Have you completely given up?

Jenny could not believe her eyes. What was Jason doing here? Her heart started beating faster from excitement. Did their story not end in England? She was so focused on when she was leaving, she completely forgot the possibility of him chasing her. This was much better than a phone call. Now they could talk in person. "Jason...how come you are here? I thought you didn't want to see me anymore..."

Jason showed her a gentle smile and shook his head. "Silly goose, did I not tell you I would not get angry at you. Sure I was disappointed and wasn't happy to be rejected. So I left to cool my head. To restrategize." While he said this, his smile brightened. "I thought long and hard about your words and with the help of a good friend I came to a solution to our problem. I wanted to share that plan with you, when I found out you had already left. I chased after you immediately, but there were too many unfortunate delays. I ran and ran, as fast as I possibly could, but to no avail. As I reached your gate, the door to the tunnel closed and I was too late. But I knew I could not let it end like that. Without us even saying goodbye. Without you knowing I chased after you. Without me even having the chance to convince you. But some things are better said in person and who doesn't like a surprise right?! So, I went back to the airline counter and booked a ticket for the very next flight. I explained things to your mother and she agreed to let my try and convince you. And that is how I ended up here.." By now a bit of hesitation showed on Jason's face as he said "Are you willing to hear my plan? Or have you completely given up?"

Jenny's look of surprise softened and she said "I am always willing to listen to you. Was that not what I promised you?" Jenny said with a teasing smile. "I can't say that my feelings or decision have changed much since then, but I haven't completely given up either. At the very least we should be able to gain a friendship. This story is too special to end up in nothing." "Good, that is all I needed to hear. Because I might have an idea. You said that you don't have any romantic feelings towards me and that you haven't looked at me in that way. Well, maybe that was our problem from the start. We weren't clear about what we were trying to gain. So now that the cats out of the bag and you know about my feeling, can't we give this another try. This time look at me from the perspective of a future life partner and not just a friend. Maybe if we spend time with each other in that context, your feelings will develop. What do you say?"

"I am glad you feel that way too. I was thinking about my reaction the whole plane ride back and discussed what had happened with my friends as well. I wanted to try and figure out if what I had said was the best to say in that situation and whether I wanted to close that door already. I had given you a yes/no answer, when there might have been other options. I told them that if you reached out to me, then I would be willing to give it another try. They were right when they said, we have all the ingredients to make this work and create something that will last, but we haven't given it enough time. I simply didn't know if you were willing to wait. If you were willing to see where this would go, without the pressure of marriage. I didn't know if I had hurt your feelings or pride too much for you to be willing to take a few steps back and take things slow..."