Another second later that PA sounds off.
Riley Davis report to the office please.
I shake my head. “I can’t believe you just did that! What if I get caught?”
“Will you grow a pair and quit worrying about getting caught?” A devilish grin spreads across her lips. “Now get out of here. Go get lover boy.”
I unload the pile of books in my hand into hers. “I owe you.”
She laughs. “Oh, I know you do. And I will collect.”
Before she can get another word out, I dash out of the bathroom, hoping that when and if I find Henry, that he’ll forgive me.
Chapter 18
“Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end.” ~ Author Unknown ~
I drive past the only funeral home our town has. There are no cars.
I’m flustered and in a panic. Heat sears through me and I start sweating. I have to find him. I need to find him. I turn on the air. Relief swirls through me as the coldness wafts over me, drying up the perspiration.
Henry, where are you?
Traffic whizzes by me and it seems like everyone on the road today wants to drive ten miles an hour. I honk my horn. The car in front of me is still stopped for at least thirty seconds at the stop sign.
Every second that passes is one second less that I have to find Henry. One second less of his time. And one second less that I have to ask for his forgiveness.
Next I pull into the cemetery parking lot. A vacant, newly paved parking lot. Only one car, a rusty old truck that’s paint job almost matches the rust around its edges. If Henry isn’t at the funeral home or cemetery, there’s only one place left to look. His house.
I park down the street, taking in the line of cars in his driveway. Should I or shouldn’t I? Would I be intruding? The last thing I want to do is upset him more than I already have.
The haunting image of the look on his face on Saturday resurfaces. What was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I see there was more going on with him than our complicated relationship? Because I was being a jealous moron. I let my emotions consume me.
My fingers inch back toward the ignition. I shouldn’t be here. He needs to spend time with his family. He wouldn’t want me here.
A fist pounds on my window. I turn and jump. Henry leans down and looks inside the car. We gaze at each other for a moment. Our eyes locked intensely. Deeply. Separated by the thin strip of glass. I feel my eyes watering, but I can’t look away. I place my hand on the glass and it’s like I’m reaching through the closed window, feeling his skin on mine.
Henry breaks first and steps away from the window. My heart plummets from its cavity to my stomach. I feel the red fleshy organ beating everywhere. In my head. In my ears. Even my toes. “Come back,” I whisper. “Stay.”
A second later, my door opens and Henry stands on the end. He motions for me to get out and I do. I get out, close the door, and lean up against the car.
An unsettling silence fills the air. I feel Henry’s eyes on me so I look up, then I look at the ground. Neither one of us knows what to say.
Henry shoves his hands in his pockets and rocks on his heels. “So.”
“I’m sorry,” I blurt out. “So sorry.” And before he realizes what’s happening I lunge at him, wrapping my arms around him, clutching the back of his shirt, grazing my fingertips over the smooth flesh on his back. I’m glued to him and I hope I stay like this forever.
He hesitates and a nervous sensation courses through me. Touch me. Henry, please touch me. “Please forgive me,” I tell him.
His hands trail down my back and he grips me tightly. Then he plants a soft kiss on the top of my head. “You’re forgiven.”
A sob full of relief whooshes from my lips. The hurt and fear inside of me evaporates and is replaced with unrequited joy. “Thank you. I’m so glad. I felt so terrible after our fight.”
“So did I. I’m sorry for what I said too.”
“I didn’t think you’d ever forgive me.”
I lift my head and he releases me and takes my face in his hands. He’s gazing through my eyes, searching. Searching for my soul. “How can you say that?”
“I was harsh. And selfish. I didn’t even consider—”
“Shhh, he interrupts me. He brushes the tips of his thumbs over my cheeks. “You don’t need to say anything.”
“But I do.”
Henry places his forehead against mine. His needy desperate hands pull me closer. “No you don’t. No matter what happens between us. No matter what kind of fights we have in the future. I just need you to know something.”
Our mouths collide. My breaths hike as my fingers swirl through his hair. He cups my neck kissing me harder. He pushes me into my car and his hand goes up my shirt and his fingertips brush against my bare midriff. Inside I’m a forest fire. Don’t put me out.
I arch my back as his lips trail from mouth to my neck. I close my eyes and hot tears, like fresh precipitation on a windshield rain down my cheeks. I turn my head and he stops kissing me. Warm air leaves his lungs and caresses my ear. “You just have to know,” he says in between breaths.
“Know what?”
He’s cupping my face. His eyes are full of emotion and I can’t think of anything, but how bad I want him to kiss me again and how bad I want to live this moment, entrapped, like we’re snow people in a holiday globe, surrounded by glass and fake snowflakes.
“That you are my heaven.”
I cup his face and kiss him softly. “And you’re mine.”
Epilogue
“Whatever our souls are made of. His and mine are the same.”~ Emily Bronte ~
I lie in my bed listening to the soft pelting of raindrops against the side of my house. I try to sleep, but I can’t because I know he’ll be here any minute, to embrace me. wake up with me, and love me.
A giddy feeling of excitement circulates through me and makes my heart pound, beat and flutter. I’ve only been away from him for hours and I already miss him like crazy.
Soft footsteps. I sit up. Henry closes my window. I beam radiantly, so consumed by my love for him that I do think there’s room in my body for any other emotion. He gives me an enchanting smile and walks quietly to the bed.
I back up, closer to the wall, roll over and he slides in next to me. He touches me outside, his hand slides up my bare thigh. He touches me on the inside too. My soul mate.
He kisses my hair. “I love you.”
The simple phrase fills me up with so much delight that when I croak out the same phrase, “I love you.” I’m certain my voice is trembling.
I back up, closer to the wall, roll over and he slides in next to me. He touches me outside, his hand slides up my bare thigh. He touches me on the inside too, caressing my heart, caressing my soul. He’s the other half of me. He’s my soul mate.
He kisses my hair. “I love you.” The words blast off in my head like an amp at a rock concert, so loud and so beautiful that I don’t care if I lose my hearing over it.
The simple phrase fills me up with so much delight that when I croak out the same phrase, “I love you.” I’m certain my voice is trembling.
His teeth graze against my jaw line and my heart leaps and soars. I’m flying. I’m a kite. He pulls away from me. I reach out to him. “Stay,” I whisper.
Henry smiles. “Always,” he tells me. “I’m never leaving.”
“Why did you pull away?” I ask. There’s sadness in my voice. I want him to touch me. I need him to touch me.
“It’s pouring outside,” he says. “I got my socks all wet.”
A hushed laugh leaves my throat and he’s next to me in a second, lacing his arm through mine and resting it on my hip. He nestles in closer to me, until he’s so close I feel his warm breath against my ear. He’s at home, with me, our body parts entwined.
Some women settle, they give up their search for their one true thing. The kind of love that makes
you weep. The kind of love that fills you up with so much joy that you feel like a balloon about to bust. The kind of love that leaves you breathless and starving at the same time. But now I know that kind of love is out there. Waiting patiently for the right person to come along. All you have to do is find it. And every person in the world deserves a chance at finding it.
I’ve come to the conclusion that nothing is fair when it comes to love, lust, and heartbreak. Love can be many things. The intense emotion can be beautiful, fleeting, and joyous. Yet at the same time it can be wicked, deceitful, and gut-wrenching.
Even though love has its ups and downs, for most there is a happily ever after and I’m so lucky that I found mine.
Lauren Hammond knew from a young age that she was born to be a writer. After publishing her first novel in 2007, she then went on to write several screenplays and a few award winning poems. She aspires to be a positive role model for young people who have a pencil, a piece of paper, and a dream. Never give up on your dreams, you might wake up one day and regret not pursuing them. She currently serves as the Executive Literary Manager for ADA Management Group, has twelve novels slated for release between 2011 & 2012, and resides in Ohio.
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