Present Perfect(98)

Looking over at Dalton, there was something different between us, a deeper connection. I felt like something had changed or was about to change between us.

“Come Away With Me” by Nora Jones started flowing out of the speakers. Dalton stood, holding his hand out to me. “Let’s try out that new leg. Dance with me,” he said.

I slid my hand into his. He led me to the middle of the room. As I stepped into his chest, we wrapped our arms around each other. I laid my head on his shoulder as he lowered his and rested it between my neck and shoulder.

As the sultry voice of Nora Jones continued to swirl around the room, we began to sway. The movement was so slight, it was almost imperceptible. I closed my eyes and let the feel of the music and his body against mine take me over. Present perfect.

As the song started to end, Dalton whispered in my ear, “I’m so glad I was here long enough to meet you. Thank you for giving me someone to miss.”

We pulled apart slightly, but kept our arms wrapped around each other.

“I wouldn’t be able to get through this without you. The one good thing about all of this has been that you were brought into my life.” He leaned his forehead against mine and we stayed this way for several minutes after the song had ended.

Dalton lifted his head, kissed my forehead and whispered, “I better go.”

He walked toward the door. Before opening it, he turned and looked at me. “Always remember present perfect, grasshopper.” A beautiful smile appeared on his face before he turned away and left.





It had been a week since Dalton and I had danced together at the apartment. Something changed that night between us or maybe I just finally realized it that night. Dalton was my soul mate. I was supposed to meet him when I did. Dalton and cancer had forced me to think differently, see the world differently, and see myself differently.

No, I wasn’t perfect and never would be, but that’s fine. There are more important things in life than chasing after this myth of a worldwide perception of perfection. Perfect is in the eye of the beholder. I had wasted enough time trying to control things in my life and it was exhausting. The only thing I could control was myself. If I put myself out there and got hurt, then I got hurt. At least it shows I’m still here and not living with regret.

So, here I am standing in front of his door, ready to put myself out there. I wasn’t sure what I was going to say, hopefully something would come to me. I had just texted him, letting him know, I was standing at his door. I raised my hand and knocked. When he opened the door all the breath left my body. He stood there shirtless, in worn jeans, and his hair was tousled. We stared at each other. Even though I had texted him, he looked surprised, he had no idea why I was there. I took in a deep breath. The time had come, no regrets.

“I love you. I’ve loved you from the first moment we met. I love you deeper every time I see you. And, I know the timing is awful, but there’s never a perfect time. So, no matter what happens, I needed you to know how I feel.” I finally exhaled.

He looked completely stunned. My instinct was to get the hell out of there, but I stayed and waited for his response.

It felt like we stood there for hours before he whispered, “Tweet…”

No sooner had Noah said my name when I heard his name being yelled. I looked around him and saw Brooke wrapped in a sheet, stomping into the room.

“Oh my god! I thought you were alone. I only saw your car out front.” I turned to leave when I felt his hand grab my arm.

“Tweet, don’t leave. Just give me some time. Brooke, let’s go in the other room.”

“YOU READ HER TEXT WHILE YOU WERE FUCKING ME!!!” Brooke screamed.

“My phone was on the bedside table. I just glanced over at it.”

“Then, you almost broke your f*cking neck jumping off of me to get to the door.”

I couldn’t stand there any longer. I turned, ran to my car, and peeled out of the driveway. My head was spinning and the adrenalin was pumping rapidly through my body. That went worse than I could have ever imagined. By far, that was the most embarrassing and humiliating thing I’ve ever been a part of, and that includes being a part of Brad’s bag a virgin bet. The first time I open up and tell anyone I love them, it had to be while he was on top of his girlfriend.





Some days are worth a do over, in a good way.





Idiot! I should have known he was busy when he didn’t text me back. I went straight home, changed into my lounge pants and t-shirt, crawled into bed, and pulled the covers over my head.

I must have fallen asleep because I woke up to the sound of my phone blowing up. I reached over, grabbed it, and tried to focus on the screen. It was full of voicemails and texts from Noah. I needed some time before listening to and reading them. I fell back in the bed and tried to clear the sleep out of my head.

Finally, I got up, grabbed a diet soda, and tore into a bag of chocolate Sweet Sixteen doughnuts. I needed caffeine and sugar. As I sat there running the last few hours over in my head, it dawned on me that I wasn’t sorry for telling Noah I loved him. What I hated was seeing Brooke with a sheet wrapped around her, coming out of his room, a room that I had grown up in and had fallen in love with him in. I’m not stupid. I knew they had been having sex since the first month they started dating, but it’s one thing to know and an entirely different thing to see it right in front of you. As long as I didn’t see evidence of it, I could pretend it wasn’t happening. A loud rapid knock jolted me from my thoughts.