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She swallowed thickly and her pulse fluttered in her throat.
I lowered my head and sealed my lips over hers.
The kiss started out slow, but quickly built. Her arms wound around my neck and her fingers into my hair. She tugged lightly as she moaned into my mouth. Her body fit perfectly against mine as I held her, almost as if she’d been made for me. Her mouth parted beneath mine, drawing me in. The tip of my tongue touched hers and it was like a thousand fireworks went off in my body. I’d never believed you could experience that feeling until it happened to me. She moaned softly as I grasped her waist, pressing her hips into mine. My old tendencies started to rear up and I had to squash my desire to take here right here, right now, pinned against a wall. I couldn’t do things like that anymore.
When the kiss ended we both were out of breath and clung to each other. Her body shook and I held on tight so she didn’t float away.
With a shaky hand she reached up to touch her slightly swollen lips.
“I hope you’re not mad,” I spoke, “but I’ve been wanting to do that for a while.”
“Not at all,” she smiled beautifully. “Can we do that again?”
I didn’t answer her with words. I didn’t need to. I kissed her again, taking my time. I wanted her to know how much I craved her, but at the same time I didn’t want the intensity of my feelings to scare her. There was a reason I’d been so drawn to her when we were in high school. She was special.
???
“That’s it,” Kyle said as he dropped the last box down on the floor.
I felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction as I looked around the space that would soon be my gallery. But then onc
e I saw just how little boxes I had a frown formed on my face. It was pretty sad that my entire life fit inside ten boxes. That was it. I didn’t even have any furniture. I’d made Kyle get rid of everything from my old place. I’d only kept the necessities. I wanted a fresh start, but now as I looked around I felt pathetic that I was twenty-four years old and this was all I had.
“Looks like someone needs to go shopping.” Kyle clapped me on the shoulder. He must have been thinking the same thing I was.
“Yeah,” Leah piped in. “You need a bed, and a couch, and—”
Kyle made a loud snoring noise, his head lolled to the side as he pretended to be asleep.
Leah rolled her eyes.
Jolting, as if he’d just come awake, Kyle said, “Once people start talking about shopping, that’s my cue to leave. I don’t shop. Have fun you two.” Waving to us over his shoulder, he left.
“We should probably see if we can get you a few things.” Leah stood, brushing her shorts free of invisible dust. I couldn’t help but appreciate how nice her legs looked in those little white shorts. “Caelan?”
I shook my head free of my thoughts. “You’re right. Let’s go.”
I’d finally bought a car, so I drove. I had no idea what to look for in furniture so I went with what Leah liked.
“Come on, Cael,” she groaned. “This is your place, not mine. It should reflect your style.”
“Do I even have a style?” I grumbled, sipping on a Coke the sales lady had offered.
“Everybody does.” Leah rolled her eyes like I was stupid.
“I really don’t care,” I shrugged. “Pick out what you think looks nice and I’ll be happy.”
I could tell Leah was getting frustrated with my obvious lack of interest, but honestly, what the hell did I know about furniture?
Leah told the sales lady what items we wanted and then I paid. They couldn’t deliver it for a few days, so it looked like I was stuck sleeping on an air mattress. Wonderful.
We walked out of the store and got dinner before going back to my place. Leah helped me unpack the boxes before she headed home. As soon as she walked out the door I missed her company. To distract myself I grabbed one of the canvases I’d bought and decided to paint.
Almost instantly my mood changed with each stroke of color. It was undeniably therapeutic to bring something to life on a canvas. It was created from my mind and didn’t exist until I picked up a brush. Within art magic existed.
When I painted, it was like something else took over. My hand made the necessary movements to bring alive her image. I chose pink for her hair and it dripped down the canvas in tiny rivulets. Her eyes came alive and her lips pouted at me. Only someone that knew her would know the woman on the canvas was Leah.
For hours I painted. I didn’t want to sleep. I wanted to create. So, I did.
