If I love you was a promise...

Sunset at the balcony. His lips were moving. She couldn't hear what he was saying but his lips were definitely moving, and very very slowly. The sun emptied her last rays on his dark, caramel skin. He was looking at her now. He stared at her for what seemed like forever and started moving his lips again. She felt her lips move. She had replied, she didn't know what she said but she had replied. Whatever she said was apparently funny cause she saw his face light up and he threw his head back in probably the cutest guffaw she had ever seen. His lips moved again as he looked away at the clouds and smiled. Almost immediately he looked at her again. He reached out for her face. 

She felt butterflies congregate in her as he brushed his hand past her cheeks and through her hair. They locked eyes as he came closer and he took her lips in his. She felt the butterflies escape in that kiss, in that moment. He stepped back and for the first time, his lips moved and she heard him. 

"I love you"

She heard him loud and clear. 

She felt her lips start moving in response when she suddenly heard a loud siren and she opened her eyes in shock. 

Her alarm. 

Of course. 

She looked at her nightstand to the blazing red of the numbers "06:04" on the clock. How had she slept through four minutes of that horrible alarm?

"Morning sleeping beauty!"

She turned around, stunned for a second.

Then reality finally hit, she had a fiance. 

She was happy, or at least she wanted to be. 

"I have the coffee on for you baby" 

She had a fiance that loved her, she was definitely happy. So why was she having dreams about Aaron again?

 She dragged herself out of bed and into the shower. 

In thirty minutes she was dressed and sitting at the mirror. She got out her moisturizer and olive oil mixture that she had fixed in her spray bottle. She said a prayer under her breath that her twists were dry as she yanked off her bonnet. She put some oil on her hands as she started unraveling the twists. She had to be at work by 8:45 but she was up more than two hours earlier just to get her hair in check. Ever since her frontal had almost snatched her edges, she decided she wanted to let her hair stay out to help it recover. Now she had to get her hair done herself every Monday morning. She looked into the mirror and watched as the twists fell on her shoulder as she unraveled them. She rummaged through the top drawer of her dresser for her hair pick and made a mental note to arrange the drawer for the thousandth time that month. She looked into the mirror again as she picked her hair out to hide the parts and make the twist-out fuller. She took her spray bottle and spritzed a bit of the moisturizer-olive oil mixture on her hair. She had a long day ahead of her, she had to keep her hair moisturized like the women in the 4c hair tutorial videos said she should. She admired her beautiful jet black 4c hair and how long it had grown since she started loving and actually taking proper care of it. 

She thought to herself that Aaron would think her hair had grown out beautifully. He used to call her hair her crown. 

"You look gorgeous love"

She caught herself smiling as she heard his voice and felt his hands on her shoulder.

Brian, her fiance, of course.

He bent, kissed her cheeks and helped her remove the few strands that had escaped her scalp from her body.

"I've to get to work now before i run late baby, don't forget your coffee. I love you"

"I love you more"

Her voice was croaky as she spoke. How could she even let that sentence out when seconds ago she was thinking about someone else. Why did she keep thinking about him today? She hadn't in months

She watched Brian leave then checked her watch.

7:50.

It had taken her almost an hour to get her hair done.

The drive to work was a calm thirty minutes.

She was early. 

She stood up and had one last look at herself in the mirror. She glanced at her body and smiled, the workouts were working. She went into the kitchen to get her cup of coffee. Then started towards the car. As she got in, she decided she would get a bagel from her favorite bakery before she got to work. 

She connected to the cars Bluetooth and put her music on shuffle. 

[redacted song lyrics]

She was stunned, she hadn't heard that song in ages. She had forgotten she had it and that wasn't surprising, she had over three thousand songs and basically listened to the same hundred every day. As she pulled out of the driveway, she smiled. This was the song Aaron always sang to her. 

She remembered. 

Twenty five minutes later, she was at the bakery to get her bagels.

"Good morning Kayla" 

"Good morning Mr. West", she responded with the same excitement he gave off.

"The usual?"

"Yessir", she smiled, mimicking one of her favorite rappers. She'd been coming here for years since high school to get bagels. He already knew what she needed.

As she stood waiting for her order, she looked around. The place hadn't changed one bit. She looked across the counter to the empty table that was once her spot.

Their spot.

She and Aaron. 

That was years ago. She turned back to the counter as slowly as she had turned away. 

Her bagels were ready.

She paid her due and started her journey to her car. 

As she got to the car, she realized she'd forgotten her keys at the counter.

"So absent minded and careless, my God", she mumbled under her breath as she walked across the car park and back into the bakery. As she walked in, she went straight to the counter to get her keys. Mr West of course had the keys in his hands and a huge smile on his face.

"I noticed after you left", he said

"Thank you so much"

"No problem. Have a great day today", he beamed

She smiled back and started making her way out of the door. There was a huge guy standing there with his back to her. She had to brush past him to get out of the door and get across the car park again. 

"You really shouldn't be standing by the door, you know", she said as she passed him, without looking up.

He mumbled a sorry under his breath, or she thought she heard a mumble. She wasn't really paying attention.

She got into her car finally, checked the rear mirror and started pulling out when she felt her car crash into something. She looked into her rear mirror again and saw a car.

She had hit a car.

"Great! Can today get any better?", she exclaimed as she got out of her car to check the damage. 

The person in the drivers seat of the car she hit alighted too in a full on boxing stance.

She had not even let a word out when he started exclaiming that it was his first day on the job, his boss had just told him to drive closer to the bakery and now he'd bashed the car. 

He was exaggerating obviously, it was merely a dent.

She tried to calm him down.

"What's going on here"

The voice was deep and silky. The type one would remember. It sounded like a mix between the mumble she had heard at the bakery door and the voice that had left an eternal mark on her. Either way, she had definitely heard this voice before. She turned to see a familiar physique and eyes that she knew too well.

"Kayla?"

"Aaron?"

"Wow, I never thought I would see you again"

Those words, coming from someone that had promised her forever, went through her heart like a dagger. He had promised to come back for her, had he not? Was she making it up? Was it just one of her dreams?

She caught herself deep in thought just staring at him. He looked exactly the same except that his skin was clearer and he had grown a beard. He had somehow managed to get hotter from the last time she saw him. More angelic. The sun was focused on him like it always was, illuminating his skin and causing an unimaginable glow. No, he had not changed one bit.

His lips were moving, but she could not hear a word, just like her dreams. She was lost in thought.

"What are you doing back here?", she heard herself say. 

She had lost control of her lips, she always did when she was with Aaron. 

"Oh you know, visiting my family. I haven't been back since I left you know, this town hasn't changed a bit..."  

Oh she knew he had not been back, she had waited everyday for ten years for him to come back and he never did. Why?

She pondered on, wondering if she should ask why he left, why he abandoned her. His lips were moving again, how did she not realize before that he talked a lot. 

"...fiancee..."

Had she heard right? 

"Did you say fiancee?", she asked, hoping she had heard wrong.

"Oh yh, I'm home with my fiancee to see my parents, that's what I said. She's..."

Her mind had veered off again. He did say fiancee. She felt heartbroken. She was engaged too but that was only because she had waited for him and he never came back. What was his excuse? Why had he not come back?

His lips had stopped moving and he was staring at her now. She looked down and realized he was giving her his phone to put down her contact details. So they could "catch up" he said. But can you really catch up on forgotten love? 

Everything else went by so fast, he said he had an appointment and he would call her. He said other things but his words literally floated above her head. He pulled her in and hugged her. The feeling of his hands gave her familiar chills she had once longed to feel again, but now, wanted to forget forever. She had no idea what he said after that. 

She felt herself wave him goodbye and she turned towards her car. She was met by the sight of the dent on her car. She had forgotten about that. She took a good look at it. Her car was definitely the worse hit. She sighed and got in.

She looked at the time, 8:50. She was late.

She sighed again.

She looked at her calendar on her phone, she only had one meeting today. 

She called in at work and told her secretary to move the meeting to the next day. She needed to rest today.

She pulled out of the car park and started driving.

She stopped at the florist and got some dandelions.

She drove to the cemetery. 

She walked up to a familiar gravestone. One she had helped design herself. One she had visited almost everyday for the last eight years.

Aaron Cole

1991- 2010

She knelt down in front of it.

"I thought I saw you again today Aaron, I have no idea who that poor man was. He must have been very frustrated. I think I paid for the damage though, cause he left me alone eventually.", she giggled a little as she spoke.

"I miss you, I really do.", she said as she dropped the flowers and stood up. 

She walked slowly back to her car and got in.

"I think I'm losing my mind", she said as she made the slow drive home.