A New Love

Twelve

I drove home after work, tired as hell. Some kid had vomited after the rollercoaster stopped and we had to call the park services to come clean it up. People in line were very pissed at having been turned away.

As soon as I got home, I just wanted to take a cold shower and drop onto my bed. I leaned against the side of the elevator and waited for the doors to open. Imagine my surprise when those plans were derailed as soon as I saw Alex standing by the door of the apartment. My stomach turned.

He was the last person I would have expected to be here. Especially at this time. "Alex? What are you doing here? How long have you been waiting?"

He stepped towards me, looking distraught. "Not long. You weren't answering my texts or my calls. I thought it would be better to actually see in you person. We really need to talk."

I sighed as I took out my keys. "It isn't a good time, Alex. I had a long shift and I really just want to go inside and sleep."

"Just hear me out, please." He had a hint of desperation in his eyes that made me feel bad for him. I could feel my resolve slipping. "Let me apologize properly. Let me try to fix this."

I unlocked the door and pushed it open. "Okay, you have ten minutes. Then I am kicking you out and hitting the shower."

He held back a smile. "Yes, of course. Thank you."

We walked into the apartment and straight to my room. I placed my stuff on top of my bed and stood there, gesturing at him to start talking.

"Look," he started, "I am truly sorry for not saying that I trusted you. I do trust you. Wholly and completely. It's just that— well you know what happened with my last girlfriend. I know that you are not her, but it is hard to push aside those fears."

I nodded, feeling bad. "I understand. But you should have told me that while we were talking before instead of making me feel like I was doing something wrong by living with Harry."

"I know." He blew out a sharp breath. "I just don't want what's between us to end because of my unfounded insecurities. You have never given me a reason to doubt your faithfulness, and I hope that the same goes for me as well. I really hope that you can give me another shot to make things better between us." He walked to me and grasped my hands tightly, like he was afraid I would run away. "What do you say?"

I stood staring straight into his eyes, processing this influx of information. I didn't want to end a relationship I spent more than four months on over some silly feud. I just needed to focus more on Alex and maybe I wouldn't be thinking about pursuing someone else. I still cared for him, and I didn't want to see him get hurt, which is why I ended up slowly nodding my head. "Okay, we can give this another try. But you need to communicate better with me. You can't expect me to know everything that is going on in your head."

He smiled in relief. "Yes, yes. Anything you need."

"Also," I added, "we are not going to have another discussion about me living with Harry. That should have been had before I moved in and made a commitment to live here. I already told you nothing is going on. We are just friends."

He nodded. "Maybe in the future we can talk about getting our own place together?"

"Yes, but sometime in the distant future." Like a couple of years.

"Can I kiss you now?" he whispered, inching closer.

"Yes, you can."

His lips came down softly against mine. His hands cupped my backside and pressed me against him. I looped my arms around his neck, and he deepened the kiss. God, I was a sucker for kisses. I bit his lip and he groaned. I could feel the heat growing between us.