She hugged me, her arms tight around my waist, and I held her for a few seconds, content to have her in my arms. My lower half had other ideas, but I squashed them, focusing on the relational side of things first this time.
Loren stayed for a few more hours, and we ended up making dinner together and watching a movie. When she went to leave, I kissed her against the SUV like a teenager, making out for a long while. When I pulled back, I smoothed her hair behind her ears, relishing in the fact her lips were puffy because of me.
“Who’s car is this, anyway? I didn’t recognize it earlier.”
“Oh, it’s a rental. When I came out to my car this afternoon, there was a flat, and the spare was flat too, so I’m having it worked on. In the meantime, I rented this. It’s pretty nice.”
“Do you need help with the spare? I can change it for you.”
She grinned, her cheeks rosy. “No, it’s fine. But thank you, that’s sweet.”
“That’s me, sweet.”
“I think you can be when you want.” She kissed my nose and went to get in the car.
“Hey, Kitten?”
“Yeah,” she stopped, looking back. “Would you…” I stopped, swallowing to gather the courage. “Would you want to be my date for the fight? Or my support person or something?”
“I’d love to.”
She got in after that, shutting the door, and turned the car around. I watched her the whole time, not wanting to miss a thing. The fact I’d been stupid enough earlier to think I could let her go, blew my mind. As the dust from the gravel settled, I finally made my way inside. Fort and Barkley both laid by the door, sad expressions on their faces at her departure, and for once, I agreed.