He grins. “Yeah, and I still have a very impressive hard-on. We need to get home, like yesterday.”
I laugh. “Yeah, we do.”
After the longest hour of my life, my feet are sore, and my sex is on fire. Seriously, it is. Like that song fromKings of Leon.
Oscar closes the front door behind us. Corrie is reading on the sofa in the living room. I’m just about to go say hi when Oscar grabs me by the waist. “Sorry, Corrie. We’ve got important plans in the bedroom.”
Corrie and I both laugh. Subtle? Not so much. That’s Oscar for you.
I’m about to peel off my jacket when he slams the bedroom door behind us and throws me on the bed. He lowers his body onto mine. I can feel his huge erection on my thigh, and I get aroused at the thought of him inside me.
“Today was amazing,” he says softly. “But this… this right here, is the best part.”
I smile and slide my hand under his sweater. “I concur, Mr. Cohen.”
He’s not in a hurry tonight, which surprises me because he has a throbbing hard-on. We kiss leisurely, softly, taking every ounce of each other in. I dig my greedy hands in his thick hair, rub my swollen lips against his rough beard, and revel in his scent; sweet and spicy, just like him.
He slides a slow hand under my turtleneck and I marvel at how this never gets old, even after all these years. I want this to last all night. I know it’s already getting late, and we need to get up early tomorrow to travel back home. I wish time could stand still.
We undress each other slowly, between soft stolen kisses. This isn’t like us at all. Usually, we’re fast and furious. Something is different tonight.
We burrow under the crisp cool sheets, the both of us completely naked. We’re separated for only a moment, but the absence of his skin on mine hurts. When we find each other again, I never want to let him go. I’m in love. Hard, real, cruel love. This isn’t just a crush anymore. This isn’t just about sex anymore. And that scares the hell out of me.
Tears well under my closed lids. Why can’t it be like it’s always been? Why did I have to fall in love? As soon as I love, I get hurt.
I get lost in his kiss. His large hands explore and dance over my body. I pull my mouth reluctantly from his. “Promise me you’ll never hurt me.”
His dark gaze is lost in mine. “I promise. I could never hurt you, Kayla. If I ever did, I would suffer more than you.”
And with those beautiful words, he slowly sinks into me.
I startle awake,and it hits me. Almost as if I’ve been dreaming about it. I’ve thought of a way to apologize to my mom. In a way that might just pull at her heartstrings.
But first, I need to get up. I check the clock on my bedside table. It’s five o’clock in the morning. It’s still dark out. This is perfect — plenty of time to pack up all our stuff, have breakfast, swing by the gift shop down the street, and head to the airport.
Corrie and Oscar are still sleeping, to my dismay.
“C’mon. Up, you guys. We need to get packing.” I feel like a nagging mom, but someone’s got to be in charge around here. Corrie’s room is a complete utter disaster; shoes, items of clothing, and candy wrappers litter the floor. You’d swear she was a teenager if you didn’t know any better.
Oscar is still half-sleeping, and also has a morning stiffy — I swear, the man is insatiable. But no time for shenanigans this morning unfortunately. “Get up,” I yell at him. He scowls and throws his pillow at my head. Whatever happened toI could never hurt you, Kayla?
We’re busy packing, and I also need to find something to wrap mom’s gift in. I pace around the apartment, thinking. Then it hits me. I run over to Corrie’s room. She’s packing up her clothing and shoes. As expected, she hasn’t cleaned up the candy wrappers. I bend down and gather them.
She turns to me, and cocks a brow. “Sorry, I was just about to get to those.”
“No worries. I’m going to use them for something.” I run out of her room, excited. I remember seeing some sticky tape in one of the drawers in the kitchen.
I quickly put on my jacket, step into my boots, and head outside. I swing by the gift shop down the street, and waste no time in picking up the beautiful gift I had my eye on.
When I get home, I tear open the wrappers and stick them on the box, one at a time. The process is tedious and I wish my hands could move faster. When I’m finally done, I peruse my work. It looks pretty cool — colorful French packaging makes for an oddly whimsical present. Now, I just need a bow. Luckily, I have a ribbon or two in my travel jewelry bag. I like to wear them in my hair sometimes to pretty up my ponytails.
Finally…
We’re ready to go. The taxi is late, and our driver is moody, which is actually not surprising. A lot of the cab drivers in this city seem cranky. I suppose it’s not fun driving tourists around in busy city traffic all day.
Miraculously, we get to Charles de Gaulle with plenty of time for check-in and security. I feel mildly nauseated — it’s travel nerves mixed with sorrow. I don’t want to leave this beautiful, amazing city. I want to get lost in it forever… just me and Oscar, and Paris.
I’m nervous at the thought of seeing Mom again. We’re all booked on the same flight back. I know I’ll see her in the boarding lounge. I suppose Matt and Mark will be there too. This is going to be one awkward boarding.
