Chris…

She hadn’t seen him in nearly four years, but seeing him moments ago had felt comfortable, familiar…like she’d seen him only yesterday.  He was even more handsome than she remembered.  There was a detailed definition to his face and more lines that made him appear worldly.  His face had always been remarkable to her, but now it had character and charm.  He was a man in his prime and it showed.

Previously, at twenty-one, Chris had walked with a smooth grace that other men had envied.  He’d kept that smooth gait, but his body had grown in muscle and mass.  He was devastatingly beautiful, and her heart still pumped like crazy when she saw him.  The feelings in her heart were unsure, but her body was singing a song with an intensity she’d never felt before.  It nearly hummed with energy and…desire.  

Shanda was struggling down the staircase with her suitcases when she felt the weight of them disappear behind her.  Surprised, she jumped and flattened herself against the wall, watching as Chris mumbled to himself, taking the stairs quickly and heading for the main lobby door.

Shock rendered her motionless for a few seconds, then she slowly began to descend the stairs, a small smile making its way into her heart.  Her memory repeated those sweet, mumbled words: Damn irritating woman, too stubborn to let a man help.

Woman.  He’d called her a woman!  For the first time in her life, her heart knew a woman’s joy at a compliment.  Yes, it had been a compliment.  Irritating, stubborn, even cute…those were words that had always applied to her.  But being called a woman was the sweetest word she would ever hear from him.

By the time she’d passed through the lobby door to the outside, Chris had already loaded her suitcases in the trunk and was waiting in the car.  Impatiently, too.  Even from here she could see him drumming his fingers on the top of the steering wheel.

           Her internal smile worked its way to the corners of her mouth.  She’d been fighting herself, trying to forget about Chris for four years.  It hadn’t worked.  She’d once planned to wait for him, vowing to be ready once he was ready.  But that innocence had disappeared after the first year of college.  Why would he want to wait for her to grow up when he could have one woman for every day of the week?