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Dean
THREE YEARS LATER
Today was a day I’d been waiting for as long as I could remember. It was a day I’d dreamt about for so long. It was a day I’d worked my ass off for during the past eight years.
Today, I became a partner at William & Sutter LLP.
I had once thought that when today came, I’d have everything I’d ever wanted.
I would feel elated.
I would feel proud.
I would finally be the happiest person in the world.
But I was wrong. I’d never felt more empty than I did today.
It was early evening, and I’d left my celebration party early. It was hard to smile and laugh when I felt none of it. When I’d made partner today, I finally realized that it wasn’t the thing I wanted the most in life.
I wasn’t ready to go home, so I walked aimlessly around the city, watching all the happy people pass me by. I envied them.
I blinked and realized that I was in a grocery store. I wasn’t sure how I got here, but there I was, standing in front of a stand of peaches. Suddenly, a figure with long chestnut curls ahead caught my eye.
When I looked toward the figure, my chest tightened. Her back was turned to me, but I knew it was her. I saw the infinity tattoo on her wrist and I could smell a hint of her light floral perfume in the air.
The sight of her made my heart soar with more joy and happiness than I’d ever felt.
“I’m sure yours taste a lot juicier than those peaches,” I said, loud enough for her to hear.
She froze. After a few agonizing seconds, she turned around to face me. She smiled, and it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
“Hi, Dean.”
“Oh God, Blair, it’s so great to see you.”
“You too, Dean. You look great, too.”
The moment I’d seen her, I knew that I needed her in my life, I knew I needed to tell her everything. Then I had a thought.
“Hey, I’ll be right back! Give me thirty seconds. Promise me, you’ll stay right here, okay?”
“Okay, sure.” She nodded, her brows furrowed with confusion.
I ran to a nearby section of the store and seconds later was back by her side.
“These are for you.” I handed her a bouquet of wild flowers. “I hope they’re still your favorite.”
“You still remember.” Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked up at me.
“Blair, I’ve missed you so much,” I blurted out. “I know it’s unlikely and unreasonable to expect that you’re still single or even willing to give me a chance, but letting you walk out of my life that day has been my biggest regret, the worst mistake of my life, and the one thing I’d give anything to change. I know that I should have fought for you harder, fought for us harder. I’ve lost three years of my life without you in it—that’s 1,095 days I’ve lived with a hole in my heart. If I could do it all over again, I would fight for every single one of those days so that they would be complete with you in it.”
She paused and there was a spark in her eyes that I couldn’t quite understand. “Dean, I’m—”
“Before you tell me to fuck off, or tell me that you’re happy and can’t have me in your life, I want to tell you everything I had wanted to say three years ago.”
I took out the old piece of paper that’d been folded up and kept in my wallet for three years. The edges and folds of the paper were worn from the passing of time. Blair looked at the paper with curiosity but remained silent.
“Blair, that night when I planned the surprise sushi dinner for us, I had wanted to tell you something. I had written my thoughts down on this piece of paper earlier that day and I wanted to give it to you at dinner. After everything that happened after that night, I never found the right time to give it to you. But I’ve kept it folded in my wallet, hoping for the day that you’d be able to read it. I want you to read it, Blair.”
I handed her the letter.
When she finished the letter, she looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “It’s beautiful, Dean.”
“Blair, those were my feelings then, and I want to tell you that my feelings haven’t wavered but have only gotten stronger over the years.”
“Dean, I don’t know what to say...”
“Do you know I was made a partner at the firm today?” I cut her off. I was afraid of how she’d react or what she’d say, and I needed to tell her everything when I still had the chance.
“Really? That’s amazing, Dean. Congratulations!” She swung her arms around me and gave me a warm hug.
“So, I thought that would make me happy, that it would be the happiest moment in my life. But I was wrong, Blair.” I paused. “Do you want to know what’s the happiest moment in my life?”
“What?”
“This very moment. Right now. Here with you. This is the happiest moment in my life. To finally be in front of you. To tell you something I’d waited so long to say.”
I caressed her face with my hands and gazed into her emerald eyes. “I love you, Blair Parker.”
“Dean, you had me at ‘peaches.’” She pulled me down and our lips met in perfect harmony, like two pieces of the puzzle finally finding each other. When we finally pulled away, our eyes locked, and I saw the same woman that I’d fallen in love with three years ago. “I love you too, Dean Chase. I have for a very long time.”
Her words radiated through my body like a ray of sunshine, and for the first time in my life, I felt completely whole, completely happy.
THE END
