“But words are just that,” I continue. “Words. So I won’t ask you to believe me. I’ll prove it. Every day.”
“I do love you, Tank,” she whispers, voice breaking. “I love you so much my heart locked onto yours and won’t let go, no matter how hard I try.”
Her shoulders tremble.
“But I’m broken now,” she continues. “I had something precious I was saving for you, and it was taken. Stolen in the worst way. I’m not… I’m not clean anymore. I’m not whole. Just… walk away. Go find a strong, beautiful woman who can love you the way you deserve.”
The lights flash at the gate. Our guest has arrived.
I don’t even glance at it.
There is nothing more important than this woman in front of me.
I step closer.
“Listen to me,” I say firmly. “What that man did to you does not change a single thing about who you are.”
Her eyes flicker.
“You are not dirty,” I say. “You are not broken. You are not less than.”
I lift her chin gently.
“What happened to you was violence. Not intimacy. Not love. And it sure as hell does not diminish what you mean to me.”
She shakes her head slightly, like she wants to argue, but I don’t let her.
“I know my words won’t fix this,” I admit. “I know you won’t believe me just because I say it.”
My thumb brushes beneath her eye, catching a tear.
“So I’ll show you.”
Her breath stutters.
“I will be your first,” I say quietly.
She opens her mouth.
“I was ra…”
“And you will be my last,” I finish firmly, not letting her finish that thought.
Her lips part in shock.
“What that bastard stole from you does not define your worth. It does not define your body. And it damn sure doesn’t define us.”
I rest my forehead against hers.
“When we come together,” I murmur, “it will be because you choose it. Because you want it. Because you feel safe. And when that day comes, I’ll treat you like the miracle you are.”
She’s crying harder now, but there’s something different in it.
Relief, maybe?
I lean down and kiss her like I’ve wanted to do for years.
But, it’s soft…slow.
