“It was a perfect first time. And it has to be. It’s you,” he whispers. “You can wait a whole lifetime to feel the touch of the woman you love but every minute is worth the wait the second she’s finally yours.”
I release the breath I’ve been holding in, letting his emotions wash over me like a warm summer’s breeze. “Someone should write a book about us.”
“They should. I’d be the perfect book boyfriend.”
A small laugh follows. “You know what a book boyfriend is?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
Our laughs echo in the room as Noah quotes romantic lines from books he has read. All the more surprising me on how knowledgeable he is in that area.
It’s the perfect first date I could’ve asked for, but it has to come to an end like everything in life.
My eyes spring open after falling asleep sometime after dawn. I turn to see my phone, noting it’s almost midday. Shit.
I scramble up, my head spinning as I clutch my forehead, willing it to stop. Noah exits the bathroom, dressed in a pair of jeans and a buttoned shirt. I pull the sheet toward my chest, covering my breasts and wishing he didn’t have to leave. He may be in the room, but I ache for him, missing his touch. The way his lips create a frenzy within me. The way my heart beats erratically when his eyes fall upon me. We have no plan, nothing to promise our next reunion. The thought leaves me helpless, a part of me I can no longer control because now I have to factor in someone else. And not just someone else, a man who has other commitments that will always be more important than me—his children.
“I liked it better when you were naked,” I tell him, watching him tie his shoes, trying to clear my mind from negative thoughts.
“Hmm, I know, but wouldn’t that be awkward on the plane?”
“For you, maybe, but not for the women scoping out your junk.”
“Did you just say junk?”
“Enormous penis,” I pronounce clearly. “Is that more articulate for you?”
Noah shakes his head, a grin playing on his beautiful lips. “You’re crazy.”
“Are you sure I can’t take you to the airport?”
Noah sits on the edge of the bed. “If you do, I’ll never leave.”
I bow my head, this crappy emotion making me want to cry or something. My stomach is twisted in knots, my fingers aimlessly turning the sheets to distract where this is going.
“Hey, listen to me.” Noah cups my chin, raising my eyes to meet his. “I love you. We’ll fly to see each other when we can. Please just believe in me. That’s all I ask.”
I kiss his lips gently, enjoying this moment because it may be our last for a while. It isn’t fair to project my own selfish emotions onto him. I know he’s torn, so I choose to smile to reassure him we’ll be okay.
“I believe in us, okay? I love you. Now go home and FaceTime me when you get back.”
Taking one more look at me, he leans in as our lips meet again before he rests his forehead on mine and takes a breath. Planting a kiss on my forehead, he finally pulls back to leave the room and my apartment.
I fall back into bed, clutching the sheets as if my life depends on it. Everything has changed, my entire world has flipped upside down. As I stare at the ceiling like I’ve done a million times before, I eventually fall back to sleep dreaming about Noah.
The man who has finally won my heart—completely.
KATE
I spent the remainder of the weekend trying to do anything to keep my hands busy and mind off the fact that Paris feels like the loneliest city in the world.
I’ve cleaned my entire apartment, gone shopping and to a library, drank a bottle of wine and ate a whole box of pastries, none of which left me satisfied.
With an early flight booked to London on Monday morning, I pack my suitcase and prepare my presentation. It will be good to go back home, if only for three days. I plan to catch up with my parents for dinner with the limited spare time I have.
Noah FaceTimed me when he got back home. Jessa was staying at his place for the night, so she sat beside him when we chatted, interrupting to show me this weird doll with googly eyes. Seeing the two of them together, the resemblance is uncanny. He looks happy, his eyes bright when we speak. Due to the time difference, we ended our call, and I promised to call him when I get back from London.
I’ve done what I have trained myself to do for the longest of times, bury my head in work to try and forget about the distance between Noah and myself. The trip to London went by quickly, a catch-up with my parents the highlight of my journey. I chose to keep my private life exactly that—private. My mother is an opinionated woman, and I came close to spilling the beans when she mentioned an old neighbor of ours is now single. The same guy I’d lost my virginity to many moons ago.