The gate comes into view, causing me to slow to a stop. My chest is heaving as I try to catch my breath, and my eyes are scanning every face. I don't see him, but I know he's here. I can feel him.
Finally, I spot him. And as if he senses me too, he looks in my direction and our eyes lock. I can't breathe. The look in his eyes is one of happiness and sadness, of excitement and anger.
Standing up straight, he takes long sweeping steps in my direction, his head tilting to one side as he reaches out and cups my elbow. “What's wrong? Are you okay?”
The second his fingers hit my skin, I want to melt into his arms. I can feel my muscles loosening, ready to give in and let him hold me up, let him carry me, giving me the strength I'm not made of.
“You're wrong,” I say, holding my eyes steady on his. “You're wrong for leaving like this. You're wrong for thinking this is what's best for me. It's not.” I take a step closer and tip my chin up. “Look, I was relieved that I'm not pregnant, but not for the reason you think.”
“I don't understand. If you were pregnant, your parents would reject you.”
“No, if I were pregnant my parents would try and force us to get married. I'm done being forced to do one more thing by them. I do want a baby one day. I do want to get married one day. But I want those choices to be mine, not theirs.”
“That's why I'm leaving. I'm causing too much trouble for you. It's too stressful and it's not fair to you. With me gone, your life will go back to normal.” His brows dip in hard, his face tensing up as if he's not just trying to convince me, but also trying to convince himself.
“I don't want normal. . .” Pausing, I take another step in, slipping my arms around his neck. “I want you. I want everything that makes me happy, and it starts with you.”
His hands wrap my hips, pulling me as close as he can. “But what about your parents?”
“It's not about them. Happiness isn't a gift from your parents they can hold over your head. It's not built from money and fancy things. Happiness is being able to smile, it's laughing, it's comfort. It's everything I feel with you. And one day, I want us to have a baby that's born completely out of love, so they can know what happiness truly feels like.”
“Love?” he asks, the corner of his lip curling to one side. “Are you saying you love me, Siobhan Andrews?”
“Uh, no. Well, I mean, uh,” I say, my words all bumbled and not making sense. “I don't mean yet, I just think. . . I just—”
“If you won't come out and say it, I will,” he says, pressing the pads of his fingers into my lower back, and bringing his lips close to mine. “I love you. I don't give a shit if we haven't known each other long, I know what I feel, and I know you feel it too. You said it, you can't take it back now.” Rubbing the tip of his nose against mine, he grins. “I love you.”
I can feel the tears fill my eyes. “I love you,” I say, pressing my lips against his and kissing him.
His hands move to my head, cupping the back of my skull. Digging his fingers in deep, he tugs at my roots, kissing me harder, deeper, as if we were long lost loves who just found each other all over again.
When I pull away, I'm warm all over. “So, now what?” I ask with a grin. “Where do we go from here?”
“A hotel. I can go home tomorrow, but I think we need one more night together before I do.”
“You already bought your ticket.”
“Yeah, but I can buy another one.”
“Well, I bought one too.” Holding out my ticket, I smile big. “I wanted to make sure I could see you. I didn't want to get stuck at security and miss my chance to tell you how I feel.”
“What are you saying? That you want to come home with me?”
Shrugging a shoulder, I arch a brow. “Why say goodbye at all when we can be happy right now?”
“What about all your stuff? What about your parents? What will you tell them?”
“I'm not worried about any of that. My parents will get over it. I'm an adult, they can't control me anymore. As for my stuff, my stuff can't make me smile this way, only you can.”
His eyes move between mine, bold and full. Crushing his mouth against mine, he kisses me with love. He kisses me with excitement for the future. He kisses me like I mean the world to him.