He bites his lip, and I want to jump him right there. “Was I hard,” he asks with dark eyes, “when you imagined me?”
Damn.
“Yes.”
“And does reality live up to expectations?”
I reach for his mouth, bite his bottom lip gently, and slowly let go. “And then some.”
We kiss for the longest time, and it tastes so sweet, I never want to stop. I reluctantly pull away. “We’re missing the movie,” I whisper.
He smiles. “You’re cruel.”
I’m almost asleep when the movie ends. He strokes my hair, and Floyd snores. The last thing I remember is that blissful feeling and thinking,I never want this moment to end.
* * *
I’m still sleepy when I wake. The sun is streaming through the edges of the curtains. I could stay in this bed forever, for eternity. It feels so delicious to sleep in, to not have a single thing to do but enjoy life, to not have to adult for once. The feeling is completely foreign to me. I think about the kids — I miss them so much. My heart hurts at the thought that they might miss me too. I tell myself that they’re probably too busy to miss me. They’re sleeping right now. I grab my phone and send a quick ‘I love you’ to Emma.
I love you both,I write.Share with your brother.
Then I send them a photo of a bakery shop window I saw — the most gorgeous cakes known to mankind.
When I get back, we’ll go out for cake at that place you like. You can get any cake you want! <3
I check all my messages. There’s another one from John.
Please, Gabbie, write back to me. Tell me you’ve not gone through with it.
My heart sinks. I can’t deal with him right now. I don’t want to tell him the truth, but I need to. It’s the right thing to do.
I’m sorry,I write. He’ll know what it means.
There are also two messages from Maeve and Corrie. I smile when I read Corrie’s.
Did you two bump nasties yet or what?!
—
None of your business,I reply.
—
How’s your trip going? Send pictures!Maeve writes.
—
Great!!I reply.
I send Maeve a few pics of the city, and a selfie of Eli and me. I hear a soft knock at the door. “Come in,” I call out.
Eli is all smiles. Even Floyd seems like he’s smiling, but maybe that’s just his normal Golden Retriever look. He’s wagging his tail so I know he’s happy to see me. When Eli bounces on the bed to kiss me, so does Floyd. “Good morning, sleepyhead,” he says, and Floyd climbs all over me, and licks my face, not quite the kind of wake-up I’m used to, but I love it.
Eli is laughing his head off. “Sorry, he just really likes you.”
The dog is suffocating me, and I’m laughing so hard, I’m crying. Eli finally pulls Floyd off me, and walks him out of the bedroom with much fuss. I pout when he comes back. “Why’d you do that?!”
I can hear Floyd whine on the other side of the door. “Bring him back,” I demand.
