“To what? Having my gorgeous body squashing you?”
I giggle. “Not complaining.”
But he still turns us over, so I'm sprawled over his chest.
I sigh in happiness as I listen to his heartbeat. I used to wake up with such melancholy surrounding me. The happiness and peace Elijah has brought to my life feels like a dream. It's not only the mind-blowing orgasms he gives me, but it's also how easily he makes me smile. Before him, I saw my life behind a gray filter. Everything was dull and lifeless. But after him, things have changed.
It's been almost a month since we finally gave into each other and let our hunger take control of our lives, but it's not only my body he gives pleasure. My soul is happier, lighter, freer. Every day he helps me overcome the fear of swimming. He replaces my pain with laughter and good memories in the pool that reminds me of nothing but pain. He bought me a cookbook, and we try to cook our dinner together every night, sometimes failing and sometimes creating something delicious. But every time, we have fun while trying it. He fills this house with warmth again, making it a home for me after so long.
I close my eyes and smile
. It's been a little more than a month since I met him, but he's already healed lifelong wounds I carried.
“Can't we ditch school?” he groans, bringing me out of my grateful thoughts.
Even though his roaming hands distract me, I shake my head. “Aren't you the one who should be responsible?”
“Are you calling me old?” he asks, pinching my ass.
“Ouch!” I cry out but cackle anyway. “You didn't tell me your age,” I murmur.
I feel his body tense up. I can’t understand his reaction, but before I can question it, he sighs. “I'm twenty-six.”
“God. And why the hell you didn't want to tell me that? You're not old.”
He smiles softly, but his smile is forced. It doesn't reach his eyes. His holds on my hip get tighter as he says, "I'm at the age my brother...left us."
My smile drops and I hug him tighter.
“Oh… it never leaves, does it? The pain?”
He kisses the crown on my head. “No. It’s always there… but it gets easier to carry it.”
I look at him, blinking away the tears. “Does it really?”
“Talk to me,” he whispers.
"All I really remember is a pain. I was just a kid. I didn't even realize what was happening at first. I didn't even think kids can die. Death was something that only happens to the elderly people in my mind," I say. The words rush out of my mouth, finally finding an escape after I kept them inside for so long. "I couldn't accept I'd never see him again." He rubs my back in a calming way. "And then, my parents kinda checked off. Like someone flicked a button inside them, and they resigned from being my parents. They blamed me."
“Evangeline… it wasn’t your fault. You needed supervision at that age, you were a kid,” he tells me softly but without leaving room for argument.
“I try to believe that, really, I do, but I just can’t. The guilt keeps eating me inside.”
“Then, I’ll try to convince you much harder. And your parents will see they’re at fault for how they acted on their pain. You just need to tell them how they made you feel and they just need to hear you out.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
He kisses my temple. “No one should have to deal with such pain alone. And… you’re not alone anymore.”
He squeezes me and lifts my chin up to kiss me. At first, it's tainted with sorrow, but as our lips dance in the familiar way they found in the last couple of days, I feel my mood lighten.
“Thank you,” I breathe out.
“So… we have to go to school?” he finally asks with a grin.
“You're the teacher. You have to. But maybe I can ditch,” I tease.
"No, Miss Faye. You definitely can't. If I suffer high school, I need something to make it worth it, and that, pretty young lady, is you."