His Hope

Part 25: Hope

25

Xavier pulled out Louisa's seat and helped her from her chair, before leading her to a rug that was placed a few feet away from them. He pulled out a remote and a second later music started playing from somewhere around them. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She looked absolutely radiant tonight, she was wearing a white dress and she still had very little makeup on, but her hair was curled and tucked behind one ear.

"Did I tell you how fucking unbelievably perfect you look tonight?" He swallowed hard as he felt that same nervous flip in his stomach that he had the first day he met her. He planned an entire evening for their first date the weekend after their camping expedition.

"Many times," Louisa chuckled, placing her hand softly on his own as he began to lead them in a dance, "but thank you."

Glancing around the place they were having dinner again, she couldn't help but smile. What he had done for her was incredible. They were in Xavier's town, by the pond where he had told her she was his soulmate. Fairy lights danced through the trees all around them and he had somehow gotten candles to float across the water. The table they were sitting at previously was fit for a Queen and he had done nothing short of making her feel like that is exactly what she was tonight. They ate ravioli for dinner, her mother had taught Xavier how to prepare it. As well as cupcakes the kids had made for them, wanting to contribute to their night. She didn't ask but she knew everyone had helped out with this and it made her feel extremely special.

"How did I get so lucky?" She gushed her eyes trailing up to her boyfriend while he squeezed her hand in his own.

"Shouldn't I be the one saying that?" He smiled down at her, holding her close.

"Did you think this is where we'd end up when we first met?" She said quietly, laying her head on his chest.

"You know the first day I met you, I was blown away. Here was this small girl, with so much hope in her eyes. I hadn't experienced it in so long, I found myself wishing maybe you would share a the tiniest bit with me." He said as he swayed with her to the music.

Louisa stopped and raised her head so she could look at him fully under the faint lights surrounding them. She knew at this point she shouldn't be shocked by the way he spoke of her, but it still amazed her. He held so much admiration towards her and she had done her to best to remind him of how special he was in her eyes. He saw a light, a hope in her, and she would be that for him, no questions asked.

Her whole life she had felt things so deeply, but no other man had made her feel the way she does when she's with Xavier. He was right when he said soulmates are real, not only did he capture her heart, but her soul had been with him since the moment they met. They were connected in a way, that whether it was 2 hours or 100 days, it felt like a lifetime.

Xavier knew from the start that he would give everything in him, to protect everything good in her. So in those early days when she took his hand or when he caressed her, it was only natural, covered and protected by nerves and the fear of the unknown. As he turned to her now, he knew she would forever be his as he was hers. That light that he saw in her shown brightly and he would keep his promise of never letting that light burn out.

"I love you," they said together, smiling underneath the stars in the sky as if they held a secret no one else knew, before pressing their lips together and sealing their forever with a kiss.