See you again ✓

• 24 • Missed you so much •

Jamie's point of view

"Ladies first, I'm a gentleman." Collin suggested.

I glanced at him and my aesthetically arranged meal.

"Well?" he asked, eager for response after I took an hesitant bite of it.

"It's...decent. I might even recommend it to you."

"You don't sound very convinced by your own words."

"Perhaps you can help me sound more convinced?"

"No, thank you. I trust you."

"It's really good, I swear. I'd even bet it's far better than what you ordered."

"We'll see," Collin said before giving his dessert a taste. "Let's see mine then... Oh, Lord..."

I didn't need to understand the meaning behind his disappointment to burst into laughter.

"Why do they do this?"

"What's wrong?" I managed to ask amid my laughter.

"Remind me to never make this mistake ever again."

"Why? Tell me how is it."

"They seriously need to revise the real meaning of the word dessert."

"Can I?" I asked with curiousity.

"Go ahead, be my guest."

After I tasted Collin's dish, I slowly removed the spoon from my mouth, gently set it
back on the plate, and poured myself a glass of water without uttering a word - a gesture
Collin understood so well, as he himself had fallen victim to the chef's creation. But the worst part was that he had hoped to find comfort in my dish, but when a double disappointment took place all over his face, I concluded the sweet yet overwhelmingly spicy taste of my dessert had just spread through his mouth like he never knew it could. And this time, I couldn't hold my tears back and collapsed into laughter again. Collin had
walked right into my trap and the unfortunate man had no choice but to follow my lead - several glasses of water first, laughter then.

"You really can't be trusted, can you?" he eventually let out.

"I know, thank you for the compliment."

"You tricked me. I knew you were hiding something. By the way, how did you manage
to endure that ridiculous heat while looking at me in the eye and telling me it was decent?"

"I told you we had to regret it together."

"The irony is that we won't be able to finish this," he replied, giving a pitiful glance at both
dishes.

"The good news is we won't have to," I laughed.

We looked at each other again before admitting I was really full.

"Well, shall we go then?" he suggested.

Collin's point of view

We decided to take a stroll after dinner, enjoying the cool night air and the soft moonlight along River Coast. The breeze from the sea across us gently soothed my mind as we leaned against the safety railing that bordered the town. On the horizon twinkled numerous lights, offering a resplendent panorama of Green Hill.

"It's not that different from Chaston," I began. "Just a bit bigger, a bit more crowded..."

"A bit noisier," she added.

"Yes, definitely. It's an atmosphere I'm not really used to."

"It's true, there's a big gap between ancient times and the modern era."

"Good thing I'm not staying long."

"Good thing? Perhaps..."

I fell silent.

"Sorry, I meant of course. It's not easy to adjust to a new environment. And anyway, you have to go back. You've got work waiting for you too in Chaston."

I hoped she didn't mean any of these words. I didn't want to go back home, at least not yet. I just came in town and I wasn't ready to leave. I put my suit around her since it was starting to get cold, all in silence. I then laid on my back against the railing.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Nothing. I'm just looking at you."

"It's intimidating." she turned red.

"That won't stop me unfortunately." I smiled. "I don't know when I'll see you again."

"We could just take a picture, sir."

"No I'd rather not."

"Why not?"

"So I can appreciate what I don't have."

She stood there, speechless, meeting my eyes before lowering her gaze.

"Now you're the quiet one." I told her.

"I waited. I waited so long. Every time I got a call, I hoped it would be you, but it never was you. The funniest part is, I wasn't any better. I could have called you too, but I didn't. Because of my pride and stubbornness. Because I didn't want to be the first to give in, even though I wanted to talk to you so badly, to hear your voice again..."

I moved closer, stood behind her and wrapped my arms around her tightly as if it might be the last time. I appreciated her honesty and respected her courage in expressing herself. Few women would have done the same nowadays and Jamie was part of that minority. In my own silence, I was just as sorry as she
was - sorry I had waited so long to call, sorry I had no better excuses than the ones I told Janice. And if there was one lesson I had learned from what had happened between me and Amanda before, or me and Jamie now, it was this: pride and ego are the two greatest enemies of a relationship's growth. And to avoid repeating the same mistake over again, I came to one and only one conclusion.

"I never wanted to let distance come between us, and yet that's exactly what I did by stubbornly going my own way. Worse, I even ignored my father's advice." she pursued, her voice trembling.

"Don't you want to try with me?" I whispered softly in her ear, as my cheek brushed against hers and her soft fragrance filled my senses.

I had finally dropped the formal address and I knew it left her confused so I restated my question, more explicitly this time.

"Do you want to build something with me, Jamie Allen?"

She turned to me, studying my facial expressions as words seemed to lack her. I wiped a tear from her cheek waiting for an answer. Should she reply now? Or wait for her mind to process all the possible outcomes of how our relationship might unfold?

"I'd be glad to build something with you, Collin the bartender."

A satisfied and slightly relieved smile appeared at the corners of my lips.

"Alright then..." I gently caressed her cheek and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Alright..."

I placed a kiss on her forehead before pulling her into a hug, immersing and losing myself in her fragrance, happier than I ever thought I
could be.

"I've missed you so much Collin," she said all in tears.

"I missed you too Jamie. More than you can imagine."