This Story is based on a challenge for the Romance Smackdown. The Challenge was to create a magical first kiss. I've chosen "I Need You Now" Lady Antebellum.
It's a quarter after one and sleep, has once again eluded me. Will it ever come again? I look around my room and can't help but wonder if you'll come sweeping in the way you did before. I can't help the smile that spreads on my face as I think of you. When we first met, you were so mean to me. You pulled my ponytail and I ran crying home. You were only six at the time and I was four.
Mother had assured me that was the way boys told girls they liked them. I didn't really understand what she was talking about. Yet as time went by and I grew older, it became quite clear what she meant. You, on the other hand, seem to grow farther and farther away from me. How did two years make such a difference? You left grammar school before me, then high school.
Through all this all Selena concentrated on was school. She had no desire to date. The person she loved was not around. So she did nothing but study and got good grades. There was nothing better than the feeling she received when her parents saw her grades. They had no money, so it was important that she earn a scholarship.
That was the only way she would ever go to a university. There was only one she wanted to go to, Harvard. That is where the elusive Brandon Hopkins was studying law. What better way to get him to finally notice her, than by showing him she was smart. Everything was working out just as she had planned. She was to deliver her commencement speech tomorrow.
Alas, life has a way of taking things from you when you least expect it. That night, her mother was taken from her. A brain aneurysm they said, "be happy she went in her sleep" they consoled. Really, do they even realize what they're saying?
Life was never the same. There was no way she was going to let her father finish raising her sister and brothers. So Selena had to say goodbye to her dream and to her future. Choosing instead to enroll in Morton College so she would be home. Her family needed her.
***
Two years later Selena found herself at the age of 21 working at MacNeal hospital as a registered nurse. "Well look who's all spiffed up this morning." She smiled at Mr. Myers as she walked into the room.
"Will my wife be coming soon?" He asked worried and Selena frowned.
"Mr. Myers, do you remember where you are? Do you remember what year it is?" This was the part of the job she hated. Working in the Alzheimer's ward was really taking its toll on her. It killed her to have to remind a patient of all the loss he or she has had. With patient after patient, she lost a little of herself. Yet she was happy to be there to lend a little bit of spirit to their day. In the end, she helped more than she hurt.
When Selena entered the last room for morning report she was stunned, sitting there on the couch was none other than Brandon Harper. She was silent as the other nurse gave the report. Then she turned and lying there on the bed was a frail man. She rechecked her clipboard "Brandon Harper" she whispered remembering he had been named after his grandfather.
She walked over and checked all his vitals as she tried not to wake the poor man. "I think you're the first quiet nurse I've ever seen. Is there a class you take in school that teaches you guys to be noise?" Selena's heart beat faster just with his words.
"Yes, it is followed by the dig around for the vein class." His laughter sent chills down her spine. She took a deep breath before she turned around. Would he recognize her?
His laughter died as he scrutinized her. His eyes roamed her body and she was sure he could see the effect it was having on her. "Brandon Harper," he said extending his hand for a shake. Selena wasn't sure if she should be upset or angry. It had been more than five years since they last saw each other. Not that they had a lot of contact before that, but still it stung.
