Worth Saving(76)

We kiss again, and it’s even more passionate and long lasting than the first one. I’m sure cars are driving by with the drivers wondering what the hell is wrong with us, but we don’t care. The way we feel isn’t altered or distracted by what other people think. We’re in love, it’s official, and there’s no stopping that now.

Layla and I walk down the street, all the way to her apartment. We hold hands the whole way, and it’s only for the second or third time, but it feels like we should’ve been doing it long ago. We don’t say much. She wraps both of her arms around one of mine as we walk, and clings to me like she never wants to let me go, which is perfect because I don’t want her to.

Once we’re inside her apartment, the emotion takes over and I can’t keep my hands off her. The second she closes the door, I push her body against it and kiss her. Our tongues collide and create a symphony of passion as our hands connect and our fingers interlock above her head. Our breathing becomes heavy and I feel like we’re going to fog up the apartment as I lift her up and she wraps her legs around my waist. I carry her into the bedroom and both of us drop down onto the bed at the same time.

I don’t think, I just let my hands go wherever they want to, and they find their home on her legs. There’s something about her thighs that drives me crazy. I rub between them and I can feel how hot she is for me as I tease her, grazing her inner thigh right next to where I know she wants me to touch her most. I slowly make my way down her body, kissing her as I go, until I reach her stomach. I lift her shirt up and then glide my tongue down the center of her stomach until I reach the top of her leggings.

“Fuck, I missed you so f*cking much, Layla,” I whisper to her as I slide her leggings off and toss them on the floor.

I take a second to admire her. Everything about her is beautiful. Every inch of her skin, and everything on the inside too. She’s perfection to me.

“You’re so f*cking gorgeous. I love you, Layla,” I say, and she smiles at me.

“I love you, Austin,” she replies, then she reaches up and pulls me down to her.

There isn’t anything else I need. I have it all right now. I know there’s things both of us are still working on, and I know there will still be bumps in the road, but that’s all they’ll be. There’s no more walls or mountains to climb, there’s just the small bumps on the road to our happiness.





Layla

I open my eyes to the morning sun, and I feel like everything looks different today. The sun’s a little brighter, the air a little clearer and easier to breathe, my eyes see the room with more clarity. Last night was unbelievable, and it honestly doesn’t even feel real. I can’t believe that after all we’ve been through over the past week, Austin and I found our way back to each other.

There was a part of me that was starting to think it wouldn’t happen. He was so upset the last time we spoke, but I guess Marlene was right, he just needed some time. I think deep down, he felt just like me. We both knew the situation was crazy and that I was wrong in not telling him, but in the end, when you care about someone, you forgive them. Forgiveness is so much more important than holding on to the pain, because the time we spent together meant too much to us. We had too much fun and too much in common to just let go of this. You don’t give up on that kind of connection so easily.

So, after I had a deep conversation with Marlene and Amanda, I gave Austin a call that night. He didn’t answer, which was the norm, so I started looking out for him on the street we used to walk on. Maybe it was just a hunch, but one of the things we had in common was the fact that we were night owls. I was always getting off late from work, and he admitted he had problems going to sleep at night so he liked to drive around. I guess I was just waiting for one of those fluke situations where he might not be able to sleep, hoping I’d run into him. As fate would have it—if I believe in such a thing—on my third night of waiting for him, he showed up. If I did believe in fate, this would be a moment I’d hold onto as evidence, because I really got lucky.

After seeing him, I knew I was making the right decision by fighting for us. Even though he still didn’t quite look like the bright, shiny, Austin I knew before all the drama, he was still Austin, and I still adored him. Being with him again last night was even better than the first time, and I know everything’s going to be okay. I can feel it in my bones, and my face must know it too, because I can’t stop smiling.

I pull myself out of bed and turn to look down at Austin, but he isn’t there. In his place on the pillow, is a handwritten note on a yellow piece of paper. I tilt my head when I see it, hoping it isn’t some sort of bad news, then I pick it up and find out.



Layla,

Sorry I had to leave you in bed alone this morning. I wanted to stay, but I have an appointment at the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. You looked so gorgeous sleeping, I didn’t want to wake you.

I have to meet my new therapist today and go over all the shit that happened in the desert again, which would normally make me feel like crap, but not today. Today feels different, and I think that’s because of you.

When we first met, we were both lost. It was written in our eyes when we first saw each other. My past haunted me, your present haunted you. I could see you were aching, yet trying to bury the pain deep down so no one would know, but it was there. I saw it. I saw you.