It was only when Ruby Gregory felt like she was running out of oxygen that Steve Burton finally let her go. He then pulled her tightly into his embrace, lowering his head and burying it in the crook of her neck. "Ruby, I like you, and I have liked you for over 20 years."
-Ruby, I like you.
-Ruby, I like you.
-Ruby, I like you, I've liked you for over 20 years...
Ruby pondered these three sentences over and over before she understood what Steve had just told her.
He actually liked her... and he had liked her for over 20 years...
She stood there frozen, as if her acupoint had been tapped, with her blood seemingly stopped flowing and her ears unable to hear any sound.
In Steve's solitary days, he would often dream at night of holding her in his arms, only to wake up holding either a soft quilt or the pillow she had slept on. The familiar scents of her in his dreams were nothing but illusions, replaced by a refreshing mint aroma in the real world.
