A girl with beautiful dark brown locks sat silently against the window of one of the first class rows in the airplane. She had ear buds in and was nodding her head along to her favorite songs as she rested away the five-hour flight.

Dash was originally from California. She had grown up there until graduating high school. Though her sweet, loving boyfriend had stayed back home, Dash had followed her dreams after being accepted to a university on the east coast of America. It was far enough away where the two couldn’t simply drive down the road to see each other.

Their relationship lived on through webcam conversations and constant texting, but it wasn’t the same. Both Dash and her boyfriend missed each other greatly in the years she was at school. Though it was now two and a half years since she’d begun her classes, the college girl had been focused on her schooling and hadn’t been able to visit home other than a few days during the holiday season.

Sitting on the plane, she couldn’t believe how amazing her boyfriend was. He had stayed faithful to her for the years she’d been gone, even going so far as to buy her the tickets to fly home and back to school within the days of her break. Not just any tickets, these were first class! She couldn’t believe how she’d been lucky enough to grab a guy like him, but Dash wasn’t complaining.

“Attention all passengers and crew, please fasten your seatbelts and stow your bags in preparation for landing.” Dash’s soft brown eyes glowed as she felt the plane’s wheels touching solid ground before gradually coming to a rest and turning to one of the gates lining the long terminal ahead.

As soon as the plane reached the appropriate gate, Dash was on her feet. She had eagerly stuffed her things together in the last half hour of the flight, knowing she’d want to get off as quickly as possible.

“Excuse me, thank you; sorry sir, didn’t see you there; thanks so much, ma’am,” she chattered as she pushed her way to the front. A smile graced her face as first one foot, and then the other stepped into the tunnel leading to the terminal. Dash raced to the baggage area as the first class bags came pouring out, picking out her own immediately and looking for signs to the pick-up area.

Heart pounding and breath coming in short gasps, Dash halted just around the corner from where her boyfriend had texted to say he’d be waiting. She wanted to calm her nerves and steady her steps before greeting him for the first time in so, so long.

It’s only a few seconds before she hears her name being called, and the girl glances around to see a familiar boy standing at the edge of the security line, waving.

“Dash! Is that you? What are you waiting for; get over here!”

Scrambling for her things, she runs to him and her boyfriend grips her tightly as she buries her body in his. She can feel him shifting before her body is floating, and she realizes he picked her up and is spinning her around, like a movie scene.

“Put me down, you idiot! People are staring.” He only chuckled at her, resting his forehead on hers and touching their noses gently.

“It’s so great to have you in my arms again, Dash. I’ve missed you.”

 She grinned back at him, squeezing her arms around his neck. “As I missed you, Liam.”

Liam reached for her bags, ignoring her protests that she was perfectly able to carry them herself and flinging them into his car. He took hold of her hand, twining their fingers together in his lap as he drove.

“So, what’s new around here?” Dash questioned.

“It’s been so long. I’ve got some awesome new friends for you to meet! The boys’ names are Harry, Louis, Zayn, and Niall. Zayn’s got a girl named Perrie and Harry’s with Louis.”

“I’m so proud of you, Li! Making friends all on your own, who would’ve imagined it,” she joked. “I can’t wait to meet them. I trust you, so I know they’ll be great people.”

Liam’s chocolate eyes were soft as he gazed over at his girlfriend. He had missed her sorely for the past two and a half years, and he was hoping desperately that his friends wouldn’t mention his pining. It was something he felt a girl would do, and he didn’t want to seem un-manly in front of Dash.

It was then that Dash noticed a difference in their driving path. “Why didn’t you take a left there?”

“Oh, did I forget to tell you that I moved? My house wasn’t close enough for the commute to and from the campus each day, so I moved into a house with some of my friends,” he explained.

“You did! Does that mean I’ll be meeting them sooner?” Dash asked excitedly.

“Nah, sorry. I was afraid they’d interrupt my plans, so I sent them out until later tonight. You’ll get to meet them though, I promise.”

A few minutes later, they arrived at his house. It was on the edge of a beautiful beach. The happy re-united couple walked inside to change into swimwear. While waiting for Liam to finish up, Dash found herself out back and was surprised by a small garden.

“Li? I didn’t know you were a gardener,” she teased.

He smirked. “That’s because it’s not mine. That’s all for Harry. The guy insists that he needs to make all of his own meals and that they all need to be healthy, so he grows his own ingredients. Don’t even ask how I managed to find a guy like that and befriend him.” Laughing, he pushed past his girl and ran for the spiral staircase at the other end of the garden. “Race you to the beach!”

The two had a fun time chasing each other around in the sand. They would get close to the water and then turn and dart away as the waves swept in and out. The sun beat down on Liam and Dash as they lay together just above the highest line of incoming waves, staring up at the sky.

“Look, it’s a rabbit,” Liam pointed overhead.

Dash giggled. “No, silly. It’s obviously a deer!”

Their games continued the entire afternoon. When it grew colder, Liam called to his girlfriend and drew her closer to his body as he stepped cautiously out toward the sea, feet dragging in the tide.

“What are you doing?” She asked warily.

“Come here, trust me,” he urged. Dash followed him as he went slowly out farther until the water went up to his knees. It was there that he turned and pulled the girl into a tight hug, the waves splashing about at their feet, but the people above happily in love. Their embrace needed no words; they could feel the happiness radiating from each of their bodies at being back together.

“I want you all the time, Dash. Just like this. I want us to be tangled together. I want to wake up to your face every morning and brush the stray hairs behind your ear.” His fingers moved up, as if to prove his point. “I want to be the one that’s always on your mind. I want to know you’ll always be mine, because I’ll always be yours, no matter what. Nobody can take you away from me. I want your love for the rest of my life. I want the happiness only you can give me, and the pleasure I feel when I look into your eyes. I know everything’s okay with you beside me.” Speech finished, he rested his head against her shoulder to kiss her neck gently.

“I want it all the same,” Dash gasped, “and I always will. You can have me for as long as you need me, Liam. The only place I’m going is school, but we can work through it. We’ve already made it through more than half; we’ll finish the rest. All I need to know is that you’ll be here waiting for me. That’s good enough.”

The two stayed there until the sun had almost set. The beach was dark, and the only reason the shore was visible was the stars beginning to shine out above. There was barely a strip of light sky left.

“I love you, Liam,” Dash spoke quite softly.

“I love you too, darling,” he responded.

Of course, they had to be interrupted by something. Or rather, a bunch of someones. A mass of male body parts toppled over in front of Dash, right into the water. She was wise enough to let go before she was dragged down underneath.

“Liam!” Voices shouted, but nobody knew which people they came from.

“Hey, hey, settle down, boys! Did you really have to do that? You almost got her all wet!” He struggled to his feet, trying desperately to brush the sand off and squeeze the water from his soaking clothing.

A boy with wildly curly hair popped up as well. “Hello, you must be the famous Dash. I’m Harry Styles, nice to meet you.” He grinned and winked cheekily.

“Don’t you go flirting with my girl,” Liam wrapped an arm around her protectively.

Dash was introduced to Liam’s other roommates before everyone decided to head inside, away from the cold, dark, and wet sea. The newcomers went to change quickly before seating themselves on the large plush couch, staring at Dash as she waited for Liam to return.

She was surprised at how quickly she’d grown tired since the others had arrived. It was as if they’d flipped a switch. She could tell Liam had sat down beside her body, but her eyes were closing and vision blurry as she rested on his chest.

“It looks like I’ve tired her out, boys. You’ll have to meet her and introduce her to Perrie tomorrow.”

Harry stood, smirking. “What, are you going to take her upstairs and make her even more tired?” Liam blushed furiously, shaking his head and glaring at the younger boy.

“Ignore him,” he rolled his eyes as Louis gave his boyfriend a high-five. “And don’t bother us again.”

As they were lying on the bed, bodies perfectly entwined and hearts pressed together, beating for each other, Dash sighed. “I’ve missed you,” she said once again. “You feel like comfort, warmth, and love. You feel like home, Liam.”

And Liam only smiled and pressed a loving kiss to her forehead. “Welcome home, love. Sleep tight.” The two knew that, no matter the distance, they’d always find their way back together.

True love knows no boundaries.