We had chatted, talked and played over the past six months. We had grown closer with each passing day. It started with a simple Private Message and had expanded to be so much more. We shared the small insignificant parts of our day. Just the normal average things that make up every passing day that turns to weeks and months. We grew closer and closer as we began to share more. We moved from chatting and playing on LIT to sharing photos and then talking on the phone. The excitement of seeing her name on the screen would turn the average day into something truly fantastic. When I saw her name on the screen my heart would skip a beat. My breathing became faster and I could feel my entire body become aroused.
I think one of the turning points was actually hearing her voice on the phone. It was like her voice wrapped around my body like a warm blanket. Hearing her voice made me happy and drove me to release a long loud sigh of contentment. She seemed to know just what to say to make me excited and over the moon happy.
We shared so much. What we liked, what we disliked. The highlights and lowlights of each day. We shared fantasies and dreams. We even discussed the possibility of actually meeting and some of the many problems with doing so. But always in the back of my mind was the question, "what if." What if we actually met. Would she like me? Would I be a disappointment to her? Would what clicked online and over the phone not translate into real-life? So many questions and so many doubts. We lived several states away from each other and meeting each other would not be all that easy.
Then it happened. The planets aligned. I mentioned a business trip to a certain city. Her voice was bubbly when she explained that it was the city that she lived in. We had never shared where we lived except for the state, never mentioning the actual city. I explained that I was flying in on Monday morning and would be in town for the week. She said that not only was she off of work that week but she as of yet, had not made any plans. It really seemed too good to be true. We started to make plans.
I told her what time I would be flying in and what time I would be checking into my hotel. I agreed to text her once I checked into the hotel and arrange for a time for us to meet in the hotel lobby. I wanted to give her the opportunity to talk to me in person and make up her mind what she wanted to do. As I sat in the hotel lobby I was very conscious of how nervous I was. I was wiping sweat off of my brow and my palms were sweaty. Am I doing the right thing? She is so much younger than me. My life is complicated enough. Should I really go through with this? Should I text her back and tell her I changed my mind? Do I want to complicate her life? What can I really offer her? So many questions running through my mind. I was not even paying attention. She had walked into the lobby and I had not even noticed. My mind lost in all the swirling questions I had racing through my head. I looked up as she touched my shoulder.
The sun streaming into the lobby through the large picture windows bounced off her red hair giving her a halo like a beautiful angel. As my eyes met hers my breath caught in my throat. She had shared photos of herself with me but seeing her in person was overwhelming. She was more beautiful than I could have imagined. I could not speak. She laughed and asked me if I was going to give her a hug? I almost knocked over my chair trying to get up fast to give her the hug she requested. I hugged her tight and whispered her name "Lane, I can't believe you are here and I am hugging you."
