The Pain Is My Pleasure.

Next Stop, Boston.

"Colton? What are you doing here?" You shouted, astonished by his presence. People passing by give you a few strange looks and rolled their eyes which was a reality check for you because for the moment you forgot you were in public and that others could freely witness your reaction. He started toward your direction, towing his luggage behind him which bounced up and down out of control on the asphalt riddled with bumps and holes due to weathering eating away at the structure. You gather yourself as best as you could, trying to calm down as your heart hammers against your ribcage, harder and harder with each step he took. Beads of sweat developed at your temples. You were a nervous wreck. He maintained eye contact all the while until he was finally within your reach.

"You said-" you started but he cuts you off mid-sentence.

"I said I won't drop you...I'm not letting you go. Not alone anyway..." he explained.

"God...What? Colton..." you began to say but your words were failing you and your voice trailed off. You shook your head lightly, almost in disbelief that this was actually happening. He unzipped the front of his case and pulled out his plane ticket and passport, then fanned it across your reddened face to prove to you that he isn't messing around. You scoffed and gave a chuckle of amusement. All this time you've been working under the assumption that you had to choose one thing or the other. You hadn't explored the thought of actually having both your work and Colton. You felt a tinge of happiness bubbling in your chest. This could be the solution you were searching for. The end to your problem, to your internal conflict between choosing love and success. But, then a dark, hollow feeling began brewing in your stomach. You couldn't possibly have him do such a thing.

"What about your work? Your company? Who would manage it on such short notice?" you inquired, "I can't-" he cuts you off again.

" 'You can't'...what? You can't ask me to do this for you?" he said, "well good thing you're not asking, because I'm telling you. I want to do this. I want to be with you. I'm tired of Face Timing, or just listening to your voice through phone calls. So yes, I'm coming along whether you approve or not. Because..." his voice trailed off. You were about to mention something but he silenced you by raising his finger, signalling for you to give him a minute to collect his thoughts. He began again, "Because I'd hate to be away from you again. This past week we got to reconnect again. To finally be able to see you in person and physically touch you, feel your smooth skin, to hold and caress you and so much more. We're not certain how long it'll be 'til I see your face after today. 'Til I can hold you in my arms at night and keep you close to my body. Our jobs have taken a huge toll on us but I won't let it stop me from loving you and furthermore, from being with you. I'm coming because I don't want to miss you anymore. I know your mine but...I just need to feel like I actually have you. I need to be with you."

You're lost for words. You knew you couldn't handle being apart from him, but you never stopped to think how this would really affect Colton. He seemed to be fine with it all. You're seeing a newer side to him. Colton was the kind of guy who shrugged issues off easily, or managed to make light of the situation, no matter how bad things got he handled them with humour and sarcasm- his two greatest

weapons and probably his best qualities. You grab his hand and said, "Okay...fine. We'd better hurry then."

"You mean..." he looked surprised yet pleasantly relieved that you've accepted it.

"Yeah, come on. Let's go." You said with a bright smile stretched across your freckled face. Hand in hand, you both headed to the Gate after being thoroughly examined by security and boarded the flight to Boston.