In the dim, golden glow of the evening, Richard sat at the bar, his eyes tracing the curve of his glass as if it held the secrets he’d been keeping for years. The bar buzzed with laughter, voices lifting over soft jazz, but for him, the world had narrowed to the quiet anticipation of waiting. He was on edge, a feeling that had crept up on him the moment he’d agreed to meet her. To see Eve again.
Just then, he sensed her before he saw her. A hint of floral perfume drifted his way, and he looked up to find her stepping inside, pausing for a beat before her gaze landed on him. Their eyes met, and in that moment, Richard felt the air between them spark, the years and miles falling away. She was as striking as he remembered, her dark hair sweeping over one shoulder, her eyes lit with the same fire that had captivated him from the start. She walked over slowly, with that same effortless grace, and for a heartbeat, he forgot where he was.
“Richard,” she said, her voice soft but layered with the weight of their unspoken history.
“Eve.” He offered her a smile, one that he hoped hid the rapid beat of his heart.
She slipped onto the stool beside him, her gaze steady, unguarded, as if daring him to break the silence first. He wanted to ask her how she’d been, to ease into pleasantries, but he knew there was no point. The air between them was already charged, thick with everything they hadn’t said, with the choices they hadn’t made.
“Why did you want to see me?” she finally asked, her voice barely a whisper.
He searched her face, every curve and line as familiar as if he’d spent every day memorizing it. “Because I couldn’t let it end like that, Eve. Not without knowing... if you still felt the same.”
She looked down, her hand tracing the rim of her glass, silent. But Richard could see it in her eyes, the battle waging behind them. “You left, Richard. When I needed you most, you left.”
“I know,” he murmured, the words choked with regret. “And there hasn’t been a day I haven’t thought about it. About you.”
Eve’s eyes lifted to his, a mixture of vulnerability and longing that cut through him. “Do you think I haven’t thought about you? But thinking doesn’t change what happened, Richard. It doesn’t bring back the time we lost.”
He reached across, his fingers brushing against hers. A spark ignited at the touch, pulling them both into the magnetic force that had once bound them so deeply.
“Then let’s take back what we have now,” he whispered, his voice thick with need. “Let’s not let it slip through our fingers again.”
Eve’s lips parted, and for a second, he thought she might pull away. But instead, she leaned in, her gaze drifting to his mouth, a look of determination mixed with surrender.
In a heartbeat, they closed the gap. The world around them disappeared as his lips met hers, soft yet urgent, like the first sip of a long-awaited drink. Her hands slipped to the back of his neck, and he could feel the tension in her body slowly melt away, replaced by a passion that had waited far too long to be unleashed.
And in that kiss, they tasted not just the longing of the past, but the hope of everything they might finally allow themselves to be.
