Meant To Be You And Me

CHAPTER 7 - 'Til We Meet Again

CHAPTER 7 - 'Til We Meet Again

Jeff and Mia spent their last few days together exploring Rome and getting to know each other growing closer and closer together. "This may sound cheesy but I'm just gonna say it, thank you for piecing my life back together." He said as he hugs her from behind and they both look at the view from the balcony of his hotel room. "Did I? Or did you just enjoy this Roman love affair?" She joked and giggled.

"I'm serious; I never thought it was this easy to..." He trailed off and she turned to face him. "To what?" She asked with a serious face. "I'm not very good at telling people how I feel." He whispered and squinted his eyes. She walked back inside but he grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her to back to him, "I... I never t-thought that it was this easy to fall in love again." He said softly.

When she heard the word, "love", she cringed, "You're making this harder already." She said almost tearing up. "Don't you feel the same way?" He asked. "Jeff, don't say things that you don't really mean." She said seriously. "So what're you saying?" He raised his voice.

"Jeff, I don't think you love me, I think you love the idea of me. Don't rush to fall in love because even in fairy tales, the happy ending takes place on the last page." She replied.

"Mia, I love you. There is no need for a reason for me to love you. Do you know how hard that is to say to you?" He said with conviction. "We've only known each other for a week and a half, how could you possibly love me?!" She said as tears started to fall from her eyes.

"I don't know Mia, when you do you just do. Maybe it's the way you laugh at my witty jokes, maybe it's because we're both intellectually challenged by one another, maybe it's how you make me want to spend time with you every day, maybe it's meant to be you and me, I'm just drawn to you Mia and only you can give me that feeling." He said as he begins to tear up.

"Jeff, there's just no way this is gonna work. We've got two demanding jobs and we're at the peak of our career, we can't give that up. Maybe you're not in love, maybe you're just infatuated with the thought of love?!" She said. "We can't give that up or you can't give it up? And is that all you could say after I poured my heart out?" He retorted. "Jeff what do you want me to say? I didn't ask for you to fall in love with me, I didn't want this. I just wanted to have fun and enjoy my life as it is right now. I thought I made it clear. And I don't wanna say something that I'll regret forever because it's silly and it's never going to work out." She hissed. "How will you know if you won't even try?" He retorted.

"Mia, listen to me, I don't want to let go of you, and you've given me so much to remember. I wanna be with you, kiss you every day, talk about astrophysics and how my day went, I love you, Mia whether it means something to you or not, I just do. I didn't even know I was capable to feel this feeling again." He said. "Of course, it means something to me, Jeff but be practical about this. My whole life is in Washington and you live in New York..." She gets cut off. "But all I'm saying is that, I love you and I want to be with you. I wanna be your boyfriend and someone who's always there for you, I wanna try what it's like to be in a relationship with you!" He said. "Trust me." He added and caught her gaze. "Jeff you're a mess! You just got out of a relationship and you're telling me that you love me already and that you want to be with me? Nobody falls in love that fast, Jeff. It's just weird." She replied.

"Mia please, just give me a chance." He continued. Mia stared at him but couldn't find the right words to say, she kissed him on the lips and gave him a hug, "I just can't, not right now. 'Til we meet again, Jeff. I gotta go." She whispered and left Jeff's hotel room.

Jeff kicked the couch and went to his bedroom. There, he found the letter seeping out of his bag and out of anger and disappointment; he opened it and read it.

"To my dearest Jeff,

I didn't want it to be so sudden, I wish there was still something between us that's still worth fighting for... But the way you ignore me, the way you don't talk about our feelings anymore makes me think that you're starting to forget about me. I wish you could understand what I'm going through, but I know that right now what's important to you is your work. I used to love you passionately and I adored your determination to do things the way you wanted them to be, but it's like you just stopped being you, I now understand that time does change people. Lately, you have been so distant, it made me realize that I'm the only one who loves more in our relationship. Jeff, I'm so sorry but you have to learn to feel again, to appreciate someone by losing them, because the people who you least expect would end up to be the one hurting you. If I say I'm in love with someone else, I'm not. I didn't cheat. There's no third party. I only said that to make you feel something. Jeff, you will always be my first love and no one can take that away, just know that you will always be special to me. Again, I'm sorry I can't take the fights, the ignoring each other, and the not communicating with each other anymore, Jeff. I want to feel loved and cared for, and I didn't feel anything anymore with you. I'm sorry, goodbye.

Yours Truly,

Camille Shaffer"

Jeff cried as he read the letter and finally knowing how she felt all those years they've been together. He felt so conflicted and confused like he just didn't want to feel so lost and alone.

The next day, he decided to go back to New York. In the Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, Jeff decided to eat in one of the coffee shops before his flight. While he looked around the airport, he sees Mia walk towards her gate pulling her travel luggage. He puts on his sunglasses so he wouldn't be recognized if ever she spots him.

As he looked at Mia, he began to picture their life together - all the pros and cons and he realized how different Mia was from all the other girls he's gotten to know. He was surprised how fast they bonded and how easy it was with her. He smiles at her and appreciates how Mia handled their situation, it would be indeed impossible for them to be in a relationship and that he was a mess. He cringed as he remembered saying "I love you" to a woman he barely knew but at least he knows that he could feel something again. So when he was already boarding, he was the last one to enter to take a last glance of Mia before going back to reality.