Jim’s car is parked under a tree across the street and she doesn’t see it as she gathers her bag with art supplies and her purse from the backseat of her car. She is walking towards her front door, struggling with her bags and finding her keys when his voice startles her, “Hey let me…”

 He’s solid and real, right in front of her and trying to take the bag of art supplies from her hand, the look on his face sheepish and unsure.

 She looks up at him and tucks a lock of hair behind her ear, “Hey. Wow, sorry I…didn’t see you.”

 He puts her bag down on the porch, stuffing his hands into his pockets, shoulders slumped. He shrugs, “Yeah. Sorry to just...show up like this but...well, I wanted to see you. I needed to see you.”

 She is surprised when she feels a lump in her throat and tears in her eyes, the relief of seeing him giving way to all of the emotions she has pent up all day, maybe even all year. She is almost afraid to talk for fear that she will burst out into tears, so instead she just nods and whispers “me too”, dropping her purse on the ground and wrapping her arms around him.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, “I’m so sorry”.

His arms are tightening around her as he runs his lips over her forehead. She looks up at him, confusion on her face, and he clears his throat to continue, “I mean, for today, for you having to hear all…of that. But, for everything, for this year, for how I acted when I came back-“

“We both made mistakes I can’t…I can’t blame you for what you were feeling, for reacting the way you did. And this morning, with Karen, well…that wasn’t your fault.”

He pulls back from her, his hands running down her arms, squeezing her hands briefly before letting go and stepping back, “Yeah. It was. I was a jerk to her. I used her. I didn’t want to admit it but that’s really how it happened, right? I just wanted to move on.” He backs away, sitting down on the porch steps before looking back up at her, “I’m not that guy though, and I mean it. It’s different with you. It always has been. You know that, right?”

She smiles at him softly, sitting next to him on the steps and grabbing his face in her hands. His eyes close at the feel of her hands on him, at the look of tenderness in her eyes, sometimes it’s all too much anymore, like it cannot possibly be real.

“Jim,” she says it so softly he almost doesn’t hear her, and he opens his eyes to look into hers, “I know you. Even after all this time I know the man that you are. You are not that guy. I know that.”

He nods, grabbing her hand and pressing a kiss to her palm before wrapping both of her hands up in his, intertwined between the two of them. “It’s just that I know we haven’t talked about a lot of things yet. About this past year…about everything. But I want to make sure you know that what happened, how I’ve been acting? I never meant to hurt you. Or Karen. I was trying to keep my head above water and I guess I just didn’t want to think about how badly I was hurting people I cared about.”

She nodded, “I know. I do. I made so many mistakes too. If I had the chance I would do a lot of things differently. But, it’s okay. We’ll get past it. I know that, and I know you. I promise.”

He smiles at her, feeling peaceful for the first time today. He leans down to kiss her, her mouth opening up immediately underneath his. She is so soft, so warm and she reacts so instantly to his touch it makes his head swim. Her hands immediately run up his arms and finally rest in his hair, and the feeling sends a chill down his spine, making his arms wind tighter around her. The silence of the night is broken up only by the sound of their kisses and the small moan in the back of her throat when his hand drifts down, touching the bare skin at the top of her jeans.

He gathers her closer and his hand slides up to feel the warm skin on her back, his fingertips grazing the clasp on her bra. Their breathing gets heavier until they finally break apart, foreheads together and eyes closed, “I’m so glad you came over.”

When he looks at her she’s smiling and she looks giddy, she looks in love, it nearly makes his heart stop she is so beautiful. “God me too. You have no idea.”

 “Come inside. Please. Don’t leave.” She punctuates the question with a pointed look, her meaning clearly not lost on him.

He nods, feeling momentarily unable to form a coherent thought. Standing up, she reaches her hand down to his and whispers, “Come with me.”

He grabs her hand to stand up, and they don’t let go.