I swim lap after lap in the pool until the paced, measured breathing quiets my busy mind.

I knock on his door. He opens it and takes in my drowned appearance. My jacket and leggings soaked with rain and a puddle forming around me. My cheeks, though, my cheeks rosy and an honest smile on my face.

“Oh, dear,” he laments. “Hold on. Give me your jacket. I can’t hug you yet.”

Later, I lay with him on the couch, the TV on in the background, the rain falling outside in a steady drizzle. My body is pressed all against his, our legs intertwined, our torsos touching from hips to shoulders, and my nose tucked under his chin.

This moment is bliss. A calm, peaceful comfort. His hand rubs absentminded circles on my back. After all of the chaos, all of the nervous unknowing, and all of the courageous gestures to open my heart, I am rewarded with this. My heart might explode from being so full.

“You are my matching puzzle piece,” I tell him, “because we…”