She sat outside on the porch swing for awhile, taking in the surroundings of the place she loved more than any where else. The waves were crashing, the sun was setting, the world seemed so calm and pure... If she didn't know any better, she would have almost thought the entire earth was at peace that night.
Unfortunately, that's never the case.
It wasn't until the sun had totally disappeared before she pushed herself up, fumbled through her purse to find her keys and then unlocked the door.
It was just how she'd left it the night she'd gotten that call from Ann... Everything was the same and somehow she couldn't believe that she was selling it.
All of the things she'd loved were there. A couple of blankets she'd knitted with her mother were in a basket in the living room, the dining room table she had danced on one night after too many glasses of wine, the full length mirror she refused to leave the resale store without and the accent wallpaper she had picked out with tiny little blue flowers that lined the trim.
It was her safe haven.
"Oh, my gosh." She let out a sigh, one hand falling on the wall to hold herself up as her knees nearly gave out.
She wanted it back. She wanted everything back. She wanted her house, her things, her memories.... The man she loved.
She was wrong to want to give it up, even though it might have seemed right at the time- it wasn't. It couldn't have been, because if it were, she wouldn't feel physically sick at the thought of not having that anymore. It was hers- all of it and maybe she was selfish to want to hold onto it, but she didn't care anymore.
She regretted ever believing that it wasn't worth it, but it was too late. She'd sighed the papers, she'd agreed to the sale and the new owners only had three days before they took over...
She'd lost it already.
"I'm sorry..." she whispered to herself, setting her purse down on the accent chair to trail into the kitchen.
She flicked on the light, not surprised to find everything completely taken care of. The night she left, she had candles on the counter, a couple of wine glasses sitting on the edge of the sink and her plants were off the windowsill to be watered... Before he head home later that same night, he cleaned all of that up, putting it all in its place.
The only thing in sight were the papers that were sprawled out on the counter, which caught her attention right away. It was documents that looked exactly like the ones she'd gotten in the mail a couple of days prior, and while she took a moment to read them over, the sound of the screen door creaking open caused her heart to sink into the very pit of her stomach.
Swallowing hard, she slowly looked up, only for her eyes to melt into those deep blue storms instantly.
He was in the doorway, wearing a white button up shirt that was rolled at the elbows, a pair of washed out blue jeans and holding a pizza box from the restaurant down the street.
And she had never, not in all of their years of knowing each, been that excited to see him.
They just stared at one another for a really long moment, the eye contact speaking louder than words ever could. And then she set the papers back down on the counter, pushed herself away and slowly trailed towards him.
"It was you..." she whispered, these big tears rolling down her cheeks as she never looked away.
He set the box down on the stand, nearly dropping it to the floor since he suddenly wasn't paying much attention to anything other than her... it had become impossible to pull his gaze away. "I couldn't give it up." Lindsey admitted, almost in a sad, sentimental way.
He tried, he really did but he couldn't do it. He had told himself, a thousand times over that it was the right thing to do, it was time to move on, they owed each other that.... Blah, blah, blah. But he didn't believe it and the more he tried to, the more he realized how much it meant to him.
Those four walls and that woman kept his world turning.
She stopped right in front of him, hands at her sides as she tilted her head. "I was worried about you..." she lingered in the most gentle tone of voice that she could conjure up.
He cracked a little grin, eyes scanning over her face. "I was hungry." Lindsey knew that's not what she meant, but it caused a very soft, yet tear filled giggle to escape her.
She paused for a moment, hand meeting his chest as she bit down on her lower lip. "I have never been more in love than I am right now." Stevie admitted as her heart began to beat a little faster and these small butterflies fluttered in the pit of her tummy.
One of his hands traveled to her hip as the other fell right on her cheek to cradle her face. "You are all I've ever wanted." He told her, but he was almost certain that it had never been a secret. "You are the most beautiful woman..." Lindsey's tone in voice grew more breathy, forehead meeting hers as they looked so deep into each others eyes, it was surprising they couldn't see right through to one another's soul.
"Congratulations on your new home." Her lips turned up, hand moving up and around his shoulder to be closer... if that was even possible.
He chuckled softly, leaning in to kiss her lips softly. "It's yours." Lindsey whispered as his kisses traveled down to her jaw. "It's always been yours." He slowly backed her up against the wall, a big confidence boost coming after she'd dropped her back to give him more access to her neck.
"Are you going to love me forever...?" Stevie wondered as her two hands met his cheeks to bring his eyes back to hers.
Squeezing her hip lightly, he nodded his head. "Only you... forever."
