The Last Time

It was amazing, the way they set each other on fire the last time they met.

Really, if she had to blame it on anyone, it was his fault.  With all his deep looks and that perfect grin, how could it be her fault at all?  They made quite a team, when they weren't fighting each other.  But they could rarely stop arguing to let anyone else in.

It was a sweet kind of arguing.  He would point out something about her and she would be too cynical to take it seriously.  Endless giggling would ensue and they were off to the races.

He liked to flirt.  But not with her.  With her, it was different.  There was no hair touching or space invasion, no matter how badly she craved his closeness.  There were no compliments, no winks, nothing like what she watched transpire with other girls.  There was only good natured arguing and a hell of a lot of laughter.

She smarted off, hardly letting the thought of her words touch her mind before they came spinning off her tongue.  At first, she panicked.  But then he laughed.  He really laughed, and the smile that came to his face was radiant like nothing she'd ever seen.  And the knowledge that she put that smile on his face?  That was the best part.  His low, rumbling laugh sent a shiver down her arms and turned her cheeks bright red.  But she didn't care.  She made him laugh and at that moment, that was all that mattered.

He caught her off guard, reading into her in a way no one was ever able too, seeing through her like she was made of glass.  It was scary, but oddly invigorating.  He could see her.  For as long as she could remember, no one could see her like he did, and now there he was reading through her like a children's book.

At the height of their interaction, when he reached out, she rolled her eyes but her heart was pounding.  Their knuckles touched, and she felt a literal, physical, spark.  The act was simple, trivial really, but it seemed to solidify something between them.  Something that made her acutely aware of his location relative to her.  Something that held his eyes to her face.  Something unspoken between them that changed the waves in the air from friendly fire to something more.  Something with underlying meanings and a depth neither of them could hope to reach the bottom of.

Her only regret was how late in the season the moment had fallen.  Their season was coming to an end, the leaves of their trees all fallen to the ground now, ready for the next period of time.  But neither of them could guess whether they would move into the same season, or if one would move backward as the other slid forward.  There was no telling what would happen next, but whatever happened they knew for sure the air between them would never be the same.