He rolled to the side, took off the condom, tied a knot in it and tossed it aside, then he reached for me. His arm curved over my shoulder and he brought me into him. “It isn’t enough time.”
I tried to lift my head, but he pressed me back down so my cheek rested on his chest.
“Need to hold you a minute, shutterbug.”
I kept quiet, listening to his heartbeat as I curled into him, his hand slowly caressing my back.
We lay like that a while, catching our breath, settled in the silence.
He stopped caressing and I tilted my head to look up at him. He was already looking at me.
“I’ve been with a lot of chicks, Alina. I’m not proud of it, but I don’t regret it either. It means I also know when something is fuckin’ special. And that was something fuckin’ special. Not sure what to do with that.”
Before I could respond, his mouth was on mine and he kissed me again. It was gentle and sweet and it was something more. We were something more.
And I wasn’t sure what to do with it either.Question 2: What was your favorite thing to do as a teenager?Day 28“TWIRL,” I SAID while holding the little girl Fariba’s hand and raising my arm so she could spin under it. She smiled, her eyes wide and laughing as I danced with her, the music echoing in the night air.
I called Deck this morning and left him a message. I asked if he’d check in on Georgie and my parents as I’d decided to stay longer at the orphanage, but would be back in time to go to JTF2 training. I didn’t mention Alina. Didn’t actually know what to say because this was all new territory for me. Plus it sucked talking on voice mail.
I read over my journal last night while she was showering. Besides the nineteen questions and her answers, I wrote other things about her, little things like how she spilled her coffee the other morning when it was too hot. The next morning, I tested her coffee first.
Had ever since. Don’t know why, but fuck, I liked doing that. I liked every single second we spent together.
Our paths had intersected when I least expected and soon we would be separating on completely different roads. Maybe that was how it was supposed to be and for the last few days, I’d been trying to convince myself of that.
I was doing a shit job.
Because Alina meant something.
The song ended and I bowed to the little girl and she curtsied before running off to her friends with a bounce in her step. It wasn’t much, but it was all I could give them, the laughter. It was what kept me going when images of what I’d seen haunted me. Laughter kept the lightness. It fed you life.
My eyes caught a glimpse of white coming out of the building and I turned. Then my breath caught in my throat and I froze.
She stood in the doorway, her hair loose and gently falling over her shoulders, her white linen pants bristling around her legs in the gentle breeze and her face illuminated by the full moon. She was smiling, her eyes on the kids dancing to the music trickling from the shitty radio.
Carved. Etched. Engraved. Fuck, it was everything. Her standing there was an image I’d never forget. Didn’t need a fuckin’ photo to remind me.
Her eyes shifted across the yard and she waved to Jaz who was dancing with a group of kids. He winked at her and then her gaze drifted to me and locked.
My chest swelled. It fuckin’ swelled, never had that with a chick before. No, Alina wasn’t some chick. She was the woman I’d fallen in love with.
She headed toward me, graceful and a little shy as she tucked strands of hair behind her ear. Most of the time she wore it tied back, but tonight, it hung in soft waves down her back and over her shoulders. Long layers framed her face, the strands that always escaped her ponytail.
The music slowed and Evanescence’s “My Immortal” played, her haunting voice riding on the gentle breeze. My heart beat faster as she drew near, her smile now a hesitant half smile. Eyes searching, probably wondering what the fuck I was thinking.
Because we both knew our time was almost up.
She lowered her eyes when she stopped a foot away from me. I moved into her, arm sliding around her waist, and I slowly drew her up against me.
“Alina,” I murmured then cupped her chin and tilted my head, lowering until my mouth found hers.
The plush velvet surface of her lips molded to mine, following my direction. Her body sagged, palms gliding up my chest to my shoulders before wrapping around my neck.