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I noted the extra kisses and smiled, looking forward to real ones later.
Mum returned with a member of staff, and we got June’s gift and paid for it before heading out of the shop and back into the cold December day.
“So,” Mum said, linking her arm through mine.“I want to hear all about what you’ve been getting up to with Donovan.”
“No, you don’t,” I said, but there was no way to stop the rush of heat to my cheeks.
“Ohhh!”Mum said, laughing out loud.“So, this is moving fast!”
“Stop it,” I told her, my cheeks now burning as she cackled beside me.It was lucky we were close, and she was the kind of mother I didn’t mind sharing things with.Luckily for me, she wasn’t the kind that would berate me for sleeping with him so soon.Perhaps she might have thought differently if it was anyone else, but she had been romanticising Donovan’s return since she found out about it.Admittedly, two childhood friends reuniting and getting together did make for a cute tale, but we weren’t heading that way.Not long-term, anyway.The reminder caused a sharp stab somewhere inside me, threatening to dampen my enjoyment of the now.
I had never been a dive in feet-first kind of girl when it came to relationships.I would tread fairly carefully until I was sure something had clicked.Everything was backwards with Donovan.We’d already had sex, yet I was still trying to learn who he was.It was supposed to be the other way around, but every time I looked at him and saw his exceptional smile and twinkling eyes, I forgot everything else.I couldn’t keep a firm grip on my feelings because, with each day, they grew a little more.What was throwing my thoughts into chaos was the fact that I was pretty sure he felt the same way.Every time we saw each other, whether it had been a day or an hour, we were drawn together as if we had been apart for months.The way he kissed me.The way he touched me.His words.All of it seemed like more than just some fleeting thing.He was seeing the beauty in where we were, and although I hadn’t got him hooked on Christmas again yet, I could see that changing too.
“Nova,” Mum said, her tone less teasing and more understanding.“Talk to me, sweetheart.”
As we weaved through locals doing their shopping, I sighed.“It’s...something.Maybe.I like him a lot.”Just saying the words made me ache a little with the need to be with him.
“And where does he stand?”
I shrugged.“I think maybe the same as me.I’m trying not to stress over it too much as he will be leaving sometime between now and mid-January.”The idea made me feel a bit sick, but it was what it was.I thought again about June, and what she’d said about grabbing hold of moments where I could.What we had right then was enough.It had to be.
Mum smiled as if she understood exactly what I felt.“Do you think he might change his mind about leaving?”
“No.I don’t think so.Yesterday, we went out together, and I saw just how much he loves what he does.I don’t think anything will keep him here or in any one place for long.Maybe one day, but not yet.This is how it’s always been, though, isn’t it?I have him for a while, and then he leaves.”
“Well, yes, but this is a bit different than when you were little.”
I shook my head.“It’s not really.He’s here, and then he goes away.The only thing different now is it might be more than a year until I see him again.”
The one thing I was relatively sure about was that he would come back to visit more now he’d got close to June again, but I wasn’t counting on those visits being yearly.I supposed there was the chance we reallywouldgo back to exactly how things were before.We would see each other every Christmas, but at least this time we could stay in touch more easily.
Mum and I slowed our pace as we waited to cross the road and then cut through to The Lawn so we could head over to Brunswick Place, where there were a few more gift shops.As we walked, Mum said, “You said you spoke to Louise and Sam, and they will be coming over at Easter.Maybe he’ll come back then.”
“Maybe, but he didn’t say so.”
I hadn’t thought about that before, but surely, if he’d planned to be here in a few months, he would have mentioned it.Of course, we hadn’t kissed then.Things had sped up a hell of a lot since then.
“I have no idea how all of this is going to play out, Mum.But for now, I just want to make the most of it.If nothing else, at least we’ll get to spend the whole of Christmas together instead of sneaking out to show each other our presents over the garden fence.”
Laughing, Mum said, “The two of you were so cute, and such good friends back then.Whatever is meant to be will find its way, sweetheart.”
My mum’swise words echoed in my head for the rest of the morning.Donovan and I had found our way back to each other once.Was it so crazy to think there was a reason for that?I might not have been a believer in fate, but I did believe there were lessons in everything I experienced, even if it wasn’t always clear what they were.Until the lesson appeared, I intended to fly by the seat of my pants and see where I ended up.
I knocked on June’s door just before one p.m., a bag containing two chicken and vegetable pies in my hand.Donovan dragged me inside by my wrist, closing the door and pushing me up against it with such speed I lost my breath.
“Hi,” he said with a bright smile.
I’d barely managed to respond when his lips descended on mine hungrily, causing me to hit him in the back with the pies as my arms wrapped around him.
Warmth was breathed into me as his lips kissed mine with what was a now well-practised rhythm, and I pressed my hips into his, smiling at his very obvious happiness to see me.
“That was the longest nineteen hours ever,” he mumbled into my neck, his lips nuzzling my skin.
“You counted?”I asked, chuckling as I tipped my head back a little, allowing him better access.
“I did.”He lifted his head to look at me.“I would really like to keep doing this, but I’m not sure how much longer Nan will be, and I don’t think she’ll be too pleased if she can’t get in because I’m doing you against the door.”
His words caused a rush of heat through me, and I laughed, kissing him once more before reluctantly dropping my arms from around him.“Maybe you can do me against my front door later.”
