She looked over when Alexa didn’t answer and saw a tear fall down her face in the moonlight.

Helena was alarmed and stroked the tear from her face before kissing her forehead.  ‘Darling what’s wrong?  Have I done something to upset you?’

‘No it’s my fault Helena.  Remember that first night at your hotel when you told you that I wasn’t some stupid fool who was going to get hurt if we had some fun together? Turns out I was all talk.’

‘I don’t understand Lex.  How have I hurt you?’ she told her sincerely.

‘You haven’t hurt me Lena.  I’ve been setting myself up for a fall.  Bette reminded you that we can’t keep pretending the end of the week isn’t coming, right?’

‘Yes she did,’ admitted Helena.  ‘I need to know how you really feel.  I need to talk to you about how I feel and it’s difficult because I’m not used to doing that, not really with anyone.’

Alexa finally sensed that maybe this wasn’t going to be quite the conversation she had anticipated.

‘Helena I…’

Helena cut it.  ‘Wait Alexa.  I need to just say this first.’  She took Alexa’s hands in hers.  ‘I know that we haven’t known each other long and that we live on different continents.  I also know that you are ten years younger than me and at a completely different stage in your life.  But even knowing all this, even reminding myself of those facts every minute of every day it all keeps coming back to the same thing in my head.  It all comes back to the completely unavoidable maddening fact that I am completely in love with you Alexa and I need you to know that whether you leave and never come back on Friday as planned or we find some crazy way to work this out.’

Alexa wondered how her heart could cope with a switch from such deep sorrow to pure joy in a matter of seconds.  She wished she could freeze the moment and keep it forever, but she knew she needed to show Helena how she felt.

Alexa pulled Helena to her and kissed her deeply, trying to pour the love and passion she felt into a single kiss but it wasn’t enough, she needed to find the words.

 ‘I think I fell in love with you the first moment I saw you,’ Alexa admitted. ‘I would do just about anything to be with you Helena.’

All the anxiety of the past few weeks finally flowed away from Helena as they let the emotions they’d been holding back from each other free.  She wasn’t going to loose Alexa, she didn’t just have to savour the memories and keep her heart locked away because their time wasn’t finite, their connection wouldn’t end in fact it had just begun.

Helena kissed Alexa before she could catch her breath , kissing her fiercely and more passionately, until she felt Alexa’s body loosen in her arms and she lowered them back onto the sand.  ‘We’ll find a way Alexa.  I’m not going to let you go.’