so tempting, as was his touch. I pulled my hand away from his.

"Just take me home," I said softly.

"What is it, Layla?" Frank asked. He knew something was wrong with me.

"Nothing," I said, almost getting angry. "Just take me home."

Frank sighed. I snuck a glance at him. He stressfully ran his fingers through his hair.

"Okay," he said softly, not daring to look at me. "Let's go."