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“Fred, I don’t expect you to wait two years for me. He’s going to make our life hell, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, I think he will try, but it’s up to us if we let him or not.”
I look at him, my heart breaking, no longer sure of what I’m feeling and what’s a forgotten fantasy from my long years spent not here with him. “Is this love, Freddy?”
His ocean blues melt my heart as he grins his slow, beautiful smile that time hasn’t changed. “We could find out together. I know I prefer my life with you in it. I know I want to get to know Isaac, and I know I don’t want either of you to be anywhere other than here. That’s a start, right?”
“Yeah, that’s a start. I don’t want to be anywhere else, either.”
Leaning in, he kisses my mouth, the taste of my tears on his lips. “I don’t think we should antagonise Elliot. He could drag this out for years. We need him to think we are playing by his rules.”
“How do we do that?” I mutter the question, although I’m sure I know the answer.
“Create some space, so he doesn’t think you came back here just to find me.”
“But I didn’t!” I protest. “I came back here petrified I’d see you again and you’d hate me for the all the wrongs I’ve done."
Freddy chuckles and pulls me in, showering kisses on my face and hair. “Amber, I know that, you know that. It’s all that matters.” He leans back and looks at me sternly. “So are we going to do this the right way this time?”
My heart wants so much for me to say, ‘What the hell’, but I know it could make the situation worse, so much worse, so I nod my unhappy agreement. His lips graze over mine again and my whole body aches for him, pulling in shadowy corners I’d blocked from my memory.
“Space,” I agree.
It’s halften and Isaac is asleep. He was gone only a few short hours with Elliot. Elliot didn’t approach the house again, although he gave me a hearty wave from the car. I slammed the door on him—futile, but it made me feel a little better.
I spent the afternoon looking after Mum and trying to get my head around the developments of the last twenty-four hours. My date with Freddy, which turned into so much more, couldn’t have ended worse, even with me at the helm.
I’m straightening the lounge and glaring at my laptop with its unhappy love stories when the front doorbell rings.
Swinging it open I find Freddy leaning against the wall. “That’s about all the space I can manage.” His arms grab me tight, pulling me into every contour of his body, fitting me next to him the way we’ve always fit together. The autumn chill lingering on his clothes and body filters through my layers, making me shudder as I move in and kiss him.
When he pulls away, his eyes dance, humour lighting his face from within. As he sits down on the top step, he tugs me down with him. “So, tell me about your day.”
“Bah. You know, so so.”
“How do you want your day to end, Amber?”
I look up into the dark blues. That familiar emotion I get with him rushes though every cell in my body. “With you.”
He grins. “Good, I was hoping you’d say that.”
