[Aug 16]

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My stomach twisted nervously, my arm now a mechanical motion as it ran the brush through my hair once again. It was hard to believe he wanted to see me. Me.

I was halfway around the world. Why wasn't he pursuing someone closer? Someone in his country? Why me?

A deep frown formed as the crease in my hair refused to vanish. I had worn it up in a ponytail for the last few days and despite the straight tendency my dark brown locks had, the damn crease wouldn't disappear.

I'm sure you'll look beautiful regardless...

His words echoed in my mind. A part of me quivered in fear at exposing myself like this to him. Did I really want to do this? Why did I feel like I owed him, at the very least, a face to face conversation? There was no logical reason and yet...I was compelled to. I needed to see him too.

From my bedroom, the sound of an incoming call on Discord reverberated off the walls and into the small apartment. The sudden noise nearly knocked me over in surprise. A rush of adrenaline flooded my system at the thought of finally setting eyes on my PvP partner.

With one last tug through my hair, I hoisted my hair back onto the top of my head before I made a b-line to the desktop. The steady drum in my ears had reached a crescendo by the time I found myself in front of the monitor.

My fingers trembled on the mouse, my cursor hovering over the green accept call phone. The question I had been asking myself the past ten minutes drifted through my head a final time. Was I ready for this?

Instead of the pessimistic inner voice parroting all my insecurities, it simply whispered finally.

I clicked before I even realized my finger twitched on the mouse and within seconds there he was.

God could I be any more out of my league.

He was the embodiment of masculinity. Or at least in my eyes. His sandy brown hair was disheveled as if he had just woken up. His jaw was firm - square - but not so much that it gave the impression of having a block for ahead. Like a Greek God almost. Strong, masculine and radiated that of a powerful man.

The surge of electricity that shot through my body as our eyes connected caught me off-guard. It was the last thing I expected, along with the puddle my innards morphed into the moment his lips curved upward.

"Nice to finally meet you, Tabitha."

Warmth. Everything about him radiated it. Like a cozy fire nestled in a quaint fireplace. He made me feel comfortable, at home. If his curb appeal didn't affect your heart rate then his smile would.

How could one individual luck out so immensely when it came to attracting the opposite sex?

"Your eyes are very blue." I blurted, caught in the trance his sky blue eyes trapped me in.

He chuckled and ran his hand through his hair. Could I not get a break? He was like an adorable child who had learned to manipulate adults by exploiting its cuteness.

"Have to admit, those weren't the first words I imagined you saying."

The heat flooded to my face the instant the words left his mouth. Stupid! Of course he knows the color of his eyes. Mortified I sat there, still like stone, or maybe a tree. I could feel the slight sway my body made. As if to warn me I teetered at the edge of a very tall, very dangerous cliff.

We sat there in front of our screens just staring at the other. Thousands of miles apart and somehow we found ourselves here, at this moment. It felt surreal to me. What were the odds? And how long could this possibly last?

His eyes seemed to pierce through me, his gaze slowly warming me. Melting away the wall of ice I threw up only days ago. He refused to break the intense eye contact we held and I didn't want him to. He looked at me like I was the only person in the world. The only one that mattered.

Any sain person would have shut down their computer already. Cut their losses and move on. I had to be losing my mind if I believed anything he's said up until this point.

"I am so extremely sorry for everything."

It was a statement wrapped in affirmation that knocked the wind right out of me. I tried to suppress the tsunami of emotions that washed over me as my mind tried to process what he'd just said. But the simple phrase, what if, circled instead.

"I didn't think you were serious..." I mumbled, shock still coursing through me.

He studied me for a moment, there was no other explanation for the time he took to watch me. He seemed somber like he were about to drop a truth bomb that would level me to my knees. They were the kind I was used to. The kind that left you cut off from the rest of the world. Alone and by yourself. In a nutshell, that was my childhood.

I could handle it as a kid. I wasn't so sure if I could now.

"I take you very seriously Tabitha." He assured, his eyes locked with my own. "You're very important to me."

It was one thing to read the words on a screen. Lord only knows how those alone made my stomach flutter with possibilities. To see him speak them didn't compare. He was right about one thing, eye contact mattered.

Speechless.

The man had rendered me speechless with a single sentence. He said it in the exact way his eyes gazed at me. I wanted to fight it, to stand my ground but a part of me screamed YOLO. I wanted to jump, despite how hard I may hit the ground.

"Prove it." I challenged, not sure if he would decode it as a green light or a cautionary phrase. God, I hoped he accepted this challenge.

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