The plane ride home from Florida felt agonizingly long. It was the standard direct flight from Tampa but I was so antsy that it felt like it took forever to get there. When we pulled into the gate at Newark I thought to myself: “he’s here.” And then I couldn’t stop smiling after that.

I made a quick stop in the restroom to freshen up and then I headed toward baggage claim where I knew he’d be waiting for me. I admit, I paused for a moment at the top of the escalator to calm my nerves. I was excited but also nervous that I’d mess things up. I got on the escalator and looked down but I didn’t see him and I was kind of annoyed for a minute but then I spotted him checking out the monitors that tell you which luggage carousel your bags are coming in on. I got to the bottom and he had started heading over and then our eyes met and the next thing I knew I was in his arms.

I was just so happy to see him and look into those beautiful eyes of his (and he was wearing his glasses – so cute!). He said, “I’m so glad you’re here. Being here without you has been torture!” I just laughed. He’s complaining about a few days? I told him he should try going three months.

We got my bags and then headed into Manhattan. There was a lot of traffic so it took us awhile to get to his aunt’s place but it gave us time to talk. It’s weird because we email each other every day and talk several times a week on the phone, but we still had so much to say. And even though we were catching up on things, it also felt like we haven’t missed a beat. We were just back in the groove of things immediately.

We went to a restaurant close to his aunt’s apartment for dinner. We were talking and laughing when the woman at the table next to us leaned over and told us she’d never seen two people smile so much. I was a little embarrassed but she was right, we were grinning at each other all night.

Josh told me that he was frustrated because he’s forgetting the dances from the summer and he wants to learn how to lead. We went back to his aunt’s and pushed the furniture aside so that I could give him a dance lesson. We went over the Fox Trot, Cha Cha and Rhumba. I refreshed his memory on the steps and he caught on pretty quickly. Teaching him to lead was really hard. I don’t usually have to lead and when I do, it just comes naturally. I told him that I’d get JD to help him out when he comes home in December.

Then he said, “how about a slow dance?” I agreed but told him that I got to pick the song. So I put on “Put Your Head On My Shoulder.” I had wanted to dance with him to that song since he sang it. He pulled me close and I just melted right into him. I just had this feeling that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. It almost seemed too good to be true – like I was dreaming and going to wake up at any second. I looked up at him and said, “Tell me this is real.” He looked back at me and said, “I don’t know anything more real than what I feel for you.” It was the perfect night.

This morning we got up and went to brunch and then over to Rockefeller Plaza. We saw the Christmas Tree. It won’t be lit for another week but it was cool to see it. Then we went down to Penn Station to meet Keith who was coming in from Baltimore. We had lunch with him and then we drove back to New Jersey to pick up my car and then headed to Pennsylvania to have dinner with his family.

It was fun. We were asked to dance in the Holiday Recital since we won the contest this summer, but with him being away it’s too hard to learn a dance so we’re going to sing instead. Mr. Anderson helped us pick out a song and we practiced it a little.

Now we’re back at the townhouse in New Jersey – actually, Josh is over at Jason’s right now. He meets with the principle of the school he’ll be student teaching at tomorrow and then I’m taking him back to the airport. I’m already starting to feel sad about him leaving. I know that these last few weeks will probably go by fast because I’ll be busy studying for finals, finishing papers, and doing holiday stuff – but I still wish he could stay. And this weekend has been so perfect – especially last night. He was just so sweet in every way possible. He held my hands and touched my face when he kissed me and said all the right things. I should go enjoy this last night with him here.