Every New Beginning... (Chris Evans AU)

.23.

Opal POV

I had every intention of opening the door and calling after him, running into his arms that I'm sure would be waiting for me. And yet instead, my fingers turned the lock, essentially pushing Chris further away from me.

My hand rests on the lock as the conflict wages between my head and my heart. The desires of my heart in a battle with the logic from my brain.

"Throw out the math and logic, Opal," I repeat his words he said just mere moments ago.

   Could Chris be right? Three different times we happen to be in the same place at the same time. Could our lives be tangled for a reason? Three hundred miles. Six hours by car. One hour by plane. Who knows when I'd see him again? Can I even do an actual relationship? Logically, none of this makes any sense to me.

Logic be damned.

My fingers flip the lock once again, before I pull open the door, shouting. "Chris!"

He's halfway to the back patio now, but stops and turns at the sound of my voice. I walk quickly towards him. He still stands, frozen in place. I've given him no reason to not fear that I won't become skittish and run away. But for now, in this moment, I'm running towards him instead of away.

"Did you mean it?" I ask walking closer to him.

"Mean what exactly? I said a lot of things, Opal."

"Any of it? Did you mean any of it?" I ask again, getting closer.

"I meant every word, of every thing, I said to you," he tells me, still unmoving to meet me, but gazing directly into my own eyes.

I stop my progression, standing just three feet in front of him. "You want to know all about me? The good, and the bad? You'll go back without anything more?"

Chris doesn't waiver his stance or his gaze. "Every. Single. Thing." He punctuates each word, an attempt to drive home his statements from earlier.

"This can't be anything more than that," I tell him. "I don't want to be with you, then you learn things and you leave me. I know myself well enough to know I can't handle someone else leaving me."

He takes a step closer to me. "All I'm asking for is to get to know you. To really get to know you, at your own pace. I know it's not going to be easy, for either of us, but please, just let me in." His tone is even, no longer loud or intense the way it was in the carriage house.

I take another step towards him, leaving a mere foot between us.  "Ask me again. Once more," I request.

There's a slow smile beginning to build on his lips. He knows exactly what I'm asking for. "Opal, can I get your number?"

  My eyes find his again, the vision of longing mirroring my own. "Yes." 

  "Give me your phone." I say before my brain straightens out and I change my mind again. I watch him waste no time at all reach into his pocket and bring his phone to my outstretched hand. I quickly punch my number into his phone, labeling my name as 'Jewel' from one of our first conversations. 

   I bring his phone to my chest when I'm finished, holding it there. "Please, don't make me regret this, Chris," I say with my eyes closed again, begging him. 

   I suddenly feel his arms wrap around me, bringing me to his chest tightly. "No regrets, I promise you," he whispers over the top of my head.

   We remain this way, holding one another desperately, under the bright light of the near full moon. As I softly cry, Chris peppers my hair with faint kisses, breathing multiple sighs of relief. It takes everything in me to start to pull back, knowing he needs to rest for his trip tomorrow. "Not yet," he says bringing me back to him. I find myself smiling into his shoulder. "I want to remember what you feel like in my arms. It has to last until I can do it again."