I caught him looking at me from acrossed the table. I tried to hide how anxious I felt in the moment because the scary truth was that I was falling in love with this guy. My guard that I spent years building steady brick walls around is crashing down around me and I'm terrified. I'm terrified of being exposed and what if he doesn't love me? What if he could never love me? But instead of showing fear or doubt, I smiled. I smiled and he smiled and suddenly butterflies swarmed around in my tummy. My adrenaline got on a high, like this undeniable spark that was suddenly so known. Had it been there the whole time? I think back to the dance and how once my eyes found him in the crowd, how I couldn't look away. I thought about the way my heart ached whenever he wasn't near me. I thought about how his smile and voice made me feel the most alive I've felt in years.
Only then did I allow myself to accept what my heart had already known.
That I was falling madly in love with this guy, and I wasn't scared of being alone anymore.
Because he was different.
He's the only one for me.
He's the one my heart chose.
© Ashley Tulley