Cheese Itself

They walked side by side, romantic tension hanging heavy in the air. He wanted to hold her hand, but couldn’t get up the nerve to just go for it. She wanted him to, but having waited long enough, she decided to take things into her own hands. Rather than grabbing his hand, she slid her fingers in his arm. Not so intimate, but just as meaningful. The small gesture gave him the bit of confidence he needed to pull off the feat. But first he needed to say something. “So”, he began, “I hope you’ve had as great a time as I had. Just being here with you is making this the best night I’ve had in a long time.” She felt herself blush. He never stopped saying incredibly sweet things to her, and each statement sent her heart into fits of joyous drumming. “You know, I think you might be the sweetest guy I’ve ever met,” she confessed. A quick laugh, a knowing glance, then silence. Every second held a thousand thoughts. Finally, lifting his head, he stopped her in her tracks. She hesitantly turned to face him. Their eyes met, and he said, “And you’re the most incredible person I’ve ever met.” He looked down to her mouth, then at the eyes. That made her smile that smile he knew would steal his heart. Then she met his gaze and held it, and he couldn’t move a muscle. They both stared, he at her long lashes, she at those brown orbs full of passion itself. She could see his eyes getting bigger in hers, until she dared to look down, to that ever-beckoning promise. She knew once she felt the promise, that everything would be alright, and she’d arrive in paradise on earth. Then all that she could see was black, and all that she could feel was bliss.