So there she was with the boy; holding hands, sitting face to face, knee to knee. As she stared into his eyes, she was surprised to see her own reflection swimming in the depths. Perhaps it was a trick of the light and science, or perhaps she truly recognized pieces of her own soul swimming in the depths of his oceans. Maybe that’s why she couldn’t turn away.

Her mind carried her to the true sea. The white sand, crashing waves, and the feel of his body next to hers in the water, warm and strong, and on the shore, soft and soothing. In her mind’s eye, a wave came crashing in, and she instinctively leaned against the boy in front of her. He protected her from the dangers of herself.

She heard him speak, carrying her back to the present place and time. She glanced up and was humbled once again by what stared back at her.

“I love you,” he repeated, a smile curving the edge of his lips upward. He knew her mind had traveled to a different place and time.

“I love you too,” she murmured, letting her head rest against his shoulder. And she did, fully, without the regrets she had always experienced with her beaus in the past. This was different. He was different.

She had struggled time and time again with what it was that had so often led her back to him, and what kept her bound to him now. It was only recently, as she was driving down a back road on an unseasonably warm day, windows down to let the fresh air flow around and through her, that she had realized what made what they had so unique.

The boy, the man (as each had matured to the point where one could shed his or her juvenile title and take on man or woman) who held her accepted her as she was; the good and the bad, the frustrating parts, and the nourishing ones. She didn’t have to act like she was on stage. She was always backstage, out of the spotlight, relaxed and relieved in the comfort of his perfect arms.

She looked back up into his eyes and pressed her lips gently against his. They stayed locked together for a few blissful moments. Stars danced behind her closed eyelids, but the smile that greeted her when their lips broke apart dazzled her more than the bright spheres of light had.

Incredible, she thought. And he was.