AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sam was leaving in a matter of days, and there was no way he could change his circumstances that fast. And he certainly wasn’t going to ask her to wait for him until he figured his life out. She had goals and a timeline. She was headed for great things. Meanwhile, he was headed back to his parents’ basement.
She stood up and laid her hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him. “Hey, you okay?”
“Yeah.” He forced a smile. “Tired, is all.”
“Me too,” she said, her honey-brown eyes soft and glowing under the bill of his cap. Then she tipped it up and leaned in to kiss him, speaking her words against his mouth. “I don’t want to go home.”
He let out a harsh breath. “Me either.”
He didn’t want to face what he knew he had to do. The thing he’d been dreading and trying to avoid all summer. The day he’d have to say goodbye.
A few hours later, Mike nudged Sam awake once they landed at the Akron-Canton Airport. He hadn’t been able to sleep on either of their flights, but once they were seated, she’d promptly closed her eyes, her head falling against his shoulder. And she stayed in that position, occasionally inhaling deeply or shifting her legs or hands, nuzzling her cheek against him. Each tiny movement that got her more comfortable drove his anxiety up another notch.
When Bianca had broken up with him, he’d been miserable for a few weeks, on top of his lingering depression over his injuries and long recovery after his amputation. But this, this impending end to what he had with the woman who’d let out little, sweet breaths of air against his neck, was so much more painful already. He’d had enough physical pain to last a lifetime and couldn’t imagine anything could feel worse.
But now, he knew. He’d already lost his heart.
Samantha held it in her hands when she woke up, stretching her arms above her head. She held it in her smile when she gazed over at him, sleepy and beautiful. She held it in her own heart, the same heart she showed him in their bed when they made love in the morning glow of their room with sunlight slanting across her skin and a breeze filling the air around him with her scent.
He didn’t know if he would ever recover from this loss.
“I can’t wait to get home,” she said, her words muffled in a yawn as she followed him down the jet bridge, linking her hand with his. “I feel like I could sleep for a full week.”
“You partied hard.”
She leaned into him. “Did you have fun?”
“I always have fun with you.”
“But did you really?”
“Yeah.” He dipped his head down, and she was staring up at him, still from under his cap. He tipped it back with his knuckle. “I did. Why?”
She faced forward, stepping away from him to avoid a toddler running between the two of them. The kid’s mom was jogging after him, and Sam shook her head, laughing, before taking his hand again. “You seem… I don’t know.” She glanced at him. “You’re quiet.”
He avoided her implied question and instead said, “I’m always quiet.”
“Not with me.”
Something clawed at his chest and throat, and he inhaled a deep breath to clear it away. It didn’t budge, even when he tapped his hand against his chest like he had a cough.
“I didn’t know if you were upset with me or something,” she added quietly, so quietly he almost couldn’t hear it as they walked to baggage claim. Fellow passengers chatted all around them, but Mike could only focus on Samantha, her hand in his, her eyes searching his face for any emotion. But he was a blank slate; he didn’t want to give anything away.
“No, I’m not upset with you. I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m fine. Just thinking about things.”
“I’ve been thinking too.”
He dreaded the answer yet still asked the question. “About what?”
“You and me.” She didn’t blink or fidget. She was absolutely sure when she spoke her next words. “I have been trying to avoid it, avoid my feelings, but after this weekend, I don’t want to anymore. I love you, Mike.”
Time stopped. The white noise silenced. His breath caught.
This beautiful, brilliant woman had laid herself bare. She loved him.Lovedhim.
And all he could do in return was swallow down the lump in his throat, adding to the growing mountain in his gut, and he could see the light extinguish from her eyes the longer he waited. With every second, he felt the place where his heart resided next to hers start to crumble. Soon, there would be nothing left of him. Or of her.
Her eyes toggled between his. Her desperation called to him. She needed a lifeline. He knew how difficult it was for her to verbalize those words.
