Before You

6 Months.

"Happy four month anniversary, babe."

I raised my glass of wine to cheers with Aaron's. "Happy four months." I laughed.

I took one sip and then placed it back down on the table, picking at my salad with my fork. I couldn't believe it had really already been four months since we decided to go ahead and call our constant hanging out a relationship.

Aaron sawed off another bite of his giant steak, dripping a little of the sauce onto his shirt and I held back my laugh as I reached across the table to toss him my napkin. "You're a mess." I teased him, but he shrugged it off.

"As much as this steak costs, I might as well wear it home, ya know?" He mumbled as he shoved in another bite.

"You were the one who wanted to go out to a nice place." I reminded him. "I wanted to order a pizza."

He rolled his crystal blue eyes, then narrowed them at me. "I swear, you'd stay home and eat take out while watching movies every weekend if I'd let you."

"I like movies." I shrugged. "And food."

Aaron pointed down at the table. "This is food." He said. "And I'm taking you to see the new romance movie tonight."

I raised my brows. He usually picks the movie if we ever go out, and it is never a romance. "Really?" I asked, still skeptical. "You want to see that movie?"

"No." He shook his head, waving off the waiter when he walked over. "I don't, but I know you do and that's what matters."

"How chivalrous of you."

He held a hand to his chest, shaking his head to get his grown out black hair out of his eyes. "Hey, I can be nice."

"Yeah, sure." I teased and he nudged my foot under the table.

We fell quiet again and I found myself staring absently at the little flame on the candle in the middle of the table. I couldn't put my finger on it, but for some reason I'd been feeling melancholy all week.

If I stopped lying to myself I knew exactly what the reason was.

Tuesday when I'd been at Aaron's place I'd been clearing off his table to set up a game of monopoly when I saw a letter on the table addressed to Aaron but written in a handwriting I recognized instantly since it was the same handwriting that I'd looked at just about every night over the last few months.

I was struck again at how strange time is.

I'd thought a year would feel like forever, but really it hasn't been like that.

Six months ago Hunter hopped on a plane and flew away.

Four months ago Aaron and I started dating.

But looking back, I feel like I'm still standing in that empty terminal.

"What's wrong?" Aaron asked for the fourth time tonight.

I shrugged, forcing a smile for him. He'd planned this night out special. He picked me up with flowers and took me to the nicest place in town, gave me a new pair of earrings and he is taking me to a movie. I didn't want to be a drag all night.

"Nothing." I lied, forcing myself to eat so I'd seem normal.

An hour later we were sitting in the car, waiting for it to be late enough to head into the theater. I'd done a good job on pretending to be fine and Aaron was grinning, his cheeks a little flushed from his drinks he'd had at dinner. Luckily he trusted me enough to drive his car.

I pushed the seat back away from the steering wheel a little to get comfortable while we waited.

"You're so hot, you know that?" Aaron winked at me when I glanced his way.

"You're ridiculous." I laughed at him while he tried to wiggle his eyebrows.

He reached over to put his hand on my knee and squeezed. "Come here." He whispered, leaning over the console.

I leaned in too, letting my lips meld with his, but too soon he was pushing his tongue into my mouth and roaming his hand up my body suggestively. I grabbed his hand, putting it back down on my leg and I gave him a look.

He flung himself back into his seat like a disgruntled toddler and crossed his arms over his chest. "God, Tayler." He sighed. "It's been four months."

"Is that why you planned this whole night?" I demanded, folding my arms too. "You thought if you let me pick the movie that you'd get lucky?"

He sighed again, sitting back up and leaning towards me to hold my hand that he pulled back. "Of course not, Tayler." He assured me. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Oh, then how did you mean it?"

He reached up and tucked my hair behind my ear. "I don't want to fight, I just wonder when you do think you'll be ready?"

"Not tonight." I snapped, my heart pumping angrily.

Aaron narrowed his eyes and then leaned back into his own seat again. "Is my trying to cop a feel on my hot girlfriend really what you're upset about or is there something else going on?"

I couldn't look him in the eyes. "Something like what, Aaron?"

He sat up, propping his elbows on his knees and holding his head in his hands. "You saw it didn't you?" He asked softly, a bit of annoyance in his voice. "I didn't mean to leave it out."

"I'm not mad about that." I lied quickly, really not wanting to talk about this anymore.

"Tayler." He whispered my name and I couldn't help looking at him. "Do you want to know what it said?" He asked. "Because all you have to do is ask, even though I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to feel about my girl being hung up on my friend." He added on the end.

"I don't care what it said, and I'm not hung up on him." I told him, fidgeting my hands in my lap.

"He is fine." Aaron snapped. "He's still doing the same thing he does every other day. They haven't seen any action, which he's a little ill about, but the sand is finally starting to get less annoying since the windstorms have died down now." He prattled off the information. "One of his buddies got injured, but he did it playing some football with one of the other guys. Hunter also mentioned that his deployment has been extended."

"Extended?" I gasped. I hadn't wanted to show any interest, but it had slipped out.

"Yep." He sighed. "Turns out he'll be over there about six months more than he thought. Didn't say why, but I'm assuming he signed on for it." Aaron shrugged, then he turned to me and grabbed my hand again. "So you know, Hunter hasn't asked about you a single time." He told me.

It hurt like I hadn't expected was possible, but it was probably necessary to know. I couldn't lie and say I hadn't wondered if he was going to ask about me. "And you haven't told him about us?" I asked carefully.

Aaron shook his head. "There wasn't anything to tell the last time I wrote him, and I don't have any reason to rub it in his face now."

"I don't think he'd care." I sighed. "But that's nice of you."

"Look, Tayler, I like you a lot." He said suddenly. "But is this going to be an issue?"

I reached over to hold his face, bringing him closer to kiss me. "No, Aaron." I whispered. "I'm sorry if I made you feel that way."

Aaron smiled finally, dipping a hand under my chin to kiss me again before he leaned away. "Then can I take you to an awful movie now?"

"How do you know it'll be awful?" I laughed as I climbed out of the car.

Aaron winked at me. "Because you picked it." He joked, throwing his head back to laugh at himself.

"You're a jerk." I tried to hold in my smile.

"I'm your jerk."