After the meal ended, Andrew insisted on paying for the entire bill, but Cassandra covered the tip, which she still felt hadn’t been enough of a contribution.
They were walking along the street, chatting amiably about everything and nothing, looking in the store windows and enjoying the nice, somewhat cold winter breeze that passed them. She leaned into him tighter as she shivered, and he wrapped his arm around her waist. Suddenly, they both stopped talking. It seemed as if the moment for words had passed. They both were looking deep into each other’s eyes as they ambled down the street, but slower now, neither of them really looking where they were going as the y simply gazed into each other’s eyes; her into his perfectly round emerald ones, him into her smaller, brown globes. He suddenly reached across her and grabbed her hand, his other hand still holding her by the waist. He rubbed the top of her hand with the thumb of his hand, trying to keep her warm. His heart was beating a million miles a minute as he discovered what he was about to do; it was so loud that he was sure everyone on the street walking by could hear it, too. His mouth turned up at the corners in a genuine, excited smile and his pulse started to rush in anticipation. She gave a slight little gasp that she was sure only she could hear as she realized what was about to happen.
They stopped walking as he released the arm that was holding her waist and
turned to face her. He held onto both of her hands, swinging them slowly. They were still staring into each other’s eyes, as if trying to find all the truth in the world that they knew was only located in those two pairs of eyes.
She leaned in slowly, and his hands released hers as he took a step closer to her and slowly rubbed her upper arms, trying to warm shivering body up. But what he didn’t know was that, sure, she was shivering from the cold weather. But she was also shivering in anticipation for what was about to come. They both leaned in, still staring into those gorgeous eyes, until finally they were completely face to face, noses touching. She closed her eyes slowly, holding her breath in anticipation, feeling as though she were a fifteen year old, about to get her first kiss. He stared at her for a moment, her eyes closed, her face serene and calm, her mouth turned up slightly at the corners in excitement. She was so beautiful. He couldn’t believe that she had said that she would actually go out on a date with him – he was entirely, completely, absolutely out of her league. She was so much higher up than him, but for some reason, she had agreed to it. And she would never have any idea how glad that had made him. Even if they never got anywhere as a couple, just knowing that she had said yes that one time, just being able to take refuge in that fact, made him happy.
He leaned in that last little way, their lips finally touching. Her lips were so soft; warm and inviting. He could feel her smiling as they kissed, and she could feel him doing the same. They could both tell – though Andrew had known it since the moment he’d seen her – that this was so right. It just felt... right. As she wrapped her arms around his neck, she realized just how perfect this feeling was, how great it felt, how much it felt like this was where she belonged. Not standing on a dirty street corner, but here, in his arms.
Finally, reluctantly, they broke apart, both of them beaming. Neither of them said anything for a moment, but then Andrew put his arm back around Cassandra’s waist, and she snuggled in towards him just a little bit tighter than she had before. She looked up at him, he looked down at her. A big smile crossed both of their faces, a look that was too deep to be described. Saying that it was love did no justice to the expression, didn’t give it enough credit. It was an indescribable look, the look that they gave each other. But if it were to be categorized anywhere, it would most definitely have gone under the ‘happy' category, without a shred of doubt.
But at the same time that Andrew was looking at Cassandra with that happy look, the entire time, he had a nagging thought at the back of his mind. Alice. What would she have thought? Well, first off, she probably would have been happy that he had finally found someone that he could see himself with in the future, but at the same time, she was probably looking down at him from heaven, a tear in her eye. And it was a tear that would not have been of joy. And so suddenly Andrew felt a salty tear forming in his right eye, and quickly, so that Cassandra could not see it, he wiped it off and continued on exactly where the conversation had left off, trying to enjoy himself and focus on the moment.