I met him while working on the Senator Jack Greenway campaign. It was an exhilarating time, all of us working side by side, focused on the same goal: to get Senator Greenway re-elected. Looking back, I have to admit there was always that tiny anticipatory flutter in my stomach whenever he was near.



"He" was Nick Gardner. Tall, lean, with an angular face, tousled dark hair and eyes that shifted from gray to blue and crinkled at the corners when he smiled.



It was nice to know we shared the same beliefs, the same values that had caused us to stand behind the same candidate. The work was exciting. I loved that shared thrill when the poll numbers were good, even that drop when the numbers were down. And not just with Nick, but with everyone.



We had exchanged glances, but I was never sure if the smile reflected in his eyes was about the excitement of working on a successful campaign, or if it was something more personal. I wanted to believe it was personal, that his smiles were meant just for me.



As the election drew nearer the tension in the air at campaign headquarters increased. Nick and I worked on projects together, exchanging those glances, those smiles. I was trying hard to pretend he wasn't getting to me, but I knew deep down I was lying to myself. Every time those warm, blue-gray eyes landed on mine, my stomach tightened up and my breath hitched in my chest.



I began to notice every small detail about him: the way a small dimple appeared in his left cheek when he grinned, how large his hands were, and the dusting of dark, silky hair on the back of them, how when he laughed it came from deep in his chest and seemed to rumble in a way I swear I could feel down to my toes.



Oh boy, I had it bad for this guy. It became harder and harder to deny it.



One night, we were left alone, working until almost midnight. How it came to be only the two of us there, I'm not sure. One by one, the others left, returning home to their families I suppose. Except for Nick and me.



We finished our project and it was time to leave. On the way out, we both reached for the light switch at the same time, our hands colliding with a jolt of sensation and heat. We both pulled back right away, but my hand still tingled where his had touched it.



We both went silent. All I could hear was the sound of my own indrawn breath and the rain falling outside in the night.



Girlish ideas of him leaning in and kissing me whispered through my brain, and my whole body tensed as if in anticipation.



"Uh, sorry," he said, taking a small step back, away from me.



"No problem," I answered, even as my heart fell in disappointment.



We both hesitated before he nodded at me and I reached out and shut off the lights. There was another long moment in the dark before he pushed the door open and we went out to the parking lot, waving good night to one another as we ran for our cars.



After that, I couldn"t stop the thoughts of him that filtered through my brain day and night. Foolish, I scolded myself. I hadn"t had an obsessive crush like this since my freshman year in college. But I couldn't seem to make it go away, either.



I looked forward to the night of the election with a disturbing mixture of excitement and dread. On the one hand, it looked likely that our candidate would win. But after it was over, there would be no reason to see Nick anymore.



Finally, election night was at hand. The day dragged on while the votes were counted and tallied. The atmosphere at campaign headquarters was strange: a sort of hushed tension. Even though we all felt quite sure of victory, we knew it was a bad idea to count all our chickens-or votes, as it were-before they hatched.



And then, the moment came. The results were in. As everyone gathered around the big-screen television, it was announced that Jack Greenway had won! A roar went up in the room and the electric jolt of excitement that was amplified from being shared by so many people shot through me.



People were yelling and laughing-a few were even crying-and it was the most natural thing in the world to throw my arms around the person standing next to me. That person just happened to be Nick.



And that's when it happened. Hugging each other, happy and thrilled just like everyone else in the room. Except at that moment we weren't like everyone else in the room. It was as though we were suddenly separate, alone, just the two of us. And the only reason I pulled away from his warm, lovely embrace was because I needed very much to see his eyes.



They were the same blue-gray they'd always been, but yes, it was there. That look of awe and wonder mixed with a bit of confusion. Exactly what I was feeling.



And then he reached out and placed his fingertips-just his fingertips-over my heart, where it was racing as my blood sped through my body at a hundred miles an hour.



And taking my hand, he turned it and lay my palm on his chest, covering it with his own hand. And he said, "Do you feel that?"



Beneath my palm his heart pounded like a train thundering down the tracks. And in that moment I knew. With eyes locked and hearts in sync, I knew.



I smiled and he smiled back, and I knew for sure this time that his smile was for me, and me alone. And soon it was more a wide grin of glee for both of us.



"What do you say we get out of here?" His voice was husky and soft and I'm not even sure how I managed to hear it in the celebratory din all around us.



But there was no question about what my answer would be. "I'd say that gets my vote."





Copyright 2004

Enter supporting content here