"Is it happening right now?"
"No."
"What do you need me to do when it happens?" he said.
She stared down thoughtfully. It was dimly lit in that workshop. There was just enough light to see the soft shapes of her beautiful face.
"Just to hug me and tell me I'm going to be okay. I'll probably ask you if I'm going to die, and you just tell me I'm not. Sometimes I mention my heart, or stomach, or arteries, or neck. I'll say a symptom, usually, and tell you I'm scared of it."
"And what do I do?"
"You just tell me it's okay and that I'm not dying from it. And maybe that I'm super cool and strong for getting through it."
He thought about saying that to her, and he nodded. "I think I can manage that," he said.
She was quiet for a minute. They just sat next to each other, their legs touching.
"Sam?" she said.
"Yeah."
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For everything. For being here… for being cool when I tell you that."
"It's no big deal, Ty. I knew you deal with anxiety."
She smiled, and he could tell she was relieved and happy. Sam was over the moon that she seemed to want to keep seeing him. They had made plans. They would see each other at Christmas. She had invited him to her family's, and that was significant.
Ty took off her coat and used it to cover her lap. She smiled and slowly reached up and put her hand in the air between them. She just held it there, and he made eye contact. "Hang on," he said. He took his coat off as well, and then he reached up and touched his hand to hers. He laced his fingers in hers.
Sam had feelings of forever in his heart. Ty shared things that made it obvious she trusted him, and then she gazed at him in the darkness like she was thankful she could be vulnerable. She was giving him some sort of promise. She had broken his heart when she said she couldn't be with him before, and now she was looking at him like she would not break it again.
"Sam, can I come over there with you?" she said in a sweet, hesitant voice as they held hands.
"Yes," he said, his low voice getting caught in his throat a little.
She started to move to come his way, and Sam used the hand that was touching hers to pull her into his embrace. He wanted to kiss her, and he was going to get to that, but there was nothing he could do to stop himself from pulling her close and holding her in his arms for a moment first.
Sam took a deep breath, and relief flooded his body as he held Ty close to himself.
Finally.
He felt like crying. His heart was racing, and for a moment, he locked in and didn't even realize how tightly he was holding onto her. He loosened his grip when he noticed the force he was using.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?" she said, her voice comically strained.
His chest shook with laughter, and so did hers. He loosened his grip even more, and she squeezed him, her precious arms gripping around his mid-section and giving him the tightest squeeze she could manage.
"Aww," he said, making a groaning noise in his chest and reacting to her sweetness.
She pulled back and stared up at him, blinking.
Sam was done for. Her mouth. There was just enough light in the room for him to make out the shape of her lips, and he ducked to kiss them. He pulled her to him and let his mouth land on hers, and it was like sweet honey.
