Shrugging off a cotton hoodie from his shoulders, he hung it by its hood before slipping off his DC skate shoes. Unloading the contents of his pockets across the narrow shelf in the entry, turning his head over his shoulders they began to search the open concept apartment for you. Finding you hunched over in front of your computer, a pen wiggling in between your fingers, headphones covered your ears while your favorite graphic shirt allowed some color from your shorts to peek out from under the longer bottom hem of the tee.

Wandering into the kitchen, your boyfriend watched you work tirelessly on the assignments whose deadlines were quickly approaching with every tick of the clock. Pulling out some ingredients from the refrigerator, he began to make a simple dinner for the two of you. Heating up a pan, he began to grill two slices of bread with cheese melting between. Meanwhile he heated up a can of chili just to split into two bowls. Cutting the grilled cheese in half, he platted the sliced sandwich around the edges of the bowl of chili that sat in the middle of the plate. Carrying over your dinner in one hand and a glass of ice cold water in the other, he cautiously approached you in an attempt not to disturb you. Placing your dinner on the corner of your desk, he wrapped his arms slowly around your shoulders causing you to smile. Lifting one of the headphones off of your ears, he pressed his lips against your cheek moments afterwards.

“Welcome home” You whispered to him, leaning into his touch.

“Thanks sweetheart” He whispered in reply, allowing his breath to brush over the shell of your exposed ear. “Enjoy dinner, I am going to be out in the garage so I don’t disturb you. You are welcome to come and join me after you submit your assignments.”

“Thank you, thank you for making dinner as well, you really are a sweetheart” You turned in your chair slightly allowing your eyes to meet his.

Brushing his thumb against your cheek, he lifted your chin up slightly to align his lips with your forehead. Closing your eyes once you saw him lean in, his warm, soft lips ever so softly touched your forehead before lingering against your skin a moment or two while his thumb brushed against your cheek. Butterflies fluttered in your stomach as your hand wrapped around his wrist that was resting against your cheek.

Pulling away slightly, his eyes met with yours, “Study well, you go this.” Placing your headphone back over your ear, he gave you a sweet smile before standing upright and heading to the bedroom to change his clothes.

Exiting the bedroom outfitted in his oil splattered, ripped and worn jeans along with a well worn grey t shirt with multiple unknown stains to match. Making his way out the back door, he paused at the door frame to glance back at you. Happily munching on the grilled cheese and chili that he had lovingly made for you. Smiling brighter than before, he quietly closed the door behind himself and made his way out to the detached garage.

Hours ticked by as your heart pounded seeing the deadlines approach you relentlessly. With the final minutes billowing overhead, you hit the submit button sending in the assignment that would either tip your grade one way or the other. Hoping for the best, you closed your eyes before pressing submit.

Opening your eyes, you saw that it was sent in a minute before it was due. Sinking back into your seat, you stared at your illuminated computer screen before you. A weight lifted off of you with a few minutes passing, cleaning up your books and closing the multiple tabs on your computer, you zipped up your backpack before rising from your seat. Returning the dinner plate, bowl and emptied water glass to the kitchen, your eyes lifted to peer out the back windows. Yellow light spilled out through from the opened garage door, seeing a shadow move around the light present you smiled, having an idea come to mind.

Placing the dishes back in their place, you grabbed your sketchbook and a single pencil and eraser, outfitting yourself in one of his oversized hoodies that engulfed your figure as your small shorts peeked out from under the hem of the sweatshirt from time to time. With slippers hugging your feet you exited out the back door. Hugging the sketchbook tightly against you, the cool night air nipped at your exposed arms and legs as you crossed your grassy area to reach the garage.

Rounding the opened door, you stood in the open door as you watched your boyfriend rounded his back allowing his arms to stretch deeper under the hood of his car. Toned muscles stretched up his arm with every twist of his wrench allowing the dim lights in the garage to highlight each precise movement that he executed. Not wanting to disturb him, you carefully walked over to the workbench along the perimeter of the garage. Climbing onto one of the higher worn chairs, you rested your sketchbook on the polished pine top of the workbench. Folding your exposed legs under you, you flipped open to a new page in your sketchbook before you. Scanning the area you tried to gain inspiration to spark a thought to draw. With a perfect model in front of you, you began to sketch with one line at a time, the image began to unfold before you.

Your boyfriend’s hunched over shoulders stayed stationary while his hands rested on the side panel while his eyes followed the lines in the engine to find any other source of error. Standing up and moving away from the car, a dirtied rag wiped off the wrench while his feet carried him over to one of the many multi shelved crimson toolbox, surrounding his project.

Reaching up to one of the mounted lamps sitting along his workbench, your hand adjusted the angle of the light to shine on your sketchbook as the light continued to move to compensate with his movements. Resuming your work, your boyfriend turned his head to the new light that added new light to the garage. Seeing you all cuddled up and cozy in his sweatshirt, he just smiled feeling an impression on his heart reminding him of the first time he met you.

Removing a new tool from the toolbox, he headed back over to his project. Heading over to the adjacent side of the car to get a better angle to work on the problem, he began to contort himself underneath the hood just to adjust his tool in the correct spot in an attempt to fix the hidden problem.

Lifting up your eyes from the page, you tilted your head in confusion. Glancing down at the page once more, you rose your eyes to your subject that you were attempting to draw. Dropping your eyes back down to your paper, you attempted to continue with your sketch. Time passed as more lines were erased then drawn and frustration was increasing with every line you tried to replace or add to your piece.

“Can you move back to where you were?” You quietly asked, almost shyly your eyes almost pleading with your gaze.

“You weren’t done drawing me yet?” He questioned lining his words with a chuckle while lifting his eyes from the engine, yet his hands were still deep within the motor.

“How’d you know?” You questioned, your widening eyes locked with his wondering if he has some superpower or something.

“What else would you be drawing?” Your boyfriend smirked as he tightened a few bolts as you watched the muscles underneath his skin dance with every command.

“I mean I could be drawing your car…” You told him with a smirk as you dropped your eyes to your work of art knowing that you had the nose of the car in his picture too.

“You could… but you would rather draw me” He reasoned with a tilt of his head knowing you all too well

“I could be drawing another guy with a car, you never know” You shrugged your shoulders trying to play it off.

“Ah, well if you are, he must have done something right to catch your eye” Your boyfriend stood up and wiped a rag along his hand as he cleaned off the tool before exchanging the tool for another one.

Hours ticked by as he continued to work on the car, the sound of crickets accompanied the sound of his tools tightening and fixing the problem within the engine. Wiping the oiled rag along each tool, he ran the rag along his hard working hands as his eyes turned back to you. Seeing your head tucked in your folded arms, your pencil still between your fingers and your drawing notebook resting on your exposed legs. Quietly and carefully he walked over to you. Standing beside you, he turned his head so that he could see your art on how you intended people to see it. A smile couldn’t help but form on his lips as he saw the piece that you had been working on for hours. Going over every little detail with his eyes from the shine of the bumper to his muscles tensing under his shirt and not to mention the light hanging from inside the hood. The piece was perfect. His lingering gaze stayed on the masterpiece allowing every detail to get captured and all of your hard work to be appreciated. Tearing his eyes away from the masterpiece, he lifted up one of his cleaner hands brushing some hair behind your ear.

“How’d I get so lucky?” He whispered to himself as he carefully removed the pencil from your grip, the notebook from your lap and placed the notebook on the workbench and the pencil sitting on top.

Admiring you for a moment longer, he carefully wrapped his arms around you as you adjusted to being in his arms. Lifting you from the chair, your arms wrapped around his neck as he continued to hold you. Flipping off the lights in the garage, he made his way out with you cradled in his arms, as a single light basked on the artwork that you had created representing all of the time, patience, and not to mention mistakes and rough patches but that every that was seen held a story and the mistakes made the artwork tailored to that piece.

That this once in a lifetime love can never be recreated the same way ever again, and no one will ever match you and our story together.