“You were fucking incredible, Wren. Like… So good. Congratulations.” Words fall out of my mouth at a stupid pace as I try and breathe properly. This is the first time we’ve been this close in weeks. Long and hard weeks. I hold up the flowers. "And I- I got you these 'cause I knew you'd win."
She looks down at the pink and white tulips and a smile tugs at her mouth as she takes them. “Thank you, Miles. But seriously you can’t be in here." She tilts her head up to me as I tower over her. Her eyes flicker from each of mine until they land on my mouth for a second and her breath hitches.
“Why not? There’s no one else in here.” It takes her a while to register what I said but when she has, she looks around for a second.
“That’s true,” she says quietly as if debating her next move.She stares at me, her eyes dropping to my chest. Her mouth twitches. "You're wearing the shirt."
"What?" I ask before looking down at the shirt I got as a joke which says, 'I heart my girlfriend.' Was it risky to wear this? Probably? But it's making her smile, so I'd do it again if in a heartbeat.
I barely register it myself as I crash my mouth into hers and she gasps, dropping the flowers to the ground. I don’t know what part of my brain told me to do that, but I let myself fall into her for a second. Wren’s mouth feels so welcoming, like both of ours belong together. It feels like coming home. Her hands reach around my middle, lightly gripping onto my shirt. I let my mouth explore hers quickly before pulling away.
“Shit. I wasn’t thinking. I’ve just missed you so much. I had to see you and I’m so sorry about everything. I want you so much, Wren, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this – us,” I stutter, taking a step away from her, not knowing what she wants. So, I continue speaking. "And I know you said you needed space but I feel like I don't exist when you're not around. I'm nothing without you. And maybe I should have grovelled more or tried harder but all I can give you is me for now."
She looks at me for a moment, her eyes searching around my face as I ramble. She steps closer towards me, closing the distance I created, and she shakes her head lightly at the shirt I'm wearing before she pulls the neckline of it, drawing me in even closer. She kisses me softly once, tenderly, as if she’s still thinking about it before she comes back with more force. A strangled sound comes out from the back of my throat when her tongue sneaks into my mouth without warning. I don’t know how I’ve gone months without this. Months without feeling so complete. So, at home. When I notice my hands have been hanging at my sides, I reach up to her waist and I squeeze her tight. She gasps.
“Did I hurt you?” I mumble into her mouth.
She shakes her head passionately. "I'm just sore from practice." She walks backwards into the lockers until her back is flush against it. I use the opportunity to kiss down her bare collarbone and chest, taking my time to savour this moment again. The moment I got her back. Sort of. She whimpers softly when I bite at her shoulder.
“Miles,” she pants.
“Mm.” I bring my hand up to her thigh until it reaches her ass and I squeeze it softly.
“Miles, someone can come in here, like, any second,” she says more clearly. I press another kiss on her collarbone and her jaw before moving off her and taking a step back. When I look at her, her lips are parted, and her chest rises and falls quickly.
“You’re right,” I say. I open my mouth to speak again but it falls shut when I hear the door behind us open. Gingerly, I turn around and Kennedy and Scarlett are both stood in the doorway, staring at the space between us.
“Hey, we just wanted to say congratulations, but we’ve got to go back home to set the rest of the things up. You’re still going with coach, right?” Scarlett asks, her gaze shifting between as she speaks.
“Okay,” Wren gulps. I turn back to her, and her face is still red. “Thank you and I’ll see you there.”
“Okay,” Kennedy draws out before giving me an evil grin. “Miles, are you coming to the party?”
“I, uh, I don’t know if that’s-”I stammer, suddenly forgetting how to speak.
“Yeah, he’s coming and he’s also taking me home,” Wren interrupts nonchalantly as if we’ve already discussed this. I turn to her, and I can feel my own face heating up. “You can wait, right?”
I nod until my head goes dizzy. She smiles gently as she shoo’s us with her hands and we all walk out of the changing room. After Kennedy and Scarlett leave, I stand outside the door, running my hands down my face, laughing at myself at the absurdity of it all.
That's when I realise that I really want this.
I want her and her shyness. I want her and the way she blushes. I want her when she's sweaty from working out or when she's stressed, tapping a highlighter in her mouth. I want her friends to catch us making out like high-schooler and we pull apart, knowing that all we want is to be touching at all times.
I wanteverything.
Anything she's willing to give me.
*
After realising that she’s going to take more than fifteen minutes to change, I stand outside of my truck for Wren to finish getting ready. I don’t know what to do with myself. How am I supposed to go about this situation? I think this is her giving me that chance that my mom talked about. Even though I spent more time kissing her than asking for that chance. I had hoped that she would want to speak to me but that’s as far as I planned.
Finally, she comes out of the main doors, wearing pink shorts and a loose shirt, her hair tied back into messy bun as the flowers hang out of her sports bag. She rolls her eyes playfully when I open the door for her to get in. This is the Wren that I’ve missed.Who am I kidding?I've missed every part of her. Once she’s in the car, I go back around to my side.
“You didn’thave to do that,” she says, fiddling with the hem of her shirt, looking at the near empty car park.
“I wanted to.”
We’re quiet for most of the drive, not sure how to approach the elephant in the room. We’ve not spoken in almost two months after she wanted to end the contract and we just kissed in the changing room. I don’t know if she just wants to pretend that never happened or if she wants it to happen again. With the weird side glances she’s giving me, it’s hard to tell. I know I have to say something when we’re parked outside of her apartment and she’s not making an attempt to get out of the car. I angle my body to turn to her but she’s still facing straight ahead.
