by Lisa Simmons
“I’m never gonna leave you,” he said, referencing whatever he’d seen in his nightmare that I did not know. My heart panged painfully in my chest.
“I’ll never let you.”
"Honey, just put your sweet lips on my lips; we should just kiss like real people do."
Chapter 73
I awoke before Reece did, the overly warm temperature of our bodies together waking me. Normally it didn't bother me, but I'd gotten so used to feeling cold while I slept that his renewed warmth would require a little readjusting. Reece was curled around me, my back pressed tightly to his chest while his arm wound around my waist. After his nightmare, he had finally managed to fall back asleep for good, hanging on desperately too me as if clinging to reality.
It had taken a little while to calm him down, but eventually my soothingly reassuring words had penetrated the thick haze of doubt around him to allow him to sleep. He had never let go of me for a single second, his lips finding my skin whenever they could while his arms held me to his chest. I had never felt so needed and it felt good to be a source of comfort for him. There was so little I could do for him that every little bit of me I could give to him, I would.
My fingers traced patterns across the back of his arm that was wound around me and I noticed that his skin was hot, too. His breath was warm as it tickled across the skin on my neck, and I could feel the light beating of his heart through his chest against my back. I was practically sweating with the combination of the blankets and his body heat, but I couldn't find it in me to move. The comfort of his body against mine far outweighed the unpleasantness of overheating.
Sunlight was just starting to stream through the curtains, indicating morning had finally come from after what seemed like a never-ending night. I hoped he would manage to sleep for a few more hours. My eyes drifted closed, sighing in contentment as I melted back into him to try and get a few more hours of sleep myself. The warmth of Reece's contact had nearly pulled me under again when his phone vibrated loudly on the bedside table next to us, jerking him violently from his blissful reprieve.
He sucked in a breath as he awoke, his arms automatically tightening around me at the sudden sound. My eyes were wide open as he shifted slightly, releasing an arm from around my waist to reach for his phone. I twisted in his grip, turning my body to face his so I could see his face. He glanced at me apprehensively as he looked at the screen of his phone before sliding his thumb across it to answer.
"Hello?" he said. His voice was thick with sleep and deeper than ever. I listened carefully but it was hard to make out the words on the other end of the phone. His face twisted to a frown almost instantly, and he paled slightly as he listened. I wound my arm around his waist to hold him tight to me while I leaned forward to press a light, reassuring kiss to his chest.
"Yeah," he said. His eyes found mine and held my gaze as he listened. His brows were pulled tightly together with concern. My heart pounded with nervousness; I knew whom it must be that was calling.
"Tomorrow? Already?"
I felt the blood drain from my face as he spoke but tried to hide the apprehension I was feeling since his gaze was still locked on mine. I didn't want to worry him any more than he already was.
"No."
He blew out a soft sigh as he watched me lean forward again to kiss his skin once more. I let my lips linger on the warm surface, and I could feel the heavy pounding of his heart beneath his ribs. He was nervous.
"No... I'll need one," he said slowly. I pulled back to look up at him once more, his face as concerned as ever as he held his phone to his ear. His gaze locked on mine again as I raised a hand to push the hair off his forehead, stroking it back as gently as possible.
"Okay, thanks. Got it. Bye," he said before pulling his phone away from his ear and ending the call. He tossed it to the mattress behind my back where it landed with a soft thud.
"What did they say?" I asked, not even bothering to ask whom it was. I already knew- it had been the police calling to set up his court date.
"I have court tomorrow," he said slowly, watching me for a negative reaction. My lips pursed together, unsure if I was happy it was happening so soon or not.
"What time?"
"Ten in the morning."
"And they'll provide a lawyer?" I inferred, putting together the pieces of the one sided conversation.
"Yes," he said quietly.
"How do you feel?" I asked gently, running my fingers through his hair one last time before letting my hand fall to his chest. His skin was smooth beneath my fingertips as they traced patterns over his tattoos.
"Honestly?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. I nodded.
"I'm scared shitless."
I sighed, my lips pulling into my mouth as my eyebrows came together.
"It will be okay, I promise. You won't get anything- it was self defense and everyone knows it," I told him, doing my best to keep my voice calm and steady.
"Everyone doesn't know that," he argued softly. "You were the only one there for the entire thing and you might be a bit biased."
"But that doesn't mean it's not the truth," I said. "I'll speak as a witness!"
"Will they let you?"
"I don't know why they wouldn't," I said honestly. I had little knowledge about how court proceedings went, especially ones for such events, but I had to think they would want to hear from the sole witness on the scene. Come to think of it, it was a bit odd they hadn't already contacted me.
He didn't say anything as his eyes glazed over, the thoughts in his head taking over once more. I put my hand gently on his face and ran my thumb along his lower lip.
"Hey," I said gently. "It's going to be just fine. They have nothing to convict you of and after tomorrow this will all be over."
"Do you really believe that?" he said somewhat skeptically.
"Yes, one hundred percent."
He sighed heavily, weighing my words against the treacherous thoughts in his head. I hoped I was getting through to him, but it was difficult to tell. I'd never been able to read him as well as he could read me.
"And I'll be right there with you the entire time," I promised.
"You don't have to," he said quietly, blinking as he wiped away the thoughts.
"You're insane if you think I'm not going to be there," I said, smiling softly at him. He returned the gentle smile as he let his hand trail up my body from where it had been resting at my lower back. His hand rose to my face, cupping my cheek with his palm to allow his thumb to trail across my skin.
"Okay," he said simply. His thumb reached down to drag lightly across my lower lip, copying what I'd just done to him before he closed the space between us to press his mouth against mine in a gentle kiss. When he pulled back, I was happy to see his face seemed to have lost a little bit of the tension it had carried only moments ago.
"So," I said lightly.
"So," he repeated, a bemused expression forming on his face.
"What do you want to do today? Anything at all, you pick. We're gonna get your mind off of this," I said. I was glad some of the heavy burden seemed to have lifted now that he knew this would all be over tomorrow. One way or another, it would be over and we would be free to deal with whatever consequences arose.
His lips twisted to the side as he considered my offer.
"I don't know," he said finally.
"You don't know?" I asked, laughing softly. "I tell you we can do absolutely anything and you can't come up with a single thing?"
"I just want to be with you."
The soft grin on my face stretched to a full-blown smile at his words, and I couldn't help myself from leaning forward again to kiss him once more.
"Remember when you couldn't even admit that you liked me?" I said lightly. He grinned and shook his head slowly.
"I always liked you," he said, skirting my statement.
"Yeah but it took you forever to admit it," I said casually.
"I think it took you longer, if I remember correctly," he said, grinning at me. My heart glowed at the memory of the first night Reece had really been vulnerable with me- the first night he'd asked me to stay and the first night he'd kissed me just to kiss me. It seemed like it was ten years ago and just yesterday all at the same time.
"You're right," I conceded, smiling. "But still- took you a while, too."
"Yeah, well, just look at me now. What have you done to me?" he asked playfully.
"You're really just a big sap now," I teased.
"Oh, am I?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow at me while the dimple dipped into his cheek as he grinned. I nodded, my lips pulling tight across my teeth in a smile.
"Mmhmm. I remember when you used to throw me into walls and stuff but now..." I trailed off playfully.
"Baby, I can still throw you into walls."
His voice dropped a few levels, the deep tones sending a shudder through my body. The cocky grin I had come to know so well pulled at his lips as he watched his words take their effect on me. His hand trailed down the side of my body, his touch lingering on the front of my hip to allow his fingers to graze dangerously low on my body. I sucked in a shaky breath at the proximity.
"Okay I take it back," I said breathlessly. "You're not a sap."
"That's what I thought," he smirked, sliding his hand back up to my hip and squeezing lightly.
"You're still a tease, though."
"Yes, baby. Yes I am."
He looked far too pleased with himself as he grinned in satisfaction at the frustrated frown on my face. I pulled my arms from around him and crossed them over my chest, feigning anger.
"Not nice."
I leaned as far away from him as I could, which wasn't far considering he still had me fairly wrapped up in his limbs. He let out a deep chuckle as he smoothed his hand out on my back, his palm pressing down to pull me closer to him.
"Aw, Abby," he said lightly. "Don't even try that."
"I'm not trying anything," I said. It was difficult to maintain my mock-seriousness when a grin was plastered across my face. My back arched even more, creating a bit more space between my face and his even though our bodies were still pressed together.
"No?" he asked lightly. He shimmied forward, his face coming closer to mine as I squirmed in his grasp to try and keep away. I giggled as I reached the extent of my ability to distance myself from him, his strong arms keeping me locked in place.
"Get off me," I teased, wiggling furiously as I tried to free myself. My arms were loose as they tried in vain to shove back against his chest. He smirked as my efforts were fruitless, his body inching closer to mine despite my struggling.
"Never."
I laughed loudly as he pinched my side, tickling me easily. My body thrashed in his grasp as I fought off the touch, and I somehow managed to lock my legs around his waist. With every bit of strength I had, I forced my body off the mattress to sit up, pinning him beneath me with my legs on either side of his hips. He looked momentarily stunned, as if he hadn't been expecting such a sudden move from me. I let out a victorious cackle and clenched my fist in a celebratory fist pump by my side.
"I win," I said proudly, grinning down at him. He lifted his hips a few inches off the mattress, easily lifting me with them.
"Do you know how easy it would be for me to flip you right now?" he asked evenly. The mischievous look in his eye told me he knew exactly how easy it would be because he had done it several times before, there were usually just fewer clothes involved.
"I believe you," I said, raising my hands in surrender by my sides. "No need to prove it."
"Hmm," he hummed in satisfaction. "As long as you're aware."
"I'm well aware."
He smirked up at me, his hands sliding up the sides of my thighs once before reaching into the air to grab each of my hands. His smirk softened into a gentle smile as he intertwined his fingers with mine, the gaps between our palms disappearing and reappearing every few seconds as he played with my hands. He didn't say anything, just let his hands tangle with mine over and over as he examined my face.
I felt a sudden overwhelming sense of relief. Our light hearted conversation was the first we'd had in what felt like years, and I could see a glimmer of hope that things would go back to the way they were before any of this had happened. My Reece was still there, he was simply coated in a layer of vulnerability that wasn't usually so prevalent. Slowly but surely, he would dust off the darkness that had surrounded him and he would come back to me completely. For the first time, I really believed that would be true.
We would get through this and whatever was going to happen tomorrow, and we would go back to how we were. He would surely carry this for the rest of his life, but this moment gave me hope that he would find ways to bury it away and block the unwarranted negative feelings that stemmed from it.
I knew he was too good of a person to simply get over it; any normal person would struggle with this, but Reece wasn't a normal person- he was better. He felt things so strongly, even when he didn't want to admit it. He carried his feelings buried inside him, only letting them out occasionally to me when he was feeling especially vulnerable. He wouldn't brush this off because it wasn't something he could easily forget, no matter how much he wanted. But I hoped he would find ways to accept it and stop feeling the guilt he surely felt now, because he didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve to feel any of this.
His green eyes were closely watching my face from his position below me, surely trying to read what was going through my mind. It seemed, for once, that he was having difficulty doing so.
"I know what you're doing," I said lightly with a soft grin. His fingers trailed gently across my palms before sliding back up to lock with mine.
"And what's that?" he asked with amusement.
"You're trying to read me," I said confidently.
"Trying to, eh?" he asked with a grin.
"Mmhmm."
"I thought I was reading you," he said confidently. I shot him a close-lipped smile, admiring the way his hair fell around his head on the mattress.
"Let's hear it, then. What was I thinking?" I asked, raising an eyebrow challengingly.
"You were thinking how lucky you are to have someone so incredibly attractive," he said with a wide grin. I let out a laugh and cheeks stretch in a smile.
"Oh was I?" I said with a laugh.
"Yep. And how much you love me."
"Hmm I was thinking that too?"
"And that I'm the funniest and smartest man you've ever met."
"Apparently I've been thinking a lot of things," I said lightly.
"You've been pretty preoccupied," he agreed solemnly, closing his eyes lightly as he nodded at me.
"Well I hate to say it, Reece, but you're wrong."
He raised his eyebrows at me and tugged on my hands lightly to pull himself up into a sitting position. My legs straightened out behind his back, my body resting on his lap.
"You disagree?" he said, his voice quieter now that he was only inches from my face.
"No," I said, shaking my head slowly and holding his eye contact. "That's just not what I was thinking."
"Hmm..." he hummed quietly, ducking his head to press a lingering kiss at the base of my throat. My head tilted back as my eyes drifted shut, enjoying the feeling of his lips on my neck.
"I must be losing my touch," he murmured against my throat, his lips igniting my skin. He pulled back to look at me once more as I let out a light sigh.
"Never thought I'd see the day," I grinned.
"Give me one more guess then I'll give up," he bargained. I nodded.
"Deal."
"You were thinking that you have the best boyfriend in the entire world."
My heart skipped a beat in my chest, the heavy thump resounding throughout my body. Had I heard him correctly?
"Boyfriend?"
He watched me closely, his expression growing
serious. I could feel my jaw hanging open but couldn't stop it, the shock of his words taking over.
"If you want me to be."
His burning gaze held mine, a quiet vulnerability lingering there as he watched me as if afraid I would say no. My pulse pounded in my ears as I tried to regain some control. My mouth opened to reply but nothing managed to come out as a smile split across my face. His eyes flicked back and forth between mine and a hint of a smile crept across his face.
"Do you want me to be, Abby?"
I bit my lip into my mouth to try and reign in the ridiculous grin that had taken over, but it was useless.
"Yes," I finally managed to say, my voice weak.
"Yes?" he repeated, his grin widening as his eyes lit up with happiness. I nodded, silly tears of joy seeping into my eyes.
"Yes, I want you to be my boyfriend, Reece."
It felt so odd to say. For so long, he had been so much more to me than that. I'd never really been concerned with a title because I knew how much he loved me, but to have the confirmation, the finality, felt absolutely amazing.
"You've got yourself a boyfriend then, Abby."
I let out a gasp of a laugh, utter joy taking over he closed the space between our lips to kiss me. My arms wrapped around his neck, hugging him to me tightly. His arms held me firmly around my waist, our entire bodies wrapped up in each other just as much as our hearts and minds were. When I broke the kiss, I sucked in a gasp of air, the reality of the moment stealing my breath.
"You're officially mine," I said with a massive grin. His fingers molded small circles along my lower back.
"Abby I've always been yours. The title doesn't change that," he said, shaking his head slightly as if amused.
"Still," I said, shrugging. I pretended to gesture to someone. "'This is my boyfriend, Reece.' Has a nice ring to it."
He grinned widely at me, his eyes positively glowing.
"That it does, girlfriend. That it does."
"Oh won't you stay with me? 'Cause you're all I need."
Chapter 74