Page 117 of Hunt for the Roses
It’s dark out once the chaos of cleaning up dies down, and I give my parents one last hug before making my way to the parking lot to get in my car. As my heels hit the pavement, I register the pain from being in them for so long, so without a care in the world, I stop in the middle of the parking lot and bend to unbuckle my heels. I flick them off in one swift movement and pick the shoes up in one hand as I hold my clutch in the other.
“Note to self: always bring a change of shoes,” I mutter to myself as I make my way to my car door. Exhausted from the shoegate extravaganza in the parking lot, I toss my clutch and shoes on the passenger seat before hopping in my car and driving off barefoot.
I know, I’m a mess.
At least it’s not a far drive, and it’s only about ten minutes until I’m pulling my car up to the curb in front of my house. I feel a slight frown form on my face as I see Dane’s usual parking spot empty.
He’s not home.
Disappointment settles over me.
At least when I was at my dad’s grand opening, I thought I may have a conversation to look forward to afterwards, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. I inhale sharply and let out a large exhale as I hook my heel straps around my fingers and grab my clutch in one hand. I open the car door to step outside and decide to let a little of my frustration out on my car door when I slam it shut.
Yeah, I’m definitely going straight for a glass of wine tonight.
As I’m walking up the pathway to my porch, I bend my head to take the barrette out of my hair with my free hand and shake my fingers through the soft waves. When I pick my head back up just as I reach the bottom step to my porch, I immediately halt in my tracks as my breath catches in my throat.
My eyes are greeted with a single, fully bloomed green rose tied to the column post of the stair railing. I drop my heels and clutch to the ground as the beauty of the rose pulls me into a trance. I slowly take a step forward and extend a hand out to brush a green petal with my fingertip, and tears sting my eyes as soon as I make the contact.
I feel like I’m touchinghiminstead of this flower, and like a moth drawn to a flame, I raise my fingers to my parted lips and close my eyes. I’m instantly brought back to that night where Dane and I danced silently under the gazebo of the Bloom Rose Garden. Every detail is vibrant and vivid behind my eyes. I can smell the roses, I can see all the bright colors, I can feel Dane’s touch, I can taste his kiss, and I can hear our conversation replaying in my mind.
There was so much beauty in that one moment.
So many roses to be grateful for.
Suddenly, I hear a faint sound coming from the right of me.
It’s a song.
I furrow my brows slightly as I start to recognize its melody, and my heart starts to beat a mile a minute as I listen to the instrumental introduction of “The Lady in Red”. And I know without a shadow of a doubt that when I turn around, I’m going to see the one person I’ve been praying to see all night.
He never forgot that night.
Just like he said he wouldn’t.
I exhale as I open my eyes, and when I turn around, my soul sings.
Dane’s leaning one shoulder on the column post of his porch steps, with one leg crossed in front of the other. He holds my eyes as he turns his lips up in the corner, and he’s never looked more handsome. I didn’t think that was even possible until this very moment as he’s wearing a tucked in white button down with the sleeves rolled up and the top two buttons undone. He’s paired his dress shirt with khaki pants that hug his long, thick legs just right, and his hair is styled on top more than it usually is.
When Dane starts to walk toward me, he says, “You know, I never knew how rare green roses were.”
I let out a breathy laugh, and nothing can prevent the smile that spreads across my face. Dane stops when he’s only inches away from me and reaches around me to untie the rose from the column. “It took me five different visits to florists before I found what I was looking for.” When he successfully removes the rose, his eyes meet mine as he shrugs slightly. “I thought it was worth mentioning. And also the fact that I parked my Mustang the next block over.”
I narrow my eyes slightly, as if to ask him why on earth he would do that.
He smirks as he says, “If you thought I was home, there was a small chance you could knock on my door. I wasn’t taking any chances ruining such a grand gesture. I don’t exactly do this often.”
I let out a laugh as a tear slides down my cheek, and Dane hands me the rose. As soon as I take the rose in my hand, Dane wipes my stray tear away with his thumb as he continues on. “Aria, I’ve been really stupid.” He shakes his head at me. “Too stupid to see everything that was right in front of me all along. I thought our love needed to equal what you once shared with Kyle. I thought that our love had to be the same or else we wouldn’t stand a chance.” Dane averts his gaze downward. “I’ve been so focused on comparing and measuring our love that I failed to give our love a chance to grow.” Then his eyes meet mine again. “And I overlooked the most important detail of all.”
“What’s that?” I say.
“That we’re meant to write our own story.” He looks down and touches the rose as he places his forehead against mine. “I’m your new beginning. I can set you free,” he whispers, and I close my eyes. “That’s what I should have said to you all along.” Dane pulls back just enough to bring his free hand to cup the side of my face, and he starts wiping away at my tears with his thumb again.
“You once told me that you’ll never have my entire heart because a part of it will always beat for him,” I say. “The part of my heart that belongs to Kyle is a treasured memory, and yes it belongs to him,” I admit before shaking my head. “But it doesn’t beat for him. The parts of my heart that beat? They beat for you.”
Dane’s lips purse into a grateful smile as his nostrils flare from built up emotion, and he bends down to kiss me. I instinctively wrap my arms around his neck, green rose still in hand, as we get lost in each other’s kiss.
A kiss that’s deep, passionate, and free of all reservations.
