Through Thick and Thin (Anthony Rizzo)

Wanted

Jazmyn

Things start to settle down on the movement front of the city and the covid cases were still coming in albeit a little slower than it usually does. We were in phase three now and things were getting a little bit better. I have a friend from back home send me a bunch of masks she made and I was ready to go out into the real world. Hoping that it's a better place than we left it yesterday.

"Are you ready" Anthony asks as he yells out into my room. I check my hair to make sure every curl was in place and make sure my dress was long enough to fight off any breeze.

"Coming" I cheer as I step back from the mirror, satisfied with the outcome of dressing up for the first time in years.

I walk out and find him waiting by the door for me. I skip over to him and stop by his side. "I've never seen you more excited about anything in my life" he claims.

"Oh come on! It's a boat ride in the city. How are you not more excited? This is the first time in almost three months we've been free" I remind him.

"I'm excited! Just not as excited as you" he accuses.

"Well sorry my happiness confuses you" I joke.

"I actually quite enjoy it" he claims and I smile.

"Uh Huh" I mumble as he starts to laugh.

"Come on. We got a whole city to see" he insists.

"Let go" I cheer.

It took what felt like forever for the boat to leave the dock. But Anthony gets us out there and we get father and farther away from the city. Eventually we get far enough out that you couldn't hear it. It was silent as the only sound was the waves crashing against the boat.

Anthony drops the anchor and comes out of the pit. He had a bottle of wine in his hand as he holds it up with two glasses in his other.

"Now you're speaking my language" I smile.

He pours us both a glass and we sit on the comfy benches on the boat. Music plays softly in the background as we just watch the sun fly across the sky. Not a cloud in sight as it finally felt like summer out here.

"I see why you like it out here so much" I admit as the wind whips through my hair. "It's stunningly beautiful."

"You're stunningly beautiful" he replies before quickly trying to cover his ass. "I mean, you know. Like the city. You're strong and fascinating and meaningful and beautiful... simply beautiful" he tries.

"You think I'm pretty" I tease as he laughs to try and hide the fact he doesn't know what he's saying.

"You know the answer to that" he insists.

"Do I" I tease.

He just shakes his head as he sets his wine glass down. "You drive me absolutely crazy" he claims.

"How so" I ask.

"I wish I knew what it was about you that makes me change the way I see the world. You spend every day with the same person for two and a half months and you wouldn't think that you could still make me feel this nervous when I look at you, like we're meeting for the first time. And when you touch me I feel like a firework about to explode. And when I look into your eyes... I don't know what to say. I'm at a lost of words" he tries.

"I didn't know you felt that way" I whisper.

"That's not even the half of it" he scoffs.

"How could there possibly be more" I wonder.

He just stares at me and for a moment everything stops. I felt like we were still as we just stare into each other's eyes. I wish I knew what he was thinking, what he was really thinking.

"Would you like to dance" he asks randomly as he tries to defer to a different topic. He stands up in front of me as he reaches his hand out to me.

"Anthony we've been over this, I don't dance" I giggle.

"Please" he begs. "The sun is setting on this city and this song is perfect for us right now. Please."

I set my drink down and stand up in front of him. He wraps his arms around my waist as I wrap mine around his neck. The sun starts to disappear over the horizon and the music gets louder. Both of us hold each other tight, like we're afraid to let go.

"You know I'd fall apart without you
I don't know how you do what you do
'Cause everything that don't make sense about me
Makes sense when I'm with you

Like everything that's green, girl, I need you
But it's more than one and one makes two
Put aside the math and the logic of it
You gotta know you're wanted too

'Cause I wanna wrap you up
Wanna kiss your lips
I wanna make you feel wanted
And I wanna call you mine
Wanna hold your hand forever
And never let you forget it
Yeah, I, I wanna make you feel wanted."

"At what point does moments like this stop feeling like a dream and start to feel like real life" he asks me.

"I guess as soon as we have the courage to let go of what is to make room for what could be" I say.

"And what if I'm ready to let go? What if I'm ready to be everything you need me to be" he asks as his hand moves from my hips to my lower back.

"I'm scared" I whisper.

"A wise woman once told me that the fear of what we won't be if we don't take the chance should be bigger than if we do" he says.

I just smile as I look him over. The way he looked at me couldn't make the strongest girls weak.

I move my hands to his face as I pull him down. I quickly press my lips to his as his hands grip me even tighter. My heart would have jumped out of my chest if we weren't pressed together. My fingers get tangled in his hair as the sun disappears and the moon rises. As did the feelings I had for this man who stole my heart.

"Anyone can tell you you're pretty, yeah
And you get that all the time, I know you do
But your beauty's deeper than the make-up
And I wanna show you what I see tonight...

When I wrap you up
When I kiss your lips.
I wanna make you feel wanted
And I wanna call you mine
Wanna hold your hand forever
And never let you forget it
'Cause, baby, I, I wanna make you feel wanted

As good as you make me feel
I wanna make you feel better
Better than your fairy tales
Better than your best dreams
You're more than everything I need

You're all I ever wanted
All I ever wanted

And I just wanna wrap you up
Wanna kiss your lips
I wanna make you feel wanted
And I wanna call you mine
Wanna hold your hand forever
And never let you forget it
Yeah, I wanna make you feel wanted
Baby, I wanna make you feel wanted
You'll always be wanted."

We slowly break apart as he holds me close. I look up to read his eyes and he smiles bigger than I've ever seen him smile. His large hands holds my face as I can feel his hands shaking a little.

"Why couldn't you done that months ago" he teases.

"We were locked in a apartment together, neither of us knowing what awaited us outside those doors. Now we know" I claim.

"So what does this mean? Because my parents have been dying to meet you and the guys already think you're my girlfriend" he rambles.

"I think girlfriend and boyfriend is a good place to start" I smirk.

He pulls me into another kiss making me smile. I guess this is the start of something new.