uccumbed to my own desire. I started to climax, and she erupted with one more orgasm while I exploded inside her. I kept my thrusts going until the orgasm subsided, and then I fell forward—thankfully the couch was there for me to catch myself.
“I don’t want you to go…” Holly exhaled sharply, and I heard a whimper in her throat.
“I wish I could stay.” I lifted up from the couch and sat down on the edge of it. “But we’ll stay in touch—just like you said. Skype, right?”
“Yeah.” She nodded and slowly started to stand.
Holly and I took a shower together which resulted in a little more playfulness than cleanliness—and I was running late by the time we were done. I got dressed, verified that I could just leave my key in the room, and then we made our way to the car. I agreed to let her keep my stuff. It wasn’t like I really needed it. I had plenty of clothes at home. She drove me to the airport and walked with me until we got to security. That was as far as she could go. We had a long kiss—a hug that I never wanted to release—and then I finally had to pull away.
“I’m going to miss you.” Holly looked up at me.
“I’m going to miss you too.” I leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
More than you’ll ever realize…
One hour later
Leaving Holly behind in Arizona was difficult. The emotional hit was a lot harder than I expected. The plane lifted into the sky, and I leaned against the window to see if I could catch a glimpse of her—even if it was just her car in the parking lot—but the angle wasn’t right. She was probably long gone by the anyway. I still stared until the cars disappeared out of sight completely. I could taste our last kiss on my lips—smell her perfume lingering on my shirt from our last hug—it was all I would have of her except for the memories that were never going to be far from my thoughts. I finally settled into my seat, picked up my phone once the pilot said we could turn them back on and tried to find some music to listen to. The flight wasn’t going to be long enough for a movie.
“You look like you’re leaving your whole world in Arizona.” The older woman next to me who had been silent up to that point turned her head towards me. “First time visiting L.A.?”
“No ma’am.” I shook my head back and forth. “I’m from there. I was just visiting Arizona.”
And no visit would have been long enough if the end of it meant leaving alone.
“Same here.” She smiled. “I was visiting my daughter and her new husband—they got married a few months ago and already have a baby on the way. How many kids do you have?”
“Me?” I snapped my head back and chuckled. “None.”
“No wife either?” She eyed my left hand, which was missing the ring she apparently thought should be there.
“No ma’am.” I shook my head again.
She continued talking, and we were halfway to Los Angeles before she finally lost interest in the conversation. I was polite, but I wasn’t in the mood for conversation. I just wanted to listen to some music on my way home. Welcome to the Jungle started playing when we began our descent into the City of Angels, and I thought it was rather fitting. I was back in the jungle of my own life and without Holly there to keep me in the moment, I knew I was going to spend the next few months analyzing every detail of our relationship—to the point I might just go crazy before I held her again. I wasn’t looking forward to it, but what we had together was special, so I believed we could make it work—regardless of the distance.
At least I’ll get to talk to her—and see her beautiful smile over Skype. It won’t be enough, but it will be better than nothing.
Two hours later
“Hey there, neighbor!” Mr. Pierce was working in his yard when the Uber dropped me off, and he immediately started walking my way.
“Hey…” I greeted him with an apprehensive wave.
He doesn’t look angry. I’ll take that as a sign that he has no idea I just spent a week with his daughter…
“Did you go somewhere?” He stopped and put his hands on his hips once he reached the edge of the driveway.
“Yeah, I took a trip.” I nodded and forced a smile that I hoped wasn’t suspicious in any way.
“Let us know if you’re going to do that again!” He tilted his head slightly. “We can keep an eye on your place while you’re gone.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.” A sigh of relief echoed in my head, but I kept the smile plastered on my face.
“We try to look out for each other around here.” He nodded. “You know what I mean?”
“Uh, yeah—of course.” I pretended I did while assuming he was just talking about the neighborhood.
Mr. Pierce seemed satisfied with my answer, which gave me an opportunity to excuse myself and head for the house. I had no idea how we were going to eventually tell Holly’s parents that we were involved. Hell, I didn’t even know how I was going to break the news to my own family. They would be supportive, but the age difference would probably result in a few questions with them too. I doubted my sister would care. She always ragged me about being perpetually single—despite the fact that she had never had a relationship which lasted more than a few months. I think she was just trying to deflect the attention my parents were putting on her—they wanted grandchildren and thought there was a better chance of her bringing the first one into the family since I was so focused on my career.