AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I check the insides and confirm it’s the same load. What the—?
A noise from downstairs makes me jump. Did someone get into my house? A thief? No, what thief would assemble a crib and fold semi-clean laundry?
I tiptoe downstairs and discover the rest of the house has gotten a makeover, too. The dust is gone, the floors shine, and an unfamiliar fruity detergent smell wafts in the air. The food containers are gone, the mugs too. The whole place is immaculate.
I approach the kitchen and almost die of a heart attack when John springs up from behind the open fridge door.
“Morning.” He flashes me a heart-wrenching smile, closing the fridge, but not before I get a peek at its newly stocked insides.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“I know we’re on a break, but you forgot to text me last night and wouldn’t reply to any of my messages, or pick up your phone—I found it on the couch underneath all the clothes so that might be why.” He makes the cutest frown, causing all kinds of fluttering responses from me. “Anyway, you disappeared, so I asked your parents for their spare keys to check on you. But I’m going now.”
The idea of him leaving throws me into such a state of despair that I have to bite back a sob. He’s here. He came for me. He cares. He loves me. And I love him.
I thought having a child and being a mother was the only kind of love I was supposed to experience. That my parents and my sister were the only people I could ever truly trust. But maybe, just maybe, I can let someone else into my heart who isn’t bound to love me by blood. Trust that John won’t abandon me this time. Trust him.
I shake my head. “Don’t go.” I fling myself at him and pull him into as tight a hug as my bump will allow. Then I full-on lose it and start crying.
“Hey, hey,” John soothes, caressing my hair. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not,” I wail, face buried in his soft sweater that I’m now dampening with my tears.
“Marissa, hey.” He cups my chin and gently tilts my face up. “Look at me. Whatever it is, we can fix it.”
And I do, look at him, for the first time not searching for the boy I used to know but recognizing the man I got to meet anew. A man who has proved to me he’d show up for the big things—marriage, a baby, family crisis—and the small ones—bringing me coffee in the morning, taking out the trash, building a crib.
And all I did was push him away, mistrust him, test his loyalty when he’s given me no reason to doubt him. Well, he’s passed the test with flying colors.
Without thinking, I kiss him.
He remains impassive as if he isn’t sure whether he’d be taking advantage of one of my emotional states.
I pull back and look him straight in the eyes. “Kiss me back, John. It’s what I want.”
A storm thunders in his blue irises, and I cower under the intensity of his gaze.
His hand sinks into my hair, forcing my head back, and his lips crash into mine. Past, present, and future collide.
The kiss is nothing like the previous ones. This one tastes of forever, of promises and commitments. Of love, care, and devotion. All the years we’ve spent apart dissolve. It’s just him and me, all of me.
It feels as if every jigsaw piece of my life has converged into this moment, finally making sense, finally painting a complete picture.
I part my lips, deepening the kiss. John’s fingers dig into my scalp in response. His other hand, the one not tangled in my hair, cradles my face so gently it threatens to make me cry again. Then his hand slides down my cheek to my collarbone, tracing my side to roll behind my back so that he can pull me closer.
My throat burns with need when his lips leave mine, but he doesn’t stop kissing me, he only leaves my mouth to trail kisses down my cheek, down the side of my neck. I tilt my head, giving him better access to my throat, so he nibbles at it, tastes it, bites it, making me lose all sentient thoughts.
I pull my hands from his hair, dragging them down to his waist, sneaking underneath his sweater, wanting to feel skin. I run my fingers over his back and feel the bunch of his muscles and the heat of his skin. Suddenly, he pulls away from me and pins my arms to the wall above my head, caging me in and effectively stopping me from reaching for him again.
“What are you doing to me?” he rasps, his voice hoarse with desire, his eyes burning with need.
“What do you mean?” I whimper, pressing myself against him.
He shakes his head. “I can’t control myself around you. And I told you I don’t want anything to happen unless you’re sure it is forever.”
“I am,” I breathe, smiling up at him. “I’ve come to my senses.”
He presses his forehead against mine. “Are you sure?”
