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I collapse against her, our bodies now covered in sweat as we lie together, both of us breathing hard. My heart pounds in my chest as I press soft, gentle kisses, slowly brushing my lips against hers.
“That was amazing,” she whispers.
I smile. “Fucking fantastic,” I murmur. “God, I’ve dreamed about this, Lulu.”
“You have?” she asks, eyes opening.
I grin down at her. “Yes,” I say, pressing another kiss to her lips. “Many, many times,” I tell her. She giggles now and it’s fucking adorable. I roll over, keeping her with me so she’s now lying on top of me. “I’ve had a crush on you since I was kid, Lu,” I confess, brushing her hair back. “It’s never gone away. And it’s only intensified since I got back here.”
Lu stares down at me, a shocked look on her face as she takes in my words, my admission to her. It’s all true, everything I’ve just said. Back when I was a kid, I’d thought it was just a teenage crush, the kind of crush that would disappear as soon as I went back home to Oz and forgot all about the skinny little blonde girl who I couldn’t seem to stop tormenting.
But it hadn’t and even though I hadn’t seen her for fourteen years, it didn’t mean I didn’t miss her, didn’t wish that maybe I’d kept in contact with her. That I hadn’t been so mean to her all those times I teased and tormented her. And even though it hadn’t been all bad between us, plenty of good memories too, a part of me wished I’d done things differently.
God, I even looked her up on Facebook once or twice, just to see what she was doing. I’d thought maybe I could drop her a message, see how she was, but instead all I’d seen was photos of her and some other guy, which were enough to stop me from reaching out.
“Does that scare you?” I ask her, skimming my thumb across her cheek.
“Maybe,” she whispers.
I lean up and kiss her again. “So, does that have something to do with whatever that was earlier?”
Lu shakes her head, sliding off me a little so she’s half lying on me, her head now resting on my shoulder. She smooths a hand over my chest, down my stomach to my hip, her fingers tracing the scar that’s there.
“Lu,” I say, titling her face to mine. “I meant what I said, okay? I’m not leaving you.”
“But you are going to go back to Australia,” she finally says, her words barely audible.
I exhale because I know she’s right. Iamgoing back, I have to, for so many reasons. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to do this, don’t want to find a way to make it work.
“But I’m not leavingyou,” I tell her again. “We’ve only just gotten started, Lu,” I try, desperate to find a way to explain this so she doesn’t give up on us before we even have a chance to begin. “We can find a way to make this work.”
She lets out a long breath, leaning her forehead on my chest. I feel her lips against my skin, her breath warm as I trail my fingers up her spine. Eventually she lifts her head, her eyes meeting mine as she offers me a small smile. I smile back at her, my fingers brushing against her cheek.
“Don’t give up on us,” I whisper.
She leans forward, her lips meeting mine as she whispers, “Okay.”
The next morning, I wake with Lu naked and asleep in my arms. Every single part of me wants to wake her up with my mouth, make her moan and call my name again like she did so many times last night.
I don’t though, reluctantly easing her off me as I slide out of bed. Even though it’s early, I know Ollie and Oscar are coming over today and I don’t want to risk them finding us like this. It’s bad enough Ollie busted us kissing the other night and I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before she’s announcing that nugget of information to the world.
My clothes are all still on the floor of the shower, soaking wet. I grab them and a towel, which I wrap around my waist before walking back into the bedroom. Lu is lying on her side as she half opens her eyes, a sleepy smile on her face.
I lean down and press a kiss to her shoulder. “I gotta go and get some dry clothes before work,” I whisper, nuzzling at her neck.
“Mmmm,” she murmurs, her hand sliding out from under the covers as she reaches for the towel. “Stay.”
I grin, kissing my way up to her ear. “I wish I could, beautiful,” I whisper. “But I gotta get to work.”
“Hard ass boss?” she says, smiling.
Her fingers brush against my skin before slipping beneath the towel. It takes everything I have in me to still her hand, stop her from pulling at the towel when it’s exactly what I want her to do.
“Nah,” I say, nibbling the skin just below her ear. “She likes to think she is, but I know she’s a total softie underneath.”
Lu rolls onto her back now, the sheet slipping a little. I can’t stop the groan that falls from my mouth as I move my lips down her neck and across her now uncovered chest. “God, you make it impossible,” I murmur against her skin.
“Stay,” she repeats, her hand finding the towel again.
