Kiss me hard before you go. Summertime sadness. I just wanted you to know that, baby, you're the best.
She fidgeted in front of the mirror.
Tugging at the dress, she wondered if she should change again. She needed everything to be perfect tonight. Tilting her head to the side, she hoped that the less-is-more make up she'd gone with looked nice enough.
“Eden, you look beautiful,” Ryan reassured, as if he could read her troubled thoughts. He had always been that way – able to see through her so easily. He slid his arms around her waist from behind, and kissed the back of her head. She bit her lip, and looked at him through the mirror and wondered how she would deal with the upcoming months with out him.
“Thank you,” She said, offering him a small smile.
“You're welcome, baby,” He said softly.
Eden turned around, stepping onto her tip toes and kissing him.
“Are you ready?” She asked after swallowing past the dry spot in her throat. Today had been difficult. She was happy she was getting to spend time with him, but sad because she knew their time was dwindling. And quickly.
“Yeah,” Ryan answered, running his fingers through his hair absent mindedly. It made it look disheveled in an on purpose kind of way.
Neither one of them was talking about Ryans upcoming departure to Army basic training. They knew how much they would miss each other. Even though there was a giant elephant in the room, the couple was going to try to have a good time.
“Where are we going?” Eden as Ryan opened his car door for her.
“It's a surprise,” Ryan replied, grinning as he shut the door behind her.
Eden and Ryan had been dating since their freshman year in high school. For the past five years, they'd been apart of each others lives. Ryan said that he wanted to provide for her, to take care of her and to get her off the small town farm she lived on and he joined the Army.
She had said it wasn't necessary – that they could find ways to get by – but Ryan was insistent. He said that the job he was doing had a low deployment rate, but it didn't make it any better. They had never been apart.
Ryan had said that when he came back from basic training, he'd marry her and whisk her away from Bainbridge Hills, Kentucky.
“I don't know if I can do this,” She blurted out.
They were at a stoplight a few minutes later, and Eden had let the words fall out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Ryan looked over at her, putting a hand over hers and giving her his charming smile.
“It's ten weeks, babe,” Ryan reassured. “You can do this. We can still write each other.”
Biting her lip, Eden nodded.
“It's for the best. For our future family.”
Eden smiled at him.
“I love you, Ryan,” She said quietly.
“I love you, too.”
The rest of the drive was silent. Their fingers were laced together in Eden's lap, the touch of his warm skin on hers making her heart beat a little bit faster. Even after all this time, Ryan could still make her heart race. He could still cause the little tingles on her skin when they made contact.
That's why Eden had no doubt about marrying her. It was just getting through these next couple of months with out him.
“You brought me to the fair?” Eden asked when they pulled into the parking lot across from the fairgrounds. She turned to Ryan, beaming. She had mentioned that she wanted to go to the fair all summer, but she hadn't thought they would be able to with Ryan leaving just two days after the fair started.
