Everything that happened and every way that we grew led us to this moment.
Levi and I are now officially "boyfriend and girlfriend." It only gets better from there.
*Names have been changed in this chapter.
Chapter 22: Big Day
As I sat on the floor in front of my couch, basking in the afterglow of becoming "official" and finally relaxing into Levi's side, there came a knock at my front door. Confused, I twisted around to glare at the unknown intruder, trying to figure out who was about to receive a full dose of my rarely-seen irritation. Suddenly, it dawned on me who it was.
"Oh, right!" I exclaimed. "That's Craig."
"Craig?" Levi said, likely wondering why another man was showing up at my home.
"Yes, Craig," I repeated. "He's the one whose house you're staying at tonight. Remember? I work with his wife, Sharon."
"Oh, OK," Levi said slowly, just as reluctant as me to break the mood.
I pressed myself into his side one more time before jumping up and getting the door.
"Hi, Craig!" I said.
"Hey there, MB," he said. "Thought I'd stop by and take Levi over to our place and show him around. Is now a good time?"
"Sure," I lied, wanting only to keep Levi for myself. "Let's do it."
We followed Craig outside, and I got into Levi's car with him to drive the two blocks to Craig's house. To be fair, it was the middle of January, but I'm still a little embarrassed that we drove only two blocks. That's life in a small town for you.
Anyway, we arrived at Craig and Sharon's and headed inside. We followed Craig around the house and downstairs where the walls were plastered with KU everything. We smiled as he explained that this was where Levi was going to stay for the weekend. After visiting for about half an hour Levi and I headed back to my house. The sun had set and evening was settling around us.
We walked back into my warm living room, and I closed my front door softly, lingering a moment with my forehead against the wood. I needed a moment to compose myself. I was about to be quite bold.
I turned around to see Levi standing in the middle of my living room watching me, a soft smile on his face. Taking a deep breath in and then out, I walked with slow, deliberate steps toward him. As I reached him, I slipped myself into his arms. My arms wrapped around his slender frame and, as his slowly closed around me, I lowered my head onto his chest.
We stood like that for a few moments. Then Levi pulled away from me slightly. He tilted his head down to meet mine and kissed me.
It didn't last long, but it was sweet. It was by far the sweetest kiss anyone had ever given me.
As we pulled away from the kiss it was as if something between us finally relaxed. Grinning at each other, we sat on the couch and talked. We talked about whatever it was we would have talked about had we been on the phone. Faith. Dreams. Hopes. Silly anecdotes. Family. Us.
Now that we were sitting together on the same couch, it felt like we'd come a long way from our first communication. We started talking about what it was like to meet each other online, how nervous we'd both felt at the beginning, and how much we'd enjoyed our conversations so far. At this point, Levi became quiet and thoughtful.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Well," he began, "it's just that we've been talking for, what? A month now? And last week I started thinking something, and I just . . . Well, I couldn't tell you on the phone, and I don't know if I should even tell you now."
By now my heart was racing.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you know, it's not really something you tell someone you've only known a month. But I've just . . . it's just something I've been thinking."
"I think it's OK for you to tell me," I said, doing my best to keep my voice calm and level.
"Really? Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
He took a deep breath, "What I've been thinking . . . is that I love you."
My heart beating frantically against my ribs, I smiled at him and said, "I love you, too."
He broke into a huge grin. "You mean it?"
"I do," I said. "Hold on!"
I sprang from the couch and zipped into my dining room, leaving a slightly dazed Levi sitting on the couch. I grabbed my journal from the desk and curled against Levi on the couch.
"See?" I opened to the appropriate page.
As he read the truth for himself, dated just four days before, his smile deepened and he relaxed father into me. He draped his arm around my shoulders and chuckled softly.
"Hmm?" I murmured.
"Big day."
"Mmm hmm," I sighed, closing my eyes.
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Whew! That's quite a bit for one day. Where can we go from here? Better check it out.
And if you're reading this for the first time and you have no idea how all of these events came to be, check out the link Our Courtship.
Next Chapter (Chapter 23: Weekend Impressions) Previous Chapter (Chapter 21: Meet and Greet)
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