Letters From You

Before I knew it, I got the text that Shannon was leaving his house in L.A. and on the way to me in San Francisco. I spent all morning getting ready, making sure my hair and makeup were perfect and it took me almost an hour to finally settle on an outfit that seemed acceptable. I was so nervous about meeting him. Despite his reassurances, I was still ridiculously paranoid that he was going to get there and for some reason I wasn't going to be what he thought I was.

Halfway through his journey, he stopped for lunch and called to tell me how excited he was to see me. I couldn't believe that I was actually going to meet him, and I told him so. He told me he couldn't believe that he was actually going to meet me either.

Finally a few hours later, his sleek black car pulled into my driveway. A gasp escaped my lips involuntarily as he stepped out of the car. He was wearing skinny black jeans, a black leather jacket, and a gray t-shirt. A pair of thick black sunglasses concealed his eyes, but even through the window I could see how ridiculously gorgeous he was. I moved away from the window as he turned towards it, scared that he'd see me gawking at him.

The doorbell rang a moment later. I opened the door and there he was. He had a giant bouquet of sunflowers in his hand and he smiled a giant smile when he saw me. He handed me the flowers and pulled me into a huge hug. Unsurprisingly, he smelled absolutely fantastic.

"Mm, hi," he whispered into my hair, and I could feel my cheeks turning red.

"Hi, Shan," I whispered back, and he pulled away just slightly so that he could look me in the eye.

"You're beautiful," he told me, and I felt myself blush again. No one had ever called me beautiful before.

"You're beautiful," I responded without really thinking about it. He chuckled and motioned to the flowers.

"I remembered that you said they were your favorite," he said, and I couldn't believe that he had.

"Thank you. They're gorgeous," I told him, and he smiled that giant smile again. We stood there for a few more moments, just touching each other. I couldn't believe how soft and amazing he felt.

"I can't believe I'm here," he whispered, his eyes locked onto mine.

"Neither can I," I told him. "Am I what you expected?" I asked, and he shook his head firmly and my heart dropped just a bit.

"You're not what I expected. You're so much more, so much better," he said, leaning in and kissing me on the forehead. "You're perfect, Ash," he told me, and I knew I was blushing yet again.

"I'm not," I whispered, and he smiled again.

"That's not how it looks from where I'm standing."

"Then you should stand somewhere else."

"I don't want to," he said, and before I knew what was happening, his lips were on mine. His kiss was hungry and I couldn't help but fall into it. He pulled away a minute later, and I knew I had the goofiest smile on my face.

"And here I thought you might be coming here to tell me that you just wanted to be friends," I said, and he laughed.

"I want to be so much more than your friend, Ashton Valencia, I can't even tell you," he whispered, his eyes looking into my soul. He really was the sexiest man I'd ever seen. I couldn't believe that he was standing in my living room, looking at me the way that he was. It seemed so surreal. Seven months before, I hadn't even ever spoken to this beautiful man, and now here he was, looking at me like he couldn't live without me.

A few minutes later, he went to his car to get his bag and I went to the kitchen to put the flowers in a vase, and the whole time I was just in a daze. I really couldn't believe he was there. Part of me expected to walk back into the living room to find out it had all been a daydream, but it hadn't. In fact, he seemed to have gotten more comfortable. His jacket was draped over the arm of the couch and he'd taken his shoes off and sat them neatly by the door.

His face lit up as I re-entered the room, and he opened his arms, motioning for me to sit with him on the couch. I obliged, and he settled me into his lap. My head ended up against his chest, and I couldn't stop listening to the wonderful sound of his heartbeat and the breath cycling through his lungs. We sat there in silence for a long time, just getting used to the surfaces of each other's bodies. Every few minutes, he'd kiss my head and I'd look up at him with wide eyes, making him chuckle.

"I could get used to this," he said a while later, finally breaking the silence.

"I'm already used to it," I whispered, and he laughed as he buried his face in my hair.