Draft 1.9

It had seemed like a good idea at the time, as he'd climbed into his old pick up truck. As he pumped his gas tank full the night before he'd never been more certain of anything in all of his life, but here, driving up to Lara McMullen's little townhouse his doubts began to grow.

Matt had tried to move on, honestly, he had. He'd dated a few women, one for a couple of months even, nothing came close to what he'd felt about Lara. 

It has been two years now, since the last time he'd seen Lara. And while he would never have admitted it to a single soul he had more or less kept tabs on her through her social media. He hadn't seen any boyfriends, but how much did that mean? What if he was wrong? What if she still wasn't ready? What if she had fallen in love with someone else? He told himself it diddn't matter. He had to try, and he drove out of Florida for the first time in ten years. 

"Why didn't I just pick up the phone like a normal person?" he muttered to himself as he parked in front of her house. "I am such an idiot. She's going to think I'm such a fool. You know what? She'd be right." But he had to try. He got out of the truck and knocked on her door.

Lara opened the door. Matt thought she looked a hundred times better than the best picture she'd posted. She looked healthy. 

"Hi Lara." said Matt shyly

"Hi" Lara replied

"So, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to get a coffee with me, or somethin."

Lara was rather in a state of shock, waiting for this to be a dream, or to suddenly realize she was talking nonsense to the package delivery guy.

She opened her mouth but for a moment nothing came out

"Yes, yes of course. I'd love to. Come in, let me just get my..."

she opened the door and let him in "Right, let me just get my bag, won't be a minute."

Matt stood there, taking it in. 

It was a little cramped and slightly cluttered but it was cozy. He stepped towards a gallery wall of family photos.  There was Clara as a baby and Sophie. There was a picture of baby Connor with his dad. He recognized Marleigh, who had come to visit Lara a couple times while he'd known her. There was a collage of more recent pictures, mostly photos from the beach. There was a photo of Matt & Lara together that little Sophie had taken that day at the beach together. He reached up as if to touch it.

Lara came down the stairs "So are you in town for something, or just passing through or..." she stood there, looking at Matt, looking at the photo of them. Matt turned, their eyes locked. 

"Not really."

Lara stood there, with a deer in the headlights sort of look on her face.

Matt took a step closer.

Lara stepped closer too. 

He reached for her, willing every inch and every kind of distance between them to disappear.

She moved a little closer. She could smell him. She had always loved the way that he smelled, like a good clean honest hardworking man, She reached her arms up around his neck and his hand slid down her waits, heart exploding, speechless.

He kissed her gently.

"I missed you" he whispered

"I missed you too" said Lara and she kissed him.

Matt hugged her closer, tears welling up in his eyes. Matt enveloped Lara in a bear hug and then kissed her again. 

Matt stood there nose to nose with Lara, he pulled back and looked at Lara in the eyes and said the words he had been holding in his heart every moment from the first time he met her.

"I want it to be you." he said softly "Twenty years from now, I want to wake up, and I want it to be you."