I wrote this very short story in 2019… when he and I moved in together. It’s so clearly about he and I, I don’t even remember writing it.

She stared out into the darkness as they sat on their hotel balcony. She was sitting next to the man of her dreams but felt lonelier than ever. She took a sip of her wine. She tried not to let the tears show in her eyes. Josh looked over at her, “Ready for bed?” he said.

She sighed. Even on vacation it was the same routine. “I’ll be in in a moment. I just need a few minutes,” Alice replied.

“Sounds good, see you in there.”

As soon as the sliding glass door closed and Josh was out of sight, she let herself cry. She couldn’t believe it had been a year and he couldn’t say he loved her. He wouldn’t hold her hand in public, he never kissed her first unless he wanted sex. Yet she loved him and didn’t know why.

He was kind and funny, especially when it was just the two of them. He devoted a lot of time and gifts to their relationship but he was rarely affectionate and never said the words she so badly needed to hear.

She just wanted him to come home from work one day and hug and kiss her and tell her she was beautiful.

She wanted to be kissed like he was passionately in love with her. She wanted to hear the words “I love you” more than anything. She needed to hear those words.