The following evening, after all of her meetings, Cassidy went back to her room and plunked herself down on the couch, exhausted.
“What a trip,” she sighed.
She hadn’t heard from AJ since their lunch the day before. In a way she was surprised, she thought he would at least try to call her.
“Well, maybe I got through to him. He knows as well as I do that everything I said was right”.
As much as she couldn’t wait to get home to Kyle, she was afraid to leave Florida. She couldn’t help but think that once she left, she would probably never see or hear from AJ again. She couldn’t stop the tears from flowing once again.
“Come on, Cassidy, knock it off. You know it’s for the best”.
She wiped her eyes and looked over at the clock.
“I want to talk to my baby before he goes to bed. Plus, I need a little sisterly advice,” she said to herself, referring to Alissa.
She picked up the phone and dialed her number. Alissa answered.
“Hey girl! How’s the trip going?”
“Crazy, as usual,” she chuckled.
“Ready to come home tomorrow?”
“Oh yeah, I miss you guys. How’s Kyle?”
“He wasn’t feeling well today, he’s already fast asleep in bed”.
“What’s wrong? Why doesn’t he feel well?” Cassidy panicked.
“Just a little stomach flu, he’ll be fine. Don’t worry”.
“I wanted to talk to him before he went to bed,” her voice fell.
“Cassidy, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. What makes you think something’s wrong?” She lied.
“I’m your sister. I know when something’s wrong. Now spill”.
Cassidy thought for a minute. She didn’t know where to start. She took a deep breath and spoke.
“I met someone...” “Really? Who? Tell me!” Alissa cut her off.
“It doesn’t matter, Alissa, we’re too different. Our lives...they just don’t mesh.”
“Cassidy Elizabeth, listen to me. You have been single now for over 3 years, it has nothing to do with the two of you being too different, it has to do with you being afraid. You can’t live like that. You can’t run away because you don’t want to get hurt. You have to take a chance”.
“I can’t, I just can’t,” she answered, starting to cry.
“Tell me something, do you love him?”
“I don’t know, we just met, I can’t love him”.
“You know, and it doesn’t matter that you just met. When you meet your soul mate, you just know. It’s something you feel deep inside”.
Cassidy couldn’t say anything, all she could do was cry.
“I’m so scared Alissa,” she sobbed.
“I know you are. Love is a very scary thing. It’s terrifying when you realize that there is something so powerful, so much bigger than you, and all you can do is give in to it, because if you don’t you may never get another chance”.
“What do I do now?”
“I wish I could tell you, sweetie, but this is something you have to decide on your own. I’m here for you, but I can’t tell you what to do or make the decision for you”.
Cassidy stopped crying and wiped her eyes. “I just need to think about things, I guess. I’m gonna go for a walk”.
“Okay, if you need me, just give me a call”.
“Okay, I love you”.
“I love you, too, sweetheart. Take care and remember what I said. I’ll see you tomorrow”.
Cassidy hung up the phone and sat back on the couch. She was so confused she didn’t know what to do. There were so many things going through her head, she didn’t even know where to begin sorting them out. She grabbed her room key and walked out the door.
As she walked along the beach, she did everything to try to clear her head. She tried to not think about AJ, but the more she tried not to, the more he consumed her every thought. She was so preoccupied with thoughts of him, she swore that the man in the distance heading towards her was AJ.
“Wait a minute,” she said to herself as the man got closer. “That IS AJ”.
She stopped walking and turned around. She wasn’t ready to talk to him, she was too emotional right now.
“Cassidy! Please talk to me,” he yelled after her. She didn’t know why, but without thinking, she stopped and turned around.
“What are you doing here, Alex?”
“I was in the area,” he lied, hoping that she didn’t get mad at him for being there. He didn’t live anywhere near the hotel, but he had hoped to see her.
“I tried to call you, but there was no answer, so I thought I’d take a walk along the beach to clear my head. It’s funny how we think the same”.
“Why are you doing this to me?” she felt like she was going to start crying.
“I just...I-I don’t know. I know you’re leaving tomorrow morning, I couldn’t let you leave like this”.
“Like what, Alex? It’s not like we had a relationship or anything. We had lunch, that was it”.
“You know that’s not all it was,” he looked her in the eye.
He even surprised himself that he said that.
“Alex, this is crazy. First of all, you have a girlfriend. Second of all, I live in Indiana, you live in Florida. We are too different, it wouldn't work”.
He looked away from her and sighed. He sat down in the sand and rested his forehead on his arm.
“I know you’re probably right. I don’t know what to do. I just have such strong feelings for you, I know it’s crazy, but I can’t just let this go”.
She looked down at him and fought the urge to bend down and wrap her arms around him. She sat down next to him in the sand. They sat looking out at the ocean in silence for a few minutes, neither of them knowing what to say. Finally, Cassidy spoke.
“So, um, where is your girlfriend anyway?”
“She’s in Cancun,” he said softly.
“Okaaay,” Cassidy said, puzzled.
“Let me explain our relationship. We’ve been together on and off for about 3 years. At first, it was great. Over time, though, she got more and more wrapped up in money and material things. We pretty much fell apart, but I couldn’t break up with her. I felt like I needed her there, she was like a bad habit. There are absolutely no feelings between us anymore. We just give each other what we both want”.
“And what is that?”
“She wants all the material things, house, cars, fancy jewelry, trips...”
“And what do you want?”
He paused for a minute. “Security...companionship..."
"What about love?"
He let out a small chuckle. "Love", he reiterated. "I don't know.."
"You don't want someone to love you?"
"I want someone who loves me for who I am, not for what I can give them,” he admitted.
Cassidy was shocked, not because she didn’t know any of these things, but because she DID. She looked over at him and couldn’t help but feel sorry for him, she didn’t pity him or anything like that, she just wished she could tell him that SHE wanted to be the one that was there for him, SHE wanted to love him. She leaned over, put her arm around him and leaned her head on his shoulder.
“Cassidy?” he said softly.
“Yeah?”
“I want to thank you again for your letter”.
She lifted her head from his shoulder. “You don’t have to thank me”.
“Yes, I do. Your letter made me realize what’s important, what I want in a relationship: unconditional love.”
“That’s what you deserve, Alex. You deserve someone that loves you for you, someone that loves you unconditionally, regardless of what you do for a living or how much money you make.”
She looked directly at him as she lightly brushed the hair above his ear with her finger.
“I know, I thought I would never find that though..” his voice trailed off.
Cassidy didn’t know what to say, she felt that if she opened her mouth, she would end up revealing her true feelings. AJ got up and sat back down behind her, one leg on each side of her. He pulled her back against his chest and noticed that she was trembling. He wrapped his arms around her as she listened to his heart beating.
“What are you thinking?” He whispered in her ear.
She closed her eyes and tried to think of something to say.
“What are we doing, Alex?” She asked, looking up at him.
He looked down at her and took a deep breath. The words seemed to flow more naturally then he ever thought possible.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m falling in love,” he whispered as he caressed her cheek.
She looked up at him, unsure of what to say. A part of her told her they were moving way too fast, another part of her told her that she was feeling the same way.
They looked deeply into each other’s eyes. All the feelings of fear and uncertainty were wiped away. Suddenly, nothing else mattered but the two of them in that moment.
He cupped her chin in his hand, then slowly leaned down and tenderly brought her lips to his. Cassidy couldn’t fight it any longer, her feelings for him were too strong.
The moment she felt his lips on hers, she knew it was too late to turn back.

Chapter 11
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