Always and Forever

After the show, we agreed that we would take the bus back to Maxine 's place on 5th Avenue. She held my hand out of the theater as we moved to the bus stop. The heat from her body made it hard to stay away from a hug. Like she read my mind, she wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me close. The smell of lavender on her skin made me shudder.

"Are you still cold?" I shook my head with a smile.

"No. I'm perfectly fine right where I am." The hold tightened when a gust of wind passed by, even though she had warmed me up pretty quickly.

Max mumbled through my hair, "You did really good tonight, Henna."

I wriggled my arms free to wrap around her neck with a chuckle. "Max, you don't have to be so nice to me just because we're dating." She caught my gaze. "I know I messed up at least two times." The way her eyes looked in the moonlight. It reflected off the gold in her hazel irises

"Well," She kissed my forehead, "you were perfect in my eyes. Nothing will ever change that." Our heads touched as we gazed into each other's soul. People were passing us with no clue who we were or what we were doing. For all they knew, we were a couple of teenage kids that didn't know what they were doing with their lives. But I knew exactly what I was doing. I was busy falling in love with a girl who I had met a year ago. She was all I ever wanted.

We sat there for what felt like forever before I broke the perfect silence and lifted my head. "Maxine."

"Hmm?"

"Why do you love me?" There wasn't an immediate response so I added, "What made me different than all the other girls? Why me?"

"Hm. Well." She seemed to think about it for a moment. "I love you because..."A half-hearted smile appeared. "Because I need you."

"What do you mean?"

She hesitated. "You remember when I told you how I wasn't well before I met you?" I nodded. "Well, you sorta made me better."

"So I helped you?"

Her hands cradled my face. "I had problems with myself. I hated the way I looked. The way I acted. Fine line of depression and anxiety. I was so close to ending the suffering." I could see the tears start to appear in the corners of her eyes. "Then you came along and I couldn't help falling for you. Everything that you didn't like about yourself, I absolutely loved. You gave me purpose. Like I had found the one sole reason to keep fighting. And let me tell you, I'm so fucking glad I didn't give up. Because if I had, I couldn't have done this." Max tilted my chin just enough for our lips to meet in a long, soft kiss.

Most of the kisses we shared were just playful, quick pecks. But these were the ones that I looked forward to. They had meaning. I could feel the love and emotion she poured into it. I pushed up on my tippy toes to return the passion.

After a good minute, she pulled away, breathless. "Henna. Promise me something."

"Anything."

"Stay with me. Forever and always."

"I will stay with you. Always and forever. Promise."