Letters From the Lost

~Noah~

"Max, are you ready to go?" I asked. We were going on a date today. A few days ago I asked her out on a date, I had planned on doing something romantic for her. I felt like she might not have ever done something romantic with Jackson.

She started to trust me more. I knew I didn't know a lot about her but she'll tell me when she's ready. Jackson did a number on her mental health, there was a lot of rebuilding to do, and part of that is letting her tell me what's wrong on her time.

"Yeah, let's go!" She answered. Her voice was full of excitement, she grinned at me. After we left, I was driving. I tried to keep her in the dark about where we were going. I was taking her to the nicest restaurant in town, I knew if I told her she would feel guilty about it. But I wanted to do something nice for her, she deserved it.

"Where are we going?" She questioned.

"You'll see," I answered while smirking. She playfully rolled her eyes and went back to staring out the window.

I pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and parked quickly. "Noah, you did not!" She said, I giggled and grabbed her hand to pull her inside.

Once they sat us down, we started ordering drinks. I could see the hesitation in Max's eyes when the waiter asked if we wanted to order food yet, so I told her we weren't ready yet. "I'm not going to force you to order anything big, or anything at all. But I really want you to eat something. Even if it's one bite, okay?" She was getting more and more frail every day. It was making me nervous, she'd been close to passing out before.

"Okay," She whispered. I set my hand on her thigh and gave her a reassuring look. She slightly smiled back at me.

I stared into her beautiful eyes. The ring around her iris was dark blue which fades into a beautiful green. I could get lost in her eyes forever. "Has anyone ever told you about how gorgeous your eyes are?" I asked. Her cheeks turned bright red, she looked down in embarrassment. "Max?" She looked up at me again smiling. I paused, she always renders me speechless. "You really are the most beautiful person I have ever seen."

"I don't believe that." She looked down at the table in front of her. Tears developed in her eyes, she struggled to choke them back.

"Just because you don't believe so, doesn't make it not true. You really are the most gorgeous person in the world and there is nothing you could stay that would change that. Whatever you were told by Jackson, it doesn't mean anything. You really are the most beautiful person I have ever seen and it's true. I promise I'm not lying." She smiled slightly.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her body closer to mine. I planted a kiss on the top of her head. "Thank you, Noah," She whispered.

"For what?" I questioned, slightly confused.

She looked down at her knees, still leaning into my body. "For loving me. No one has ever done that for me before." I felt my heart shatter in a million pieces.

"Baby," I pulled her closer, "I will always love you, no matter what. Never doubt that I love you, I'll always be there for you." I kissed the top of her head, she looked up at me grinning ear to ear which made me giggle a little.

The waitress came over and we ordered food. I ordered some sort of food with chicken. And Max ordered a salad. I felt so proud of her for ordering something. We both ordered a couple drinks regardless of our age. I think I was intimidating the waitress a little too much, I don't do it on purpose. I've been told that I always look pissed off.

Max did eat about half of her salad, I was so proud of her for eating, especially in public. Max wanted to pay, but I wouldn't let her and I paid without letting her see the receipt. Once we made it out of the restaurant, I stopped her outside of the car. "I'm so proud of you, Maxi!" I laughed, I leaned in and kissed her softly.

She grinned and kissed me again. "Let's go home," I said. We both got in the car and drove back to her house. She hasn't technically asked me to move in, but I'm scared to see what will happen if she's alone. We've both gotten used to falling asleep in each other's arms, which I'm not mad at. I honestly don't know how I was falling asleep without her.

Max had mentioned something about always wanting to dance under the stars a few weeks ago, I planned on doing that once we got home. She had a bunch of records and a record player outside. Once we got home, I took her out to her backyard. She put on some record and music started to quietly play. It was like she could read my mind.

I pulled her close to me and we wrapped our arms around each other. Our bodies swayed back and forth in perfect rhythm. I kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Noah."

I smiled, "I love you too, Maxi." It felt like that was the first time that we said 'I love you' and meant it. We have said it a few times before, but it didn't feel like it was completely true. I mean, obviously I loved her and she loved me, but we didn't know each other very well. This was the moment I realized that Max was going to be my love forever. She was my rock. I might not have been through as much as she has, but I will continue to be in her corner for the rest of our days. Every wrinkle will just strengthen our love more. She's who I want to spend the rest of my life with, through thick and thin.

Max looked up at me intently. She was craving for a kiss, I could see it in her eyes. I leaned down and wrapped my arms around her lower back to pull her up toward me. She wrapped her legs around my waist. I leaned in and kissed her. She placed her hands on the sides of my face, keeping me from pulling away. Her other hand snaked around my hand and fisted my long black hair. My tongue slithered across her bottom lip. She finally opened her mouth a little more allowing me to stick my tongue all the way in her mouth. I pulled my tongue away and started chewing on her bottom lip softly. A quiet moan escaped the depths of her chest. I could feel my jeans tighten. My hands tighten around her waist. She pulls away from the kiss. We both hyperventilated quietly, I stared into her beautiful eyes. She placed her forehead on mine, our noses touching. Her ankles unhooked and her legs swung to the floor, I set her down softly. "Let's go to bed," I whispered.