She understands now.

I look at Whisper with a new understanding. The embarrassment and awkwardness wasn’t because of what I was doing. It was because of his feelings towards me.

I touch his face with my fingers. “Whisper look at me.” At first he refuses, but I take his face in my hands and **** him to turn towards me. “Open your eyes.” He slowly does. “Whisper, you aren’t stupid. Your feelings aren’t stupid. When I told you my story in your office, you really seemed to listen, to care. I could tell by the way you looked at me that you were attracted to me. But you never tried to make a move, you never let those feelings affect your actions. At first I thought you were just being professional, but then last night, when we slept together, you still didn’t try anything. I thought that I had read you wrong, that you weren’t attracted to me. If you had kissed me, I wouldn’t have tried to stop you. But you didn’t, you just held me, and for the first time in weeks I felt at ease.”

I embrace him and lay my head on his chest, trying to recapture the feeling. “You know, last night I couldn’t hear the thunder. The only thing I could hear was your heartbeat.”

I stand up, pulling him to his feet as well. His eyes are wide and almost disbelieving. “Sara…I…I didn’t know…”

“I understand that now, and I’m telling you that I love you too. I’ve been in love with you since I left your office three days ago.”

We stare into each other eyes for a moment, a moment that seemed to span years, and then he leans in very slowly and kisses me softly on the lips. His mouth is slightly open as his top lip lands above mine and his bottom lip falls in between my lips. He presses down very gently and closes his mouth over my top lip, pulling at it very slightly as he moves away.

We kiss again, this time with more commitment. Our bodies press up against each other as our lips lock together. His kisses are gentle and tender, never trying to push too hard or too fast. If this is any indication, he could be an incredible lover.

He breaks the kiss and says, “I was so afraid of being blinded by love, that I blinded myself to love. I’m such a fool.”

I smile at him, and see his eyes dance as he smiles back at me. “Love is a fool’s game.” I say, “Thankfully, I’m a fool too.”

I embrace him, burying my head against his firm chest. He kissed the top of my head and we hold each other for a very long time. I finally look up at him and ask, “Well, were do we go from here?”