"I'm on the way. Just finished dinner."

Slowly, I put down the mobile phone. I let my eyes rest upon her text message, as the backlight finally faded, and the phone's screensaver turned itself on. From out of nowhere, I would be seeing her again. Tonight. I sat on a stool in my room, my mind wandering off to memories of times gone by.

Memories of long ago. Memories, of more recent happy times.

The phone chirped again. She was outside. I moved wth uncustomary purpose downstairs. My heart fluttered oh so slightly. I ran back upstairs, and dashed on a little bit of cologne. Slapped on a little bit of hair gel.

'Yeah.. This'll have to do..' I wasn't much to look at, I know. But I wanted to look as best as I could for her. She deserved no less. I hurried downstairs again, rememebring she was still in her car outside the house gate. The rain belted down on the rooftop and pavement, a storm that had not been witnessed around these parts for months.

Oh how wonderful it would be, my dear, if we could have just stayed in and spent the evening chatting idiliy away. But no. Not with my parents also home. Not with my brothers also in attendance. Privacy would have been a lost commodity.

I waited at the door, watching the red car pull into the driveway, gingerly making its way to the end of it, to park to the nearest available shelter from the rain. I walked out to greet her, wincing slightly as the heavens gave her a small 'greeting' of their own.

"Hey." A slight tilt of the head. A small grin. The grin was returned.

"Hey.." I held out a hand, as she took it into hers. I pulled her into a hug. I breathed her in, burning every memory I could of her into my soul. Hardwiring it into my being, so that I would never forget what she was like. I held on for as long as I dared, and was pleasantly surprised to find that she only let go when I was ready to.

"Come on inside.. At least say hi to mom.." I sort of mumbled. She gave me a sideways glance, chuckling under her breath. I smiled sheepishly. "It's only polite.." Grin. I ushered her into the house, mom at the dinner table, munching on lamb chops. Mom gave a faint tired grin as she went about with greetings and some small talk, as I disappeared into the kitchen to grab a drink of water.

We left soon after. She wanted me to drive. I obliged, seeing that she hated driving and only put up with it because it got her out of the house. I got in the driver's seat, and starting ranting.

"Aiyoi... Women drivers.. The seat is so close to the steering wheel! And it's so High! Look at this..! The steering wheel itself is too low, and the mirrors are adjusted for a midget..!" She laughed at loud and told me to shut up.

"Just drive, you whiner." Without saying much more, save for the occasional sarcastic comment, we drove in relative good cheer to the cinema. In the midst of it all, as the wet roads posed a slight problem to her car's overused tyres, and the world passed by in a silent, but colourful, cacophony of light and sounds more felt than heard, we held onto one another, as though tethering ourselves together in a storm that was far more dangerous than any tangible physicality.

For in those brief moments where we could forget the physical ties that bound us to reality, it was easy to slip back into what made us the pairing we were. We talked. About nothing. Everything. Inane. Important. Generalisations. Specifics. It didn't matter. Because the most imperative thing that needed to be done, was being done.

We talked.

We arrived at the cinema, 45 minutes early for our movie. The tickets were bought in short order, and we proceeded to muck about for the ensuing half an hour, trying to kill time. We laughed. Shared anecdotes. Poked. Prodded. Hugged. For all intents and purposes, we appeared like a normal couple enjoying a night out. And the realisation of that fact, nearly brought tears to my eyes.

'To be happy...' The thought ran through my head.. 'Is almost everything..'

Many times, randomly, I would pull her close.. Smelling her hair. Running my fingers across her face and cheeks. Feeling her rest her head on my shoulder, her fingers curled up in mine. It was simple, unadulterated joy. The beautiful feeling of having someone close by, knowing they wouldn't leave you. Knowing that they would always be there.

The movie itself was a rather nice affair. We were cuddled up, trying our best to make the most of a seating position that had a fabric-covered metal bar in between us (those pesky seat armrests). I tried not to say much, trying to let her enjoy the movie, as I butted in a few times with references to the various drool-worth machinery that appeared onscreen. Cars, in other words. Eventually, I kept quiet, as she started poking me. A non-too-obvious hint that she had no idea what I was babbling about. I grinned to myself, and proceeded to fall asleep on her shoulder.

After the movie finished, it was time to go home. I fiddled with the car keys as we reached the car parking spot. I smiled as we both realised that it was the same spot she had parked.. On our first date. Ah, the little things. It's always about the little things. But as I pulled out of the parking lot, and on to the main roads, something compelled me to ask. About us.

"What exactly are we, dear?" The question hung in the air for a moment. She looked at me with a hint of confusion in her smile. The street lights cast dancing shadows upon her visage, as we slowly made our way through late night traffic. Her beautiful eyes looked in earnest at me, revealing precious little. But showing that something was indeed, going on within the recesses of her own mind.

"I don't know..." Her grip on my hand tightened ever so minutely. "I've been thinking about it.."

"Am I your boyfriend now?" Cue another grin, this one rather sheepish and embarassed, as she struggled with being asked such a direct question. The silence was palpable, till we both burst out laughing. "Haha, I have no idea either, you know," I added.

She merely nodded, another grin creasing her lips as I navigated the wet raods and kept myself busy with finding a way to make sure the evening would drag on longer. I refused to succcumb to thinking too much, to placing any labels upon what we both had built and shared together. Another question came. Almost without thinking.

"What.. do you want us to be...?" Again, I was greeted with a stoic, if 'grinny' silence, as she again did not furnish me with any uttered words or sentences. I shrugged it off. She was always like this, and I had accepted it. I mulled everything over as I drove home, her qiet affection manifested in her holding on to my hand as tightly as she dared.

Pulling into the driveway, I unclipped my seatbelt, and turned round to face her. We needed to talk.

"What's on your mind, dear...?" I asked tentatively. I took her right hand in my left, bringing up my other hand to touch her face. I watched in quiet awe as she nestled her cheek within the palm of my hand, her own hand cming to a rest on my forearm. I felt a tightening in my chest, and swallowed hard to try and loosen it. Needless to say, it didn't work.

"Nothing.." She breathed, quietly.

"You'e such a bad liar," I retorted, with another grin on my face, trying to lighten the mood. She merely sighed, sinking into her chair, as I leaned over and let her place her head on my shoulder. The moment lasted for what seemed an eternity, as I absent-mindedly ran my fingers through her hair again, and down on to her cheek. Scarcely believing how Lucky I was. How lucky I was to have her grace my life.

The soft rumble of the car engine was interspersed with the whine of the windshield wipers. The patter of raindrops upon the car's roof and windscreen added to the alluring ambience, as we sat there, clinging on to one another, neither wanting to break the moment with an ill-advised set of words. The stark simplicity of shared emotion never ceases to amaze me, as we whiled away the minutes, in almost serene contemplation.

Eventually, I had to say something. I stopped staring at her hands, and moved my face closer to hers. We evntually settled on resting our cheeks against one another's. Just so that we could whisper right into each other's ears. I began, hesitantly, wondering what would come out of my own mouth.

"You know... You're the only person I've ever been with, that has never given me any reason to doubt. I'm sorry I used to interpret your lack of saying anything, as s sign of indifference, or disinterest. I should have known better..." I paused, taking in a deep breath. Her hands gripped a little harder.

"I know that you care about me. It has just been so hard to believe. You have no idea, how hard it has been to get to this point. To the point whereby I can cmpletely trust you, and feel like you care, without you having to say anything. That feeling, is priceless, dear. Priceless. I knwo that I can go a day, sometimes longer, without hearing from you. And it wouldn't change how I felt, or what I thought of you.

I would know that you still cared. That you still had me in your thoughts, and that you would always be in mine. I find myself freed of having to worry how you feel. About whether or not I should trust you. Because I have already made the choice to try and believe everything you say. I have made the choice to trust you.

I would love to spend more time with you. It's hard enough as it is trying to find time within the small windows of opportunity that life tends to provide us. I cannot ask or demand any more than what you have already been able to give me.

You deserve so much more, than what I can give you. For all I can give you now, is me.. Should the need arise, should you ever need more than what had already been given... Then please, ask. And I will try to do what I can. What do you need, dear? Do you need mroe time?"

She shifted in her seat, bringing the hand that held my own closer to her face. "I... need to think things over..." I nodded, letting out a long sigh in the process.

"I understand... If that is what you ask of me for now, then I will have to accept it. Mush as I have had to accept all the other new things you have brought into my life. Purpose. Positivity.. Not having to say anything.." She smiled once more.. I couldn't see it, but I could feel it as the contortions in her cheeks communicated themselves to my own skin. I leaned in closer to her, as best as I could, with the armrest and handbrake blocking our way.

I let go of her left hand and cupped her cheek in my right palm. Gingerly, she turned to look at me, as I pulled back a few inches. I wanted to see her eyes. She radiated sheer unencumbered beauty, her lips a soft amalgam of pink and pale red hues as her hair slipped down from behind her earsm covering her cheek in a thin layer of lovingly cared-for auburn hair. The atmosphere grew.. heavy.

Her eys gazed at me, a mix of melancholy and joy impressing themselves upon my senses. Suddenly, without any preamble nor premeditation, her lips attained a gravity that just drew me closer. I gave in, my eyes closing as I came closer. And I knew her eyes too, had closed, as she moved with unaccustomed haste. Towards the inevitable.

It was pure magic. Absolutely subliminal. No words could ever do justice to the incredible sweep of emotive complexity that wound us together in this tight web of indescribable feeling. And yet, is was all so simple. So easy to understand. And with it, my heart soared.

Her lips moved gracefully against my own, almost elegantly as we navigated the snow storm of physical temptation. We moved without thought, without consideration. All was right in the world. Nothign could go wrong in this moment, or from here on in. Hands clasped, cheeks were caressed, lips were locked in an epic and intensely personal embrace. Nothing would ever beat this exalted state.

And I know now I will struggle for the rest of my life, to re-create what happened in that magical, infinitesmal moment.

Finally, we both let go. I was finding it hard to breathe. My lungs gasped in short bursts, my heart beating unsteadily. I let out one shallow breath after another, my mind finding it hard to cope with the pure glory of what had just happened. I pulled her in as close as the seats allowed me to. And we settled into another comfortable cuddle.

I wished so hard for this moment not to end. But it had to. I glanced at the dashboard clock. It was midnight.

Quietly, I got out of the car, as she clambered over the armests and handbrake, to plop down into the driver's seat. I chuckled softly as she re-adjusted the seats, steering wheel and side mirrors, as I stood out in the rain, the door still open. I couldn't resist.

We kissed again.

I watched her pull out of the driveway, the motorised gate closing behind her, as I stood out in the rain, awash in awe and a lightness blessing all my movements. I raised my face up to the heavens, the rain hitting me full on in the face, the water running down all over my head, as I closed my eyes and allowed myself to be drenched.

'Thank you, dear. Thank you, for giving me this.'