"Reunited"
Cleo rocked back and forth on her heels, waiting by the door as she tried her best to keep patient. It had been six months since she'd seen him in person. Half a year without touching him,
feeling
him.
Cleo's boyfriend, Ben, was a R&B singer who had made it pretty big in the past two years. He had the opportunity to go on a tour, but his team decided he had an image to maintain—and Cleo wasn't allowed to come along with him. But Cleo knew how much the tour would mean to Ben, it was his dream come true.
So the two of them had promised that they would wait for each other. Cleo had always supported Ben's music career since high school, even when Ben had dropped out to focus solely on music. And it had paid off, big time.
Cleo didn't have much ambitions, she was a simple girl who was satisfied with a simple life and supporting Ben, even if she wasn't publicly in the picture. In fact, she actually preferred it that way—she was much too shy to handle fame. She was content with working as a document translator, as it was a job fit for her—she was fluent in English and Chinese, and would get to work from home. It was perfect for her introverted self. She could work throughout the day before relaxing on the couch and binge on her favourite streaming site while snacking. She didn't need anything extravagant and fancy in her life—she was fine with
simple.
But what wasn't anything simple about how much the two loved each other. The two were high school sweethearts and both found what they needed in each other. Ben was charismatic and creative—Cleo kept him grounded and was always there to give him realistic advice but still be supportive of him in every way. Ben was passionate about almost everything, always having so many great out-of-the-box ideas about music and life in general. Cleo loved that about him. She found it fascinating, and refreshing too.
Being without each other for half a year... It was hard for both of them. Ben missed how much of a neat freak Cleo was and how she would complain about how messy he'd leave a room before the two of them ended up cleaning anyway. Cleo missed the way Ben would unconsciously distract her while she was working, tapping out a rhythm on the table or humming to himself while he was doing something. They
needed
each other.
So, Cleo waited by the front door of their apartment, knowing Ben was going to knock at any moment. Her heart was pounding like a drum in her chest.
I just need to relax, but I can't,
she thought to herself.
It's been half a year of just texting and video calling... And now he's finally back.
She finally heard a knock at the door and her head shot up, her eyes wide. She took a moment to take a deep breath and compose herself before unlocking the door, shakily reaching for the doorknob. She opened the door and looked up to see Ben, standing there with his deep brown hair sticking out from under his cap he was wearing backwards as he had one hand in one of his pockets, the other hand holding a bouquet of red roses.
He smiled broadly. "Hey," he casually said to her, as she only stood there and stared at him with wide eyes, as if she was in disbelief that he was
actually
here. Cleo immediately jumped into his arms and laughed as Ben was taken aback for a moment, but hugged her back tightly with a chuckle. Neither of them could be happier to finally be together again.
Cleo could feel her eyes tearing up. She rarely cried, she didn't like to cry... But being in Ben's arms after all this time overwhelmed her with emotions. "I missed you, Ben..." She whispered as a tear escaped her eye, sniffling into his shoulder. She missed how he smelled, like cigarettes and cologne mixed with the scent that was just purely
him.
He stroked her soft black hair softly with a hand. "I missed you so damn much. You have no idea," he softly said before kissing her forehead, just holding her in his arms.
The two of them just quietly embraced each other, revelling in the comfort of finally holding each other after months. They spent their nights for months being lonely and they were finally able to hold each other in each other's grasp again. It was the longest they had went without being together—they had been dating since they were sixteen, and were able to move in together when they were twenty-one thanks to Ben's music career taking off.
Cleo finally pulled away and wiped her tears with her sleeves. She looked at the bouquet of roses. "Those are for me?" She asked him.
Ben shook his head. "Nah, I bought them for myself, actually. Thought I'd deserve some flowers," he playfully teased before handing them to Cleo. "Yes, of course they're for you."
Cleo sniffed the roses and smiled. "Thank you, Ben. They're lovely." Another thing about Cleo that Ben knew was that she was a sucker for roses.
Cleo took his hand and led him inside as he closed the door behind him. He took off his shoes and his jacket as Cleo went to go find the plastic vase she always used whenever Ben would buy her roses.
After Cleo was finished arranging the flowers in a vase, she set it on the counter in the kitchen, admiring how beautiful it looked with a dreamy sigh. Ben walked into the room and smiled at her, as she walked over to him and took his hand in hers. "C'mon," she said with a smirk before eagerly pulling him along down the hallway to their bedroom.
