My Little Secret

(Ivan Radcliffe)

I was always a very romantic person when it came to relationships. For me, relationships weren't about the number of gifts we gave each other or how expensive the restaurant we went on a date to, was. The quality time that we spent together, the quality of memories we made, the passion when we made love, these were the things that mattered to me.

Catherine, was a gem, but she wasn't like me entirely. As the days passed by, it seemed as if she had gone accustomed to me. I never wanted to bore her in the relationship so I always made sure I spiced things up now and then. She always did appreciate it and I loved her for that. But there was always something that didn't feel right. It was an empty feeling in the corner of my heart.

Sometimes, I couldn't quite express what I felt with Catherine. We hardly fought over things; our relationship was very smooth. Most people called us the "power duo", seeing how successful we both were.

We were at my apartment having dinner. I put up her favorite candles around, Vanilla. There was soft music in the background as well, a collection of her favorite songs. They were hardly any romantic ones in the list, so I included a few of mine as well. We were celebrating our one-year anniversary.

Catherine said she was too tired to go out and I was more than happy to oblige and stay home and cook something for her.

I made her favorite pasta and chicken. She seemed to like it. She had almost finished dinner and taken a few sips of wine as well. I placed my hand in front of hers and asked to dance with me. She laughed and agreed. We were dancing slowly to the music, her head on my shoulder. It was perfect.

She was the one I wanted to marry and have a family with. She was funny, smart and we both understood each other because of our careers. It was meant to be.

Why did I have this empty feeling inside of me then. Wasn't this supposed to be it? The part where I feel content, like I need nothing else. Catherine's phone beeped and she went to get it, apologizing on the way.

"Don't worry about it" I told her as I went to take a sip of the wine.

"Babe I gotta go" she said, "duty calls".

"Sure." I say as I sip on my wine. I was mad at her. This was supposed to be our night, but she got busy. Again.

I liked Catherine for who she was, young, fierce, independent and successful, but sometimes, she didn't know how to get her priorities sorted.

"I will be back in 2-3 hours love" she says as she plants a kiss on my cheek.

"Before you go, Cathy, hold on a sec" I say and pull out a blue velvet box from my pocket and open it.

"Oh yes, I did" I say and take out a silver necklace out of the box with a snowflake on it. It represented our relationship, since we met when it was snowing. I pushed her hair in the front and put the necklace around her neck and clip it. I move my hands from her shoulder to her hands, she turns around and looks at me. She kisses me.

"Thank you, baby," she says, "it's beautiful" she exclaims.

I smile back. She looked so happy, this fixed everything. I wasn't even mad anymore. Maybe I was overthinking things. I had never felt this way about anyone. I look at her and kiss her forehead. She leaves the house and I sit on the table and drink my wine. I look at the keys hanging by the door.

I grab them and walk out.