Inseparable

“I’m going to get some air,” I muttered, grabbing my key and heading to the door, ignoring his pleas for me to stop. I was so embarrassed. No, I was past embarrassed, this was mortifying. And that wasn’t even the worst part. The worst part was the fact he hadn’t said it back, or anything at all. What I thought were mutual feelings, I had obviously misread somewhere along the line.

I repeatedly hit the elevator down button, knowing it wouldn’t make it arrive faster, but unable to stop myself all the same.

“Lil. Will you wait a second.”

I turned around. Dane stared back at me, both shocked and amused at my outburst. Great, so he thought this was funny, wait until Kella and Fraser came back from dinner, and we could all have a good old fashioned laugh about it.

“What,” I growled, knowing the last thing I needed right now was him in my face.

“Jesus, Lil, let me speak,” He laughed, grabbing hold of both my shoulders so I couldn’t look away. I sighed.

“Fine. Talk,” I said through gritted teeth.

He laughed again, “You’re such a strange girl,” he said, shaking his head in dismay. That’s what he wanted to tell me? “Lil…” He warned, as I opened my mouth to speak. I quickly shut it, wishing he would hurry the hell up so I could leave.

“Okay, I didn’t want to say it like this, but here goes. I love you, Lily,” Dane said simply. I stared at him, open-mouthed, as he chuckled softly.

“Close your mouth, sexy. You’re catching flies,” He murmured. I shut my mouth. “I love you. I love the way you say whatever comes into your mind. I love the way you eat like a horse in front of me. I love the way you would do anything for the people you love, like travel halfway across the country. For me.”

“But I thought…” My voice trailed off. He loved me! I couldn’t hide the smile. I grabbed his face and kissed him.

“I didn’t want my first time telling you I love you to be in a message,” he added, “I was going to tell you here. Tonight,” He waved his arm around.

Shit, he was planning a romantic moment, and I had ruined it.

“No, you’re not going to do that,” he warned, reading my expression, “this is perfect. We are perfect.” He nibbled on my neck. The lift opened, and out walked Kella and Fraser.

“God you two, get a room,” Kella joked. She threw me a ‘what the hell is going on here’ look. I shrugged, giggling.

“How was your night?” I asked as we walked back down the hall toward our rooms.

“Yes, really nice. Fraser took me to Central Park where we ended up getting frisky-”

“Kella!” Fraser’s voice boomed down the hall. He looked flustered at her honesty. I laughed, knowing this was normal behaviour for Kella, and something he was going to have to get used to, fast.

“What?” Asked Kella, confused.

“Some things should stay between us, okay?” He grumbled, shaking his head. Kella rolled her eyes at me, mouthing something I didn’t quite catch.

“Fine. Whatever,” she sighed, making a face at his back, “so how did you guys go, anyway? Did you hear from Reece?”

“Yeah, we think we’ve tracked down Eva,” Dane showed them the photo, and filled them in on what Reece had dug up, “the only problem was your cousin kept trying to hit up my girl.” He narrowed his eyes at Fraser, who held his hands up in defence. Meanwhile, Kella raised her eyebrows and smiled. I knew what she was thinking, ‘his girl’.

“Hey, I never said Reece was a good guy,” Fraser laughed, “There’s a reason I only see the guy at Thanksgiving and Christmas. In fact, I think I warned you he’s a bit of an ass,” he grinned, wrapping his hand around Kella’s waist.

“Well, we’re going to have an early one. We need Kel to be on the ball when she faces the parents tomorrow,” he joked. I almost laughed. Poor Kella looked terrified, and she was never scared of anything.

“Good luck” I giggled, giving her a kiss. Dane and I stood in the hall awkwardly after Kella and Fraser had left, standing right outside both our rooms, which were opposite each other.

“Do you want to come in?” I asked shyly. Why was I so nervous? Because this would be the first time since we’d said the ‘L’ word.

“Of course I want to come in, do you really need to ask?” Dane whispered in my ear. He slid his hand around the nape of my neck, holding me as he kissed me. Every part of my being responded, from the tingling in my toes, to the way my stomach fluttered at the feel of his touch, to the shivers that rippled down my spine.

I turned to my door, swiped the card, and led Dane inside. His hands roamed my body, as if he couldn’t stand not touching me, for even a second. Once the door was closed, he began to unbutton my top. As the last button came away, his hands slid around my waist, his touch warm against my skin. I jumped, the sensation tickling me.

“What, you’re ticklish?” He chuckled, tickling me as I yelled for him to stop.

“No!” I gasped, collapsing against him in a fit of giggles. I removed my shirt, looking him straight in the eyes and my hands moved to unfasten my jeans. He stood back, watching me with anticipation as I wiggled free of my pants.