Me:
Even after being together for so long, he was still such a…
Flirt.
After a long silence, I nestled against him and changed the subject?
“So you recognized me the first time you saw me?”
Chase looked down and stroked my hair:
“Yes.”
“Is that why you liked me? Because of childhood memories?”
He objected:
“No, Lily.”
“With you, I had both–childhood connection and love at first sight.”
The speakers in the living room were still playing music:
“After all these years, you’re still the one”
“After all these years, you’re still the one ”
I slipped my fingers under Chase’s shirt, resting them on his abdomen.
He drew a sharp breath and grabbed my wrist.
Lowering his head, he captured my lips.
The kiss grew increasingly urgent.
Until my arms encircled his neck.
He stood, carrying me to the bed.
My wrists pinned above my head.
His kisses moved downward, from my neck to my collarbone, continuing lower.
His ragged breathing occasionally mixed with deep, masculine sounds.
My body melted uncontrollably.
I struggled to remove my hearing aid–my last act of defiance.
He leaned close to my right ear and chuckled softly, seemingly seeing through my intention.
Then he shamelessly let his groans and heavy breathing pour directly into my ear.
Even though only one ear could hear, the sounds in this room still felt much too loud.
The night was just beginning.
After graduation, Chase and I got married.
Returning from our honeymoon, we found that my parents had bought a suburban townhouse for their retirement.
Worried that the moving company might damage some old belongings, they insisted on moving things themselves.
On moving day, Chase and I went to help.
Mom’s cardboard box broke open at the bottom from moisture and age, spilling everything onto the ground.
I stepped forward and saw these were all my high school books.
My fingers landed on a leather–bound yearbook.
Somehow drawn to it, I flipped through a few pages.
Each page contained well–wishes from my Lincoln High classmates.
Below were their hopes for themselves.
My finger stopped on the last page.
It was Chase’s.
At the time, everyone had been passing around yearbooks to sign.
I was so busy writing messages and contact information for other classmates that I hadn’t looked through the pages one by
one.
So this was my first time seeing Chase’s page.
His handwriting, like the man himself, was bold and distinctive.
Chapter 10
Name: Chase
Height: 6’2”
Address: Unknown
His message to me was hoping I’d get into Harvard.
In the “My Wish” section at the very bottom, he’d written just two words:
“Marry you.”
Epilogue (Chase’s Story)
Chase had never told Lily:
When she stood at the podium introducing herself that day, he looked up and recognized her immediately.
Those familiar features.
And the girl’s soft voice:
“Hi everyone, I’m Lily Smith.”
In his memory, a little girl in blue overalls following behind him:
‘I’m Lily, like the flower.”
Later, they became close.
He spent all his allowance buying Lily candy.
He’d said: “My candy is only for my wife.”
He vaguely knew a wife was someone you spent your life with.
Lily had said: “Then I’ll be your wife.”
Thanks to him, six–year–old Lily developed a cavity right before losing her baby teeth.
Seeing her at the podium in a dark red plaid skirt and white blouse school uniform.
His heart skipped a beat instantly.
His lips curved up involuntarily.
His wife had come back on her own.
Someone noticed his expression and looked shocked.
Chapter 10
He glared at them, then pretended to sleep at his desk.
He never expected Lily would be seated in front of him.
The scent of her filled his senses.
After class, he didn’t leave.
He waited until Lily finished studying.
He was certain Lily would wake him, because Maddie had told her the school would lock up.
Sure enough.
Unable to contain himself, looking at that beautiful face so close, he said:.
‘Thanks, wifey.”
rhen, seeing her stunned expression, he smirked and stood up to leave, trying to hide his feelings.
On the night back home, he dreamed of his childhood.
At seven, he and his mother returned home to hear his father’s voice mixed with a woman’s flirtatious tones.
Then came sounds of the woman’s terrified pleading and his mother’s desperate accusations.
Followed by his father’s apologetic but angry voice.
He rushed in to protect his mother.
But his father threw him into a room and locked him inside.
Outside came sounds of things breaking.
Then silence.
The door opened to reveal Lily.
she hugged him as he curled in the corner.
Lily brought him lots of candy, her favorite thing.
She didn’t know what had happened, but she knew it was something that frightened all children.
In the evening, his parents returned.
Each held a booklet and various documents.
Chappy to
His mother packed with tear–reddened eyes, buying tickets abroad.
His father left with a cold laugh, arm around his secretary’s waist.
Only he remained in this home.
Until late that night, when his grandparents took him to their old house.
Sitting in the car, he tried hard to memorize the route.
Yet he still forgot it after waking the next day.
Later, he tried to return, but his grandparents thought he wanted to find his parents, sighing and stopping him.
He just wanted to find Lily.
He knew his parents had abandoned him.
The city was so vast that despite searching weekly from memory, he never found his way back.
The city was so small that he met Lily again.
She was both his childhood sweetheart and his love at first sight.
Summer never disappeared–they were destined to meet again.
