You Had My Heart At Least for the Most Part

“Hey.” I smiled at Claire as she opened the door. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks.” She blushed and stepped outside, shutting her door. “You look rather good yourself.”

“I try.” I laughed and held out my arm for her to take. She took it smiling and walked to my car which was parked out on the street. I opened the car door for her and let her get in, then I closed it. I walked around the car quickly and got inside as well.

“So where are we going?” She asked as she looked out the window

“Ocean front.” I smiled, knowing it was the place where we had our first date when we were back in high school.

“Really?” She laughed and looked at me as I drove.

“Yep.” I smiled. “I thought it was appropriate.” I laughed.

“It is.” She smiled and put her hands in her lap blushing a little.

I forgot how much I missed Claire. I was so focused on Vanessa after the wedding that I forgot I had feelings for Claire. After Vanessa confessed her feelings for me, that was all I thought about. But today I had to focus on Claire, and Claire only. But I didn’t have a problem with that.

We pulled up to the restaurant and got out together. I walked inside after holding the door open and we made our way to the table I had reserved. “It’s the same exact spot.” Claire smiled.

“I know.” I smiled and pulled out her chair for her.

“I can’t believe you did this.” She grinned sitting down as I scooted her towards the table.

“I thought you would enjoy it.” I flashed a smile and sat across from her. “Order anything you want. Price doesn’t matter.”

“That’s definitely changed since high school.” She joked.

“Okay, I was a freshman with no job,” I laughed, “but now I am a ‘rock star’. I think I can afford this now.”

“Alright.” Claire laughed and opened her menu.

We ordered and then our food came. Claire and I still have so much in common. I was so glad I was with her. She was so sweet and funny. Just like I remembered. As we ate, I was thinking about the two of us being together. I knew for fact I would be happy being with her. I was still contemplating it as we finished dinner and ordered dessert.

“So what are you going to do once your tour is over?” Claire asked before she took a bite of the cherry cheesecake.

“Well,” I took a fork and got a little piece of it too, “I just want to stay home and enjoy my time off. I’ll probably go to the beach or to my cabin.”

“Cabin?” She looked at me as she took another bite.

“Yeah.” I nodded. “It’s in Colorado. I bought it when we were there for a week.”

“That’s cool.” She smiled.

“You should come up there with me some time.” I grinned.

“I’d like that.” She smiled back at me.

We ended up looking into each other’s eyes for a while. We discussed going up to the cabin more in detail and we talked about her career and other stuff. But the night came to an end much to my disappointment. I walked her to her door and she turned to me as we reached the last step. “Thanks for today.” She smiled sweetly at me.

“Of course.” I smiled. “It was really nice being with you again.”

“I missed it.” She blushed.

“Me too.” I admitted shyly. I looked down at her lips and saw her biting them gently. My smile grew wider as I felt my heart pound in my chest. I slowly leaned down towards her. My eyes started to close as our faces grew closer and closer. Her eyes were completely closed as I felt her breath upon my lips. Our lips finally met, and I felt my heart stop. It was amazing. I missed this so much.

We both pulled away after a little while. “Night.” She smiled up at me, blushing.

“Night.” I whispered, obviously dazed.

She laughed a little and walked inside. She waved to me then shut the door. I smiled to myself as I walked down the path back to my car. The night was amazing and I had so much fun. I knew I was falling for Claire all over again. I wasn’t thinking about anyone or anything else. I was on cloud nine.