Page 82 of Love at First Sight
‘If you would kiss me,’ I say.
And he does, those lips meeting mine, soft and perfect and true.
31
I spent a few weeks after Leo and I got together thinking about how I almost missed my chance. My attention was so focused on Cal that I nearly couldn’t see what was right in front of me. I concocted these cutting speeches – incisive monologues that I told myself I’d recite calmly and word-perfect if I ever bumped into him. But, when he appears at the end of the dried fruits aisle at Whole Foods one afternoon, right after Leo nuzzles my neck and makes me laugh, my head tipping back as I giggle freely, any urge I once had to put Cal in his place is gone. Leo doesn’t see him. Leo lives to make me laugh and adores public displays of affection. He loves holding me, kissing me, caressing me, barely able to let me go when we’re out getting ingredients for dinner. It’s taken some getting used to, to be honest, to be so openly appreciated that way. But I’m learning. And Leo is a fantastic teacher.
Cal freezes as he catches sight of us, and it takes me a second to register it’s him. But then Leo whispers, ‘Come the fuck on, I want to bend you over the kitchen table before we eat and I can’t wait any longer.’
He’s half joking, doing it to get a reaction, and I give him one.
‘Sod the pasta,’ I say, tugging at his arm to head for the exit. ‘Let’s go.’
We walk straight past Cal, Leo’s eyes on me, my eyes on the door, and that’s all the closure I need. I once thought Cal and I had an instant connection, that love at first sight was real. Now I know better. What I have now, with somebody wonderful, grown over time and with care and patience – that is love.
They say what’s meant for you won’t pass you by, and so I grip on to Leo and promise myself I won’t ever let go. He really is my guy. He really is the one.
