“Lay beside me now and tell me lies. Sweet Lies. As long as it’s not about love.”

~ “As Long As it’s Not About Love” Dio

Nearly two months had passed since I last visited Paseo’s on November thirtieth, the night I reconnected with Anya. I didn’t believe much had changed with Mitch since then, and I didn’t expect his visiting habits to suddenly transform by January twenty-sixth either. He was a creature of habit and Mitch adored Paseo’s as much as I adored Anya, but his loyal patronage presented a massive obstacle for me because of his disdain for her. I knew what she represented to him and she was the type of woman he loved to hate. The problem was though he didn’t know her and furthermore, that I loved her. I was puzzled however with the knowledge that not only did he love hanging out at Paseo’s, but he especially enjoyed hanging out there with me as I was surprised I hadn’t received a phone call from him in nearly two months. I’ve been known to drop off the face of the earth for a few weeks here and there, but not for two months straight so I held out some hope that maybe he met someone and was on hiatus which happened from time to time, but much like the ocean to the shore, I also knew he’d always came back.

I had worked hard in getting to know Anya, and had come to learn through her what real love felt like; how integral it was to my being, and these gut wrenching times apart would be almost impossible to stomach if I had lost her for good because of his animosity towards her. I didn’t want to get upset at Mitch; I understood where he was coming from somewhat, but at the same time I had to draw the line. He needed to know his attitude towards her was not only unappreciated but entirely unacceptable especially when you consider he had dated his fair share of married women before. I know he may have expected more out of me and didn’t want to see me fall in the same quagmire he was involved with, but I believed he was ignorant to my world and he had no right to ruin it from where he stood. He dated married women for kicks, to get laid, and for completely selfish reasons. This was an anomaly for me, and far from the norm. I even said good-bye to her because she was married, but when I made my decision to give our love a chance, I did it because I wanted to be with her forever, not just a day out of the week. Mitch was a true home wrecker in my book. He had no means to take care of any children these women may have had, and if one of these women left her husband to be with him, he would be the type to bail on her like that character did on the show “House.”. Heck, for all I knew, that character could’ve been based on Mitch and he received royalties from the show every week. He never thought for a moment in his quest to administer me advice how his reckless libido affected several lives, and that’s what bothered me the most about him and his disdain for Anya; he never considered his own role, and treated her as if she was like all the other married women he dated. The bottom line is I feared we would butt heads if he found out I was now dating her. I knew he would try to make our night miserable, and it was the only reason I contemplated backing out.

The next morning after out meeting at RJ’s Anya text me.

8:43 a.m.

“Good morning! Thought I’d say hello since I can’t talk to you until tomorrow night. Hope you got some sleep! You made my night!”

With my morning now off to a great start, I text her back.

ME: “I slept well when I finally came down from the high of seeing you last night! I had a great time. It was just so nice to see you. How did you sleep? I miss you.”

ANYA: “I didn’t get much sleep, up thinking about you. Miss you very much, wanted so much to kiss you last night.”

ME: “Sorry to hear you didn’t get much sleep. Thank you for the CD. I listened to it on the way home. You were right about “This Year’s Love.” I loved that song. Is it just me or does every love song I listen to now relates in some way to us? Do you get that sense too?”

ANYA: “Ever since I fell for you, I feel like every love song I listen to was written for us.”

ME: “I feel the same way. It’s just crazy how every song I listen to now seems to capture all these feelings. I never paid attention to the lyrics much but now I do.”

ANYA: “Never totally understood love songs until now. There’s a reason why people write so many love songs. It’s all about love. Have a great day! Until tomorrow…A”

it’s “all about love”; the key to a person’s progress, the key to living the richest of lives. I had found when you truly love someone, not only do you love them, but you also fall in love with life; it makes you passionate about every single breath, and it makes you realize to live a life without love, is to almost live a life recklessly, like getting behind the wheel of a car with a blood alcohol content of thirty percent EVERYDAY. I couldn’t tell you how much I had changed as a person at this time, but I could tell you I was no longer recognizable to myself. Sure, I looked the same on the outside but on the inside I was an entirely different person. I suddenly had it all together; I knew what I wanted and I knew what I needed. The only void in my life was now gone as I was made whole by a person I wholly loved. Now, I was ready to spread the happiness I felt to others for the first time in my life as the thing that bothered me the most about my dreary days was that I never brought joy to others around me. I wanted everyone to be tangled up in the same web with me so they could be devoured by life like I was, and to live such a non-compassionate life was not a way to live, and I’m sure Anya had felt the same way before she met me. Love was essential in life, and was always a good thing regardless of the situation; that much I was certain of now, and if this relationship was anything less than love, then nothing in our situation could have been more wrong.

Throughout that entire week and even up until Saturday arrived, I nearly told Anya I wouldn’t be able to make it as I felt Mitch showing up at Paseo’s that evening was as automatic as the sunrise. I then stumbled upon the idea of calling him and playing a game of reverse psychology, but then I got cold feet thinking if there was a chance he wasn’t going there lately that if he heard from me, he would now be inspired to go. If I called him however I could ascertain if he’s going to be there or not, and if he was going, then maybe I could bail on meeting them there on Saturday night knowing I probably did the right thing. Then again, I did tell them I would go and I didn’t want to be perceived by them as the kind of guy who broke promises, especially knowing their dear friend was burned by a man who broke promises to her. As this great internal debate raged inside I decided to just take my chances that Mitch might not be there, and things would work out just fine. Positive thoughts had to run through my mind and the negative needed to be flushed out completely. If I couldn’t do that, I would be the same Landyn I had always been, and no one would want to be with that guy. I had to bite the bullet for Anya, and I wanted to see her bad enough anyway. Regardless of Mitch’s presence, I had to be courageous enough to believe things would be okay.

Anya called me that morning to make sure I reminded her not to kiss me which I thought was funny. Her cold sore was gone but she was still concerned about being in public. In addition, her husband was suspicious and it was highly likely he could follow her to Paseo’s. I didn’t know the details of how she was able to leave the house without him asking a million questions but at the same time I’m sure it wouldn’t stop him from making an appearance if he wanted to. As her love had shown me so far however, whenever things seemed improbable, almost impossible, she found a way to make things happen, but I knew the longer this went on, the more her husband’s doubts would increase, however I believed by the time that happened, we would be together.

When Anya told me on Saturday morning to meet them there at seven-thirty that evening, I felt as if a cool refreshing breeze had swept over me because I knew Mitch was a late arriver so now there was a great chance we’d miss him for the most part of the evening, and if Anya wanted to leave early to see her kids before they went to bed, we would probably miss him entirely. Even though I hated to dance, I started to do the robot when I realized this possibility as I knew Mitch well enough to know he would do all he could to ruin my relationship with Anya if he had the chance. He would say he was doing it for me, but it was really for his own benefit because his misery enjoyed my hospitality. I convinced myself, only because of the time I was meeting Anya, that there was now only a twenty percent chance I would see Mitch there and to me those were damn good odds. If I felt it was any higher I probably would have told Anya I had come down with a sudden and mysterious case of West Nile Virus.

When I arrived at Paseo’s, I walked in cautiously to scope out the place first before I submerged myself in with all the other patrons, and when there was no sign of Mitch anywhere, I smiled broadly as again with Anya, things always found a way of working themselves out to perfection. As I ventured further inside a place I hadn’t been in what seemed like forever considering I used to come here almost every weekend, I saw Anya, Carolyn and Debbie sitting at a table with two other men who stood between them. Anya was dressed in a light blue top that left her tanned shoulders exposed. Carolyn was dressed in a hot pink top that also bared her shoulders and Debbie wore a bright red dress. The two men at their table were stocky in build with a clean cut look. Before I reached them all, I saw Anya snatch one of the men’s drivers license to study it for some reason, and when I saw her do so, my stomach began to cave in because it appeared to me she wanted to check out his picture. As much as I trusted her love for me, I still felt she had questions about my love for her which scared me because I had revealed so much of my feelings to her, more than I had ever felt comfortable revealing to anyone. B.A. (Before Anya) my low sense of self-worth would take over from here, but A.A (After Anya) I just never doubted her love for me. It just became natural for me to rebound from negative thinking about who I was which was equivalent to lifting a car completely off of a human being; I mean it was really that hard for me to do before I met her, and when I reached the table, Anya’s interest in her company changed considerably.

“Hey!” she said as she quickly moved to stand next to me. “I’m so glad you’re here. Landyn, this is John and Chris. They’re policemen we know from the Irvine Police Department.”

“Nice to meet you guys.” I said as I reached over the table to shake their hands.

After they both returned my gesture warmly, I said hello and hugged Debbie and Carolyn. then returned to Anya’s side, but as I made my way back around the table, I caught a glimpse of a sight that staggered me--Mitch Black, as he just exited the men’s restroom. As he headed in our direction, I hoped he would just walk by our table without incident, and it seemed things were going that way, but when he turned his head ever so slightly, out of the corner of his eye he caught something that caused him to do a double take. It didn’t take him long after that to walk over to our table, and I knew at that very moment tonight I would feel just like a passenger on the Titanic.

“Oh great.” I mumbled.

“What’s wrong?” asked Anya.

“Well well well. What have we here?” barked Mitch as he strode up to our table with both hands on his hips.

“Hey, what’s going on Mitch?” I said nervously. “You remember Anya.”

“Hi Mitch.” said Anya politely as she waved at him.

“So what’s going on? Care to fill me in?” asked Mitch to us both as he completely ignored her greeting.

“Hey Anya, please forgive me but do you mind if talk to him for a few minutes?” I asked as I hid my irritation.

“Sure. We’ll be here.”

“Thank you.”

“Hey! Yo! Lady in red! Nice to see you again!” yelled Mitch who turned his attention to Debbie now. “Good to see you’re still happily married!”

“Hey, there’s no need for that. Let’s go outside for a minute. ” I told him then leading him away. “I’m sorry Debbie.”

“Check her out! The happily married woman is all dressed up for a night on the town!” he continued, even after being leading him away from the table. “Figures!”

Thankfully Debbie was too classy to say a word to him, and so were the cops, which I greatly appreciated as I escorted him outside. Since the bar was way too loud to talk to Mitch, we had the bouncer stamp our wrists so we could go outside and bypass a line when we were ready to go back inside. I was pretty upset that this conversation needed to take place because it took me away from spending time with Anya, but I had a bomb I needed to defuse.

“So where have you been the last couple of months? Hanging out with married chicks?” he asked me when we got outside.

“That’s not what’s been going on Mitch.”

“Then what the fuck is tonight all about? Why is she here?”

“Not that it’s really any business of yours anyway, but I’ve been dating her for the last two months.”

“I warned you about her. I warned you about how married chicks are.”

“The warning has been heeded.” I stated. “Just not taken.”

“That chick’s no good. I saw her holding someone’s hand earlier. She basically led him out to the dance floor!”

“How long ago?”

“Just a half hour ago man! They have been here for over an hour already!”

My low sense of self-worth, that eternal internal naysayer wanted to make an appearance. He told me to believe Mitch. He told me why would Mitch lie about something like that? He told me Mitch had my best interests in mind. He even told me to remember when she took my hand and led me to my own bedroom the first night we met, but I fought back with a vengeance as the superhero within told me Mitch had every incentive in the world to lie to me about something like that. He told me Mitch had no idea who Anya was, and all we had shared so far. How much she loved me, how deeply she felt, and how much she let it be known to me. Mitch had never seen Anya’s heart; he only saw her through the eyes of the other women who had jilted him in the past. If there was anyone who was worthy of mistrust in women it would be me, after over thirty years of broken hopes and hearts. Mitch just wanted someone to hang with at Paseo’s again, and he knew those days were now on their final frontier. What came from his mouth wasn’t about what was best for Landyn, it was disguised as such, but rather what was best for Mitch.

“I don’t believe that Mitch.” I said. “A couple of months ago yes, but not now. I have gotten to know her pretty well over the last two months. She wouldn’t do that to me.”

“It’s what I saw. She’s a whore dude. She’s just looking to get her rocks off because her hubby isn’t giving it to her at home. She’s using you.”

“I don’t believe that at all. There’s a lot you don’t know. In fact, we haven’t even kissed let alone had sex together so that theory is out.” I said. “You’re way too bitter about women. You need to take a good look at yourself in the mirror and get over it. I’m happy with her and if you’re any type of friend, you would make an effort to treat her with respect and kindness. I think this is about her friend rejecting you more than anything, and coming from a guy who could date married women professionally; you’re not the proper authority to tell me I shouldn’t date her. In fact, you’re the last person who should tell me not to date her.”

“Is she going to leave her husband for you?”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“She told me she would.” I said. “Otherwise this relationship would make no sense for me to be in.”

“You heard it here first.” he replied. “She will never leave him.”

“You’re entitled to your opinion.” I told him. “but I believe you’re wrong.”

“She’s too selfish to leave and do the right thing even if she loves you. Look at her. The way she dresses. She’s all about money. This life is all about her. She could give two shits about anyone else but herself.”

“You could never be more wrong about anything in your life Mitch. I mean, it’s laughable.” I responded, trying not to lose my cool. “Over time you will see what I see already.”

“Yeah right. Let me tell you somethin’. First, they take your heart, then...then they take your soul.”

“The girls you’ve met have done that, no doubt I know where you’ve been Mitch…but Anya is different. Entirely. Completely.”

“You know what’s funny? Women claim they are our equals but if that was the case why would they need a man to take care of them?” he said. “Women are nothing but cowards bro, you’ll see. She knows this is a man’s world better than anyone and when the chips are down she’ll go right back to the creep that dishonored her. This I know. Mark my words. I’ll see you inside.”

As Mitch disappeared from my sight and back into the bar, I thought about what he said but could not calculate a clue what he meant by it. I never looked at women as being anything less than my equal; in fact, I held a higher regard for them in most aspects as I believed men and women both had qualities that offset each other in comparison. For instance, my mother’s friend who she got the Energizer Bunny for, continued to work even while undergoing extensive chemo treatments. If that was me, a man living in a man’s world, I would have just opted to die instead. So in my head, if men were generally stronger on the outside than women, I felt women were generally stronger on the inside, therefore I felt the perceived inequality cancelled each other out. After my conversation with Mitch, I had a new found goal to not only save Anya from a life of sadness but to also prove Mitch completely wrong about her. I waited ten minutes to gather my thoughts and any leftover emotions before I stepped back inside.

When I returned, I saw Anya at the table with Carolyn and Debbie, but the policemen were no longer there however they were now surrounded by a larger group of people. These people were not regular Paseo’s patrons; they were not wearing white collared shirts buttoned down to show their bare chests or skanky outfits as they were dressed quite conservatively in tailored suits and floral patterned dresses. As Anya conversed with one of the suit donning men, I slowly approached in a cautious manner so Anya could see me in time before I got any closer if she was afraid her husband may have known the gentleman or even these people, or worse yet, if it was her husband, but when she saw me, Anya frantically motioned for me to come over, either to meet this man or to rescue her from him.

“Landyn, this is Patrick St.Claire. Pat this is Landyn Lastman.”

“Ahhh! A pleasure to meet you Mr. Lastman.” he said, warmly extending his hand out to mine.

“Nice to meet you too Mr. St.Claire.” I replied, my hand meeting his.

“Pat is the head of our volunteer organization, House of Hope.” Anya informed me.

“Oh! What does your organization do if I may ask?”

“We help place abandoned and abused children in loving foster care homes.” he said.

“Very nice.” I said. “Sounds like a wonderful organization you run there Mr. St. Claire.”

“Indeed we do!" He exclaimed. “Now, if you would excuse me, I need to say hello to someone. A pleasure to meet you Mr. Lastman.”

“Pleased to meet you Mr. St. Claire.” I said, nodding in understanding before he walked away.

“The people here this evening are all volunteers that we work with.” she said. “It’s a great group of people. We try to get together after meetings or events.”

“I’m impressed. So Carolyn, Debbie and yourself volunteer your time there?”

“Yes, this is just one of the organizations we volunteer at from time to time. Most of the parties I had to go to during Christmas involved these groups.”

“I’ve always wanted to do that but have never had the time. You make a real difference. That’s something to be very proud of.”

“Thanks babe but for the most part it’s hands off with the people who receive the benefits of the organizations I’m involved with. I would like to do something more hands on in the future.”

“You are still making a difference though; hands off or not. I believe your time is more valuable than money.” I said. “When you lose your time, it’s gone forever. You can never get that time back. You’re a giving person though so it doesn’t surprise me you never think about the things you lose.”

As I spoke to her, I noticed out of the corner of my eye Mitch standing by the bar talking to two scantily clad women. Normally I wouldn’t be concerned about this at all, but the glances I received from all three of them told me they were up to something. Of the two women, one of them I had a little history with well over a year ago. Nothing went on but a make-out session with the aid of alcoholic beverages, but we both agreed there were no real sparks between us however when she started to point, and then suddenly began to saunter my way, I knew Mitch had brought her up to date on the latest development in my life. If Mitch couldn’t get me to walk away from my relationship with Anya, like a bomb specialist who failed to cut the right wire to diffuse a bomb, Mitch was now going to blow the whole thing up instead, and my worst fears of the night were now on the verge of fruition, and Anya could sense it.

“What’s wrong babe?” she asked.

“I’ll have to explain in a few minutes.” I told her in exasperation.

“Okay.”

“Hey sexy!” shouted the ostentatious girl who was now in front of me.

“Hey what’s up.” I acknowledged non-chalantly. “How are you?”

“I’m good. How are you?” she asked.

“I’m good. Hey this is my date, Anya.” I pointed out. “Anya this is?”

“Stephanie.” she said to refreshen my memory.

“Ah, that’s right Stephanie. Stephanie…this is Anya.”

“Hi. It’s nice to meet you.” Anya said politely.

“Oh. Nice to meet you.” said Stephanie coldly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were with someone this evening.”

“Yes. Didn’t Mitch tell you?” I asked. “I don’t know why he wouldn’t.”

“He said you were with people you didn’t really know, and you wanted to hang out with us.” said Stephanie. “He told me to come get you.”

“That Mitch, he’s always trying to play games with the ladies here. That’s how he rolls.”

“I guess you’re right about that.” she said.

“Well, it was nice seeing you again Stephanie.”

“Nice seeing you too. Good-bye.”

“Take care.”

“Who was that?” asked Anya after Stephanie had returned to where Mitch stood.

“Someone I met here over a year ago. Nothing ever happened between us.” I said. “Could we talk in private sweetheart? Would that be a problem? I think Mitch is trying to sabotage our evening and it’s making me feel uncomfortable.”

“Of course. I need to talk to you.”

“Great.” I said as I pointed toward the small empty dining room area that resided behind a red curtain. ”Shall we?”

As I followed Anya to the private area I had an onslaught of emotions flow through me as I was peeved at Mitch for trying to ruin my relationship with her. After two whole months and even having the best day of my life because of her, his need to try and take something away that gave me life, that gave us both life, aggravated me to no end. He went into his marital trysts as proud sexual conquests without a single concern for the people it could possibly affect around him and he didn’t even stop at one. I sincerely loved Anya beyond every beat of my heart. Sure, I was greatly attracted to her but I wasn’t in this to fulfill an insatiable libido. There was just no thrill in this for me other than the one being provided by being in love with her and it ticked me off that all this negativity about my current relationship came from Mitch, of all people, and I had no respect whatsoever for his opinion in the matter.

When Anya and I got to the room, and we were away from everyone at the bar including her organization, her friends and Mitch, she surprisingly came into my arms after the heavy red curtain hid us from public view as we got lost in an embrace for well over a minute. We then both sat down across from each other in an empty booth and she started to talk.

“I forgot to tell you that Katie made the cut for the Boston Ballet Program.”

“That’s great!” I said. “Good for her! Is she excited?”

“Oh my God babe, she is so thrilled! I’ve never seen her face light up that much before when she heard the news.” she said. “The only problem is it kind of conflicts with her New York ballet competitions in July.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. What is she going to do?”

“We don’t know yet.”

One of the best things about last Tuesday was when Anya brought along pictures of her kids to show me as she then proceeded to tell me about their lives. One of those things was about her daughter Katie vying for the Boston Ballet Program, but at the time she thought it was a long shot so she applied for a ballet competition in New York City with the belief Boston would not pan out. Anya told me her daughter loved ballet and practiced three hours in the evening each day after school. Afterwards she would then come home to do her homework before she went to bed. Although I feared Katie’s schedule could be taxing on her at the age of twelve, I was also impressed with the work ethic her parents instilled in her, and I was even more impressed with how Katie handled it so well at such a young age. I didn’t know if it was Katie’s passion or dream but it sure sounded like it was when Anya told me she was thrilled with the news, and it was nice to hear her dedication paid off. When Anya shared this news with me, it made me feel like she wanted me to be a part of their lives, and knowing how the romantic singer she saw before me left her because she had kids, I knew it was important to prove to her that her kids were a bonus, and they truly were in my eyes because they were a huge part of Anya.

“How did the business trip go last weekend?” I asked.

“It went well.” she said. “We had a meeting with a bank executive. I’d love to tell you the details but we were meeting with a representative for Bank of America and I can’t talk about it.”

“Oh okay. I understand. I’m glad the meeting went well.”

“On Wednesday evening my husband took me out to dinner.” she said. “It’s something we rarely do together.”

“Oh. Where did you go?”

“Just to a local restaurant.” she said. “He asked me where I saw myself five years from now.”

“Did he ask you why you left your last employer too?” I joked.

“Ha! Why would he ask me that?”

“I don’t know. “Where do you see yourself in five years” sounds like a question you would have to answer from a job interviewer.” I elaborated. “Sounds like he has the warmth of Antarctica.”

“Yup.” she agreed. “He then asked me if I was seeing someone.”

“He did?”

“Yes.” she said.

“What did you tell him?” I asked with hope in my heart.

“I told him ‘no’ and I asked him for some space. He said he would give that to me.”

“I see.”

I didn’t know what to think. A huge part of me hoped she would be honest with him and the fact she denied it, denied me, denied us, hurt just a little bit, but the reality was I couldn’t ask her to leave him now. It wouldn’t be the best time anyway so I convinced myself of that fact so I would not be pained by it at all. I understood where she came from and in case I didn’t, Anya made sure that I did, and that the disappointment she sensed in my tone was addressed.

“Babe, if he were to find out right now, I would be inclined to stay.” she said in a distressed tone.

“I know that’s why you’re so worried about not being able to hide your feelings.” I acknowledged. “I understand Sweetheart.”

“I hope you know you’re not the reason at all for the way I feel. He chipped away at my feelings for years. I can’t help the fact I am no longer in love with him. It’s the way it is and the way it has been.”

“I trust that. Thank you.” I said.

“I’ve been drawn to you since day one though. My friends have never seen me like this before.”

“I’ve been drawn to you since day one too.” I said.

“By the way, Carolyn and Debbie, they adore you.”

“Really? I adore them too.”

“Yep, they think you’re an incredible guy.” she said.

“That’s really flattering but I don’t see myself as an incredible guy.” I said. “It must be because they know of your husband’s infidelities.”

“No.” she said. “They don’t know.”

“Really? I thought for sure they knew.” I said in surprise.

“Nope.”

That one was hard for me to wrap my head around. Why wouldn’t her closest friends know and why would they agree to enable her to meet another man? Something didn’t sound right about that to me so I dug a little deeper without digging too deep.

“Do they know your husband?” I asked.

“Of course they do.”

“Okay.” I responded not knowing where to go from there.

“They just think I’m unhappy and that I just fell out of love.”

“Like how over time most married people just naturally fall out of love?”

“Yes. Exactly.” she said. “ And how most parents who aren’t happy will stay in the marriage for the sake of the kids, and after the kids are out of the house then they decide to divorce or not.”

“Yeah, but don’t you think most partners are at least faithful if they decide to go that route though? With all due respect, I don’t think your situation is the same Sweetheart.”

“It’s not.” she acknowledged. “I agree.”

I didn’t want to put a serious tone on our evening, as I felt now was not the right time to discuss them but the truth was we were facing some serious issues. Even though I felt she should probably ask her husband, at the very least for a separation at this point, I decided to keep that thought to myself for the time being as I hadn’t earned the right yet to have that discussion with her. Obviously I had my opinions about her dilemma but at the same time I had to be tactful about their presentation to her. This relationship was about us, but by being strongly opinionated it would then make it about me, and now just wasn’t the time and place. Before we both could say another word, Debbie abruptly appeared through the curtain of the dining room area.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you guys but Cheryl is here and she’s asking where you are Anya.” said Debbie. “She won’t stop.”

“Okay, I’ll be right out Debbie. Thanks.” said Anya as Debbie quickly walked out.

“Who’s Cheryl?” I asked.

“She’s a member of the organization. We call her mother hen. She’s sort of like, well…your friend out there.”

“Yeah, we better get back out there then.”

“Oh my god!” she blurted.

“What is it?” I asked.

“We’ve been here for a half an hour!” she said as she pointed at her watch.

“No kidding?”

“Can you believe that? Time sure flies by when we’re together.” she said.

“Isn’t that something? Crazy.” I said as we stepped out of the booth. “I wish I could find a way to stop time so we could stay together as long as we want to.”

With that last statement I made, she turned around to face me and started to walk slowly backwards until her back was up against the wall of the room right next to the crimson curtained entry way. As I moved in closer now face to face, she put her hands along my forearms then ran them up along my biceps. As her cool palms ran up through my black shirt and along my shoulders, I couldn’t help but put my hands on the sides of her waist as the look in her eyes seemed to suggest it was what she wanted me to do.

“Why are you single?” she asked as her loving soft brown eyes fell into mine while her hands now ran along my chest.

“Let’s just say this is what I know since I’ve met you; I’ve been fortunate enough to have the wrong ones who I falsely believed were the right ones come into my life before I met you.” I said. “I’m a picky guy too, but please don’t misunderstand me when I say that. I don’t think I’m God’s gift to anyone, but I do have preferences like everyone else does and should naturally have. I guess you could say I’ve been on the selective and reserved side, but I’ve always wanted nothing less than a real love in my life, and I held on to the belief it was out there for me.”

“Do you fall in love easily?” she asked.

“I’ve always believed in love.” I explained. “When I was younger I used to fall in love easily, but after a couple of heartaches that cut me pretty deep…not anymore. It took a lot of trust in your love for me to allow myself to fall in love again. Believe it or not, this is a huge leap of faith for me.”

“How could you love me, though?” she sadly replied. “even with all my baggage?”

“I think the better question is how could I not fall in love with you? Do you even know how great you are?”

“How great I am?” she said as her now moist eyes jumped into mine. “No.”

“Then let me tell you.” I said. “I understand how you feel because I look at myself and I think the same thing. How could she be in love with me? But I trust that you do, and I’ve never felt that secure with anyone. But that’s your gift to people; you have a way of making them feel important and special. My biggest problem with women nowadays has been that they’re only there to take and not there to give. You have done nothing but give. That alone makes you very easy to love. You know, I have to admit I used to dream a lot about what she would look like and who she was, and I’ve even had a vision of who she was in my mind, but I can honestly say you are better than any woman I have ever dreamt of; you are better than my dream girl. You put every girl out there in the bar tonight to absolute shame. Now, I don’t know every girl out there in the world, but from what I do know, you put them to shame as well. You know Sweetheart; there is no greater truth than this, as we are both aware that the world knows how beautiful you are on the outside. I mean every guy could see that and it’s easy to see, but what separates you from all the other women out there is how beautiful you are on the inside, and I feel honored that you think I’m special enough to know that about you. I feel like the luckiest man on earth holding onto the world’s best kept secret because nobody out there knows that about you because if they did, then you would easily be the most loved woman on the planet, and it feels good to know it is me she’s with right now.”

After I spoke those very words Anya gazed into my eyes deeper than she had ever done before. I could say she was truly lost in them as she absorbed all the words I said, even hoping to see if there were any more left. She then said the seven words I had hoped to hear one day because I knew they represented the most significant revelation of her love for me and of our relationship.

“You have swept me off my feet.” She said softly and painfully. “I love you sooo much.”

“I know that’s what you needed from me.” I said as I brought my right hand to softly touch her left cheek. “But I feel I have a lot more sweeping to do. I want you to lean on me. I want to be there for you in every imaginable and unimaginable way. You’re not alone anymore.”

She then brought her body against mine as I began to rub my hands along the sides of her perfectly shaped hips. I then brought my right hand upwards again, through her hair and to the back of her head to thrust her lips gently but dominantly into mine. As we kissed each other deeply and passionately we unleashed over a month’s worth of anguish of not being able to demonstrate our love in a physical manner, and when we would pull apart only to catch our breath, we found that we were lost in each other as if we had forgotten our surroundings and the danger in them as with every breathless second shared we faced the ultimate truth that not only did we badly want each other but we badly needed each other. At that very moment, even as the world circled around us like vultures on the other side of the crimson curtain, we were oblivious to the carcass they craved that consisted of heavy misunderstandings and hidden envy. As each kiss seemed to carry more meaning, it felt like we were no longer a separate person but rather one being, connected more than any two human beings ever could be. While our bodies touched as our hands scoured each other almost uncontrollably, we didn’t need to say a word to know how far our feelings had come for each other, and while we knew Mitch and possibly her friend, Cheryl, were out to find a way to perpetrate our demise, she caught her breath to ask me the most important thing she ever could.

“Would you fight for me?”

“Do you mean that?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Whatever may come I will be by your side. You’ll face nothing alone.” I told her, my eyes within hers. “We’re in this together. I will fight for you.”

I didn’t need her to ask me to fight for her. I was ready to fight for her. I was even ready to die for her. I just had no idea what awaited me, and how it would change my life forever.