Alexa and I stayed at the coffee shop for hours, long after we finished our drinks, getting in as much conversation as we could.

Being with her in person after all this time felt so...right. It was like I'd been waiting for this moment since Alexa left for Arizona whether I knew it or not.

We both noticed the baristas starting to clean up the coffee shop, and Alexa looked at me and said, "Looks like they're about to close."

"Let's head out," I responded, and started to stand up.

This can't be the end of our night. At least I hope not.

I wasn't even hoping to hook up with Alexa. I mean, of course I wouldn't have minded that. But I wanted to spend more time with her. Talk to her. Now that I was here with her again, I didn't want to let her go.

Alexa held the door for me as we walked out of the shop, and we fell into step next to each other as we headed toward the parking lot.

"Where are you staying?" I asked Alexa.

"A hotel not too far from here, just for a couple of nights. The other four nights I'm going to spend at Macy's. She didn't want me to have to pay for a hotel my whole trip, but I didn't want to crash her place the whole time. So, we came to a compromise."

"That's really nice of her to let you stay at her place."

"It is. Saves me a few hundred dollars. Though, to be honest, I would've spent that and more to see you again, May."

Alexa stopped in her tracks to face me and caught my gaze.

"You really mean that?" I asked her.

She nodded, "One hundred percent."

I swallowed nervously before asking, "Do you want to keep on hanging out tonight? I'd hate for the night to end here."

"I'd like nothing more."

I couldn't help but smile, and Alexa said, "I've missed that smile of yours."

"I've missed you. Everything about you," I found myself saying back to her.

Alexa paused before asking me, "Do you want to come back to my hotel room? Not in that way, just to spend more time together. We could go to a bar, but I wouldn't mind it being just us two."

I nodded, "I'll follow you back to your hotel. I'd like for it to be just the two of us as well."

Alexa and I reached our cars, and she said, "Alright, I'll see you back at the hotel."

I nodded, and to my surprise, Alexa pulled me in for another hug. This time, I could hear her heart hammering.

I knew that we were both feeling it.

I followed Alexa back to her hotel, and we walked in together and headed to her room. She took my hand in hers as we walked to her room.

"This is a really nice hotel," I looked around.

"I figured I would treat myself for a couple of nights. At Macy's I'll be sleeping on a pull out bed."

Alexa and I walked into her hotel room, and she closed the door behind her. There was one large, single bed in the middle of the room. Her open suitcase was on the floor, still packed pretty much all the way.

We sat down on the bed, our knees touching. With it being just the two of us now, it felt much more intimate suddenly.

Alexa once again took my hand in hers, and we looked at each other.

"How did you feel when you saw that picture of my ex and I on Instagram?" she asked me.

"Can I be honest with my answer?"

"I'd prefer it," Alexa chuckled.

"I really wanted to be happy for you. I was happy for you. It's just...at the same time I felt like it should've been me."

Alexa's gaze softened, and she said quietly, "It should have been you the whole time."

I knew that I was being open and leaving myself in a vulnerable place as I responded, "I've thought about you so much these past months that we haven't talked. Yes, I was just in a relationship, and I know you were too. But I've never been able to get past you."

"Same here," Alexa admitted, "It caused problems in my relationship with Carrie."

"What kinds of problems?"

"She felt like I wasn't being as open with her as I should have been, and she was probably right. I knew in the back of my mind that it was because I was not over you."

I was quiet for a moment before saying, "Isn't it crazy how we dated for just three months before you moved, and now we're here a year later? Still not over each other."

"I would've never expected it, but I wouldn't change it for the world. I wouldn't change meeting you for the world."

Alexa ran her knuckles over my hand, and the sensation sent shivers down my spine.

I turned to look at her, "What do we do from here?"

Alexa gazed at me with her bright blue eyes and asked with no uncertainty to her tone, like she knew my answer, "Well, it depends...do you want me, May?"

My breath hitched as I nodded, "Yes, I do. I don't want to fuck things up this time."

Alexa now took my hand in hers as said, "Then let's not fuck things up. I understand that we were scared the first time around. You had gotten out of a relationship not long before, I was just about to move. However, I think it says a lot that after all this time, we haven't been able to move past each other."

"I think it says everything. We're not meant to let each other go."

"How about this?" Alexa suggested, "We spend time together as much as possible this week. At the end of this week, if you're comfortable with it, we can plan a trip for you to come visit me out in Arizona. So we know when we're going to see each other next. Then, we take it from there."

"I think that sounds perfect," I smiled at Alexa. For the first time in a long time, everything felt right.

I wasn't planning on sleeping with Alexa that night, but as she started whispering sweet nothings in my ear, telling me how she'd missed me, I couldn't help myself.

I needed her mouth on mine, her body on mine.

Our first kiss after all the time apart felt like our souls connecting again. As I wrapped my arms around her, and her hand pulled me in by my waist as our lips met, sparks flew. More than sparks. Fireworks.

I didn't wind up leaving Alexa's hotel room until 2:30 AM, and I had work at 8:30 the next morning, but I did not care at all. Seeing Alexa was completely worth it.

When Alexa wasn't spending time with her friends that week, and I wasn't at work, we were together. I even took off work that Friday to spend the day with her. I wanted to cherish this time we had in person together now that our connection was so strong again.

Alexa was leaving to go back to Arizona that Monday morning, and on the Saturday before, we planned my trip to Arizona.

We sat in the second bedroom of Macy's apartment, on the pull out bed, planning my trip. I was going to visit Alexa in exactly four weeks, for a week. We even planned a mini trip to Sedona for two days within those seven days that I would be in Arizona.

"This is going to be amazing," Alexa smiled at me, "I'm so excited for you to visit me already."

Alexa's flight was during when I had work on Monday, so I wasn't able to take her to the airport. However, on Sunday night I saw her, and she gave me a long kiss before I left.

"Fuck, I'm going to miss you," I said, giving her a hug.

"Same here, of course, but we'll be seeing each other in a month. Nothing is going to stop us this time, I promise," Alexa hugged me back.

This time as I drove back to my house after saying "goodbye" to Alexa, I wasn't crying. I was excited for what was to come with her, and hopeful for what we had.

I think things are only going to go up from here.