All The Love, H (H.S.)

seven

Olivia,

We became inseparable. Attached at the hip. Niall would tell me day in and day out that I was simply "whipped", that you had my wrapped around your little fingers and that I would do whatever it took to make you happy.

He was partially right. I did want to make you happy. But more than that was the fact that spending time with you brought out the very best in me. And so it was no surprise when I found my connection to you growing exponentially faster than any relationship I had every been in before.

It was a Friday evening. We were at your apartment, sitting side by side on your grey suede sofa, each enthralled in their own work, while enjoying the presence of other sitting just a foot away. I had to work on a research report for residency. You were hard at work on your novel.

That novel. Our really more the idea of it. You had called me as you were getting off the subway on the way home from work earlier that week, excitement oozing from your voice. I thought that maybe you had gotten a promotion, got assigned an interesting new article, or perhaps your best friend Caroline had gotten engaged to her long-term boyfriend.

But it was any of the above that had gotten you so excited that you needed to call me the minute you were back to having a cell phone connection. Nope, it was a novel. An idea for a novel. "It just came to me on the subway," you enthused. "This is the one, Harry, I just know it."

I glanced over at you, your hair in a knot on the top of your head, your brows furrowed in concentration. You had your bottom lip caught between your teeth, and I could tell that the only thing going on in your world in that moment was the creative juices you were using to try and compose your masterpiece.

You looked so perfect. So focused. This was a view I wanted to hold in my mind for a very long time. A view I wanted to see every moment of every day. And I didn't mean to say it out loud, but like a slip on a patch of black ice, the words tumbled from my mouth before I can even think. (Must have been something about that couch and turning points in our relationship, huh?)

"God, I love you." It took me a minute to comprehend what I had just said. Not because I didn't mean it. Because let me tell you Olivia, truer words had never been spoken. I was in love with you. I had been falling in love with you ever since we first met in the bar all those years ago. I had been falling in love with you since the first date that we spent strolling around Central Park with pizza in hand after our dinner reservations had went amuck. I was so totally in love with you, and I wasn't afraid to tell you it.

But I hadn't quite pictured my first time saying those three words, those eight letters, in a setting like this. Certainly not when you were off in your own little world, typing furiously at your computer.

"What?" you said, turning your attention away from your computer to my face. I think part of me had hoped that you hadn't heard my stumble. Or that maybe I hadn't actually verbalized the words like I thought. I think you might have been just as shocked as I was to hear those words leave my mouth.

I glanced down at my hands, suddenly feeling a little shy. You placed your hands in mine, and I felt the heat radiant from your quick typing movements. I had one of two choices. I could choose to apologize for my slip of the tongue, or I could embrace it fully. It wasn't like I didn't mean it.

"I said I love you Olivia," I looked back up to watch your face for a reaction. Your face began to form a smile, lighting up your eyes like fireworks. You brought a hand up to the side of my face, brushing against the small amount of stubble that had begun to form there.

You just looked at me for a moment, and I felt my heart begin to race as your eyes raked over my face. I think you liked to torture me, you loved the silence. Me, however, I've always thought 'comfortable' silence was a bit overrated. Quiet made me unsettled.

"I love you Harry," you said, and I felt instant relief course through my body. You leaned in so that our faces were only inches from one another. I felt the heat of your breath on my skin, sending goosebumps down my arms. "I love you more than I love writing."

I touched my nose to yours, "Wow I feel so blessed."

"You better. That's kind of a big deal," you said with a smile before leaning in and brushing your lips against mine. The kiss was soft and sweet.

I pushed a strand of hair behind your ear, gazing at you again. I was in awe of your beauty. Your ability to look so indescribable in the most casual of settings. You had my heart. And I couldn't have asked for a better person to have fallen for.

"I really have to finish this chapter though," you laughed, pulling away again before I had another chance to taste your lips on my own. I shook my head slowly, as you began typing again, your face back in concentration with your lip sandwiched once again between your teeth.

But that's why I loved you. Because how could I not be in love with someone like that.

All the love,

H