I have never published senior housing fiction before, actually I am not sure I have ever seen senior housing fiction before.  What you think.  Do you want more?  –  Steve Moran, Publisher

She was stunning. A natural beauty with classic features that turned heads and stopped hearts wherever she went. He was still having trouble accepting the fact that she had spent the entire day with him. As they sailed, her hair gently caught the shimmering light of a waning sunset; dancing with the breeze like those scenes in every romantic movie he’d ever watched. She was laughing now, at something witty he had just said. He loved being able to make her laugh. It made him feel so…alive.

His 30-something year-old frame, lean and muscular, trembled at her touch. She reached out and lightly stroked his fingers; he was completely intoxicated with her. He felt invincible…right here, right now, with her. The future of their relationship mirrored by the ocean-bordered horizon painted before them; sailing towards an unknown destination that was less important than the beauty of their journey.

They chased the sunset together.

Their eyes met and locked into each other’s for a brief eternity, both gazing into the endless possibilities of a future together. He soaked her in, her gaze captivating his mind and his soul. He could swear the light and warmth he felt came not from the setting sun, but from her. He wanted so much to tell her how he felt, but fear of exposing his heart bound him. He didn’t want to appear too anxious, too needy. He didn’t want her to think that he was moving too fast, and –

She kissed him.

“I love you, Thomas. I hope that doesn’t scare you…but I do.”

His breath failed him. He kissed her back, passionately.

He was certain that there was nothing that could possibly make this moment more perfect than it was. He thought to himself, “I can’t believe I found her…my soul mate, the woman I’ve always longed for, the woman with whom I want to spend all the days of my life. She’s the woman who has brought life to my days.”

He could see into the future in that moment, her touch brought such clarity of mind; marriage, children and a life built together full of fun and laughter and love and good times and bad, and challenges and successes, arguments and embraces…his mind and heart raced with all of it. In that moment, he felt as if he was experiencing the events of their life together simultaneously, oddly as if it wasn’t their future, but their history. He noted the oddity of that. Deja vu?

“You’re the other part of…me,” he fumbled on the words. “Jayne, it’s like you’re the other part of who I am, and who I want to become for you.”

She whispered back, “Thomas… I want to ask you something, but I want you be honest with me. I don’t want you to feel any pressure, I just…”

He cut her off, “I love you, Jayne.” He couldn’t stop the words if he’d wanted to, they would have exploded in his head. He had to say it, it would have been ugly otherwise, what with all those letters and punctuation marks flying out of his exploding skull, oozing with grey matter.

“So that’s it,” he thought. “I’m all in now…may as well go for broke.”

“Jayne, I…I want us to be together, always. I want this. I want us. I’m so absolutely sure about this. I’ve always loved you – I don’t know how, but…I knew I would find you. I…I swear, I don’t know how, but I did. I knew you were out here, waiting for me, and I always knew that I’d find you. I love you.” He paused…then started again.

“I’m rambling aren’t I? Don’t answer. I am, I know that I am. And you’re not saying anything, so I must still be rambling, aren’t I? And now it’s dawning on me, that this is your plan. You’re just going to stare at me and allow me to babble on – to twist in the wind of discomfort and embarrassment, to humiliate myself with an unceasing barrage of meaningless words, and the occasional – undeniably – witty quips. You’re a bit of a sadist aren’t you, well, Missy, let me tell you, that –”

“Shut up and kiss me,” she mercifully whispered to him. He was smart enough to comply.

“Thomas, I never want this moment to end…I want us to…to -”

Angry bright light exploded all around him. . . .

You can read the second half here