"And then he kissed me"

So, the Beautiful Human Being (BHB) called! Butterflies hit. I guess you can have  them at any age. He advised he had a free day, asked if it would work to meet for coffee. I had a lunch commitment and said meeting before or after would work. I jokingly said he could come to lunch with me — a group lunch with friends. That was the option he picked. 

I gulped, swore and group-texted I was bringing a plus-one. I was prepared to introduce him to people in my world without having been on an official date yet. 

I wasn’t worried he’d fit in. I knew he would. And he did. It was easy conversation, laughter, a soft getting together. At the end, we went back to his truck to come back to my place. Before driving, he turned to me, smiled and said he had a great time. And then he kissed me.

The kiss was warm, natural, sweet. A hint of promise, of what I wasn’t sure. It felt good, natural, right. 

It felt like a possibility, a beginning. It felt like right now and tomorrow. It felt like these lips were meant to find me, to claim me and awaken me.

Corny, right? However I’m not sure how to describe kissing a man who I’ve felt like I’ve known for many lifetimes. Bottomless passion tempered with simple sweetness.

We spent the rest of the day sitting on swings and sharing stories. We walked back to my place after and he asked if he could spend the night, fully clothed. I said yes — yes to being held, yes to continuing conversation, words that tumbled from both of us as we both rushed and quieted minds, hearts and souls.

When he left the next morning, I missed him like he’s been with me for many, many moments.

It would be the start of something magical if I let it be. Or it would simply be a moment in time if I chose. Would I choose to flex my beautifully curated life to allow this BHB in? Or keep the walls to my heart guarded and deny myself the opportunity to love?