“I should’ve called,” he interrupted. “If you’re mad, you have every right to be.”
I sat there with my mouth half open, realizing that his assumption was wrong. He didn’t know. Now I was even more nervous than before.
When he took my hands and pulled me up from the seat, I knew I should just tell him then, before we hugged, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be in his arms again. Four days without seeing him had been pure hell. On top of that, there was the fact that, soon enough, we wouldn’t be seeing each other at all anymore. The finality of this thought made me embrace him tighter.
“I’m so sorry,” he breathed against my ear after placing a kiss there. “I know it was on me to reach out because of how our conversation ended…and I swear I was gonna call as soon as I got back in town from Fairfax. I just thought we both needed time to think. I’m so sorry,” he repeated, holding me tighter.
My throat constricted as I held back from crying. Slowly, his hand trailed up to the nape of my neck where his fingers came to rest beneath my hair. His touch wasn’t something I’d planned ahead for either. In my head, I’d come in, say what I needed to say, and leave before he could see me cry. However, I currently found myself relishing in his grasp, letting my eyes drift shut as my will began to falter. It was in that instant that I considered the possibility of abandoning my original purpose for coming here altogether.
AJ pulled away a few inches and there was a look of vulnerability in his eyes that I hadn’t seen him display many times before. It made me feel like, whatever he said he wanted this to be, needed this to be, I’d go along with it.
“Do you forgive me?” he asked unassumingly.
All I could do was nod, unable to explain that I’d never been mad at him in the first place. A faint smile graced his lips just before he briefly touched them to mine. When he pulled away, his eyes roamed over the details of my face.
“I missed you,” he added warmly.
What I meant to say was, I missed you too; however, I was still in a daze so nothing came out. This wasn’t at all what I had in mind when I set out to come here.
AJ traced his thumb over my lips, staring at them like he longed for another kiss, but refrained. It was in the moment that our eyes locked that the words “I love you,” slipped out of my mouth without permission and my heart sank at the realization that I could never take them back. That one, seemingly simple phrase – the one I hadn’t spoken to him in several years – crushed the last ounce of resolve that remained in my bones. Followed by the final nail in the coffin – that smile he gave in response to my admission. Our lips collided and I gave up trying to fight this.
At first, there was a slight concern that someone might walk in; however, when this kiss began to deepen, I found myself not caring a whole lot about who caught us. AJ’s hands moved down my back and I leaned into him as he gripped me tight like this was the last time he’d get to touch me. I became entranced by the sound of our kiss and the heavy breathing that came along with it. Through his dress slacks, I felt his erection swell. I found myself wanting to take him right then and there, but there wasn’t much time before he had to leave for his flight.
I took his tongue into my mouth and placed my hands on both sides of his neck, feeling his racing pulse race against my palm. His scorching hot lips made it impossible to back off and so did whatever that fragrance was he was wearing. Just like that, I was his and there was no turning away.