Page 115 of XOXO

She slid effortlessly from her chair and gave me a smile before walking away. My heart was completely smitten and I had to see her again. I quickly pulled my phone out and went through the contacts. I smiled wide as I saw her name. Pine with a pineapple emoji next to it. I pressed her number and watched from the window as she pulled her phone from her purse.

“Hello?”

“Found you.”

Her steps paused in the middle of the parking lot and she looked around. As her eyes found me in the window, I waved and she smiled and waved back.

“That was fast.”

“It was. You have my number now, call me.”

“Will do.”

She hung up and waved once again before making her way to the car. Tin walked over next to me and looked out to where I was looking.

“Who was that?”

I let out a hard sigh. “That’s going to be my wife.”

I could feel him staring at me but I didn’t look his way. I watched as she backed from the parking space and drive away.

Chapter 9

Pine

“Girl, you’ve been sounding different these days.”

I smile as I hear Myliah’s voice on the other end. I had been avoiding her for months because keeping up with the lie of no boyfriend was getting harder and harder. Now though, I have a reason to smile.

“I miss you.” I tell her truthfully.

“I miss you too. I have three more months and I’ll be home! I can’t wait to see you.”

“Me neither. We’re going to have the biggest drink ever.”

“I’m ready.”

We laugh and chit chat for another half hour before she has to go for an afternoon class. I smile at the text message that popped up on the screen as I disconnected our call.

Don’t forget to eat today. I’ll call you later.

Jackson

I sit my phone down on the coffee table and pick up my journal that I had started writing in. I skip through a couple of pages and stop on our third date.

Jackson picked me up and took me to a family style restaurant. It was loud with chatter and dishes clanking. We talked about nothing of importance. It was simple and laid back. I had a great time. I want to see him again.

I smile as I turn the page.

We met at a bar downtown. I only had a glass of wine and he had a tonic. We ordered some wings and shared the plate. Football was on the screen and we watched while we idly chatted.

I could only huff a laugh as I thought about how easy going this night was. I turned the page…

I invited Jackson up to my apartment. We ordered takeout and watched a movie. I fell asleep halfway through and when I woke up, I was laying on his shoulder. His hand was resting on my knee drawing small circles. It felt nice. We parted ways with a kiss.

My stomach started to flutter as I turned another page. I knew what was coming but it still took my breath away.

We went to the river and walked around. The air was cold but there was a man playing the saxophone so we stayed and listened for a while. We bought hot chocolate and made our way back to my apartment. We had been seeing each other for two months now and this man treated me like I was special each time we met. This time was no different. He walked me to my door and kissed me after I opened it. Our eyes connected after the kiss and it was like a dam burst. I grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer to me and our lips connected again. His hands steadied himself on my waist and his fingers inched under my shirt. His steps forward, walked me back into my apartment. I kicked the door closed as we passed the threshold and my shirt lifted over my head. We left a trail of clothes on the way to the living room and fell onto the couch. The only time our lips disentangled was when he searched his pocket for his wallet to retrieve a condom. It all started with me on top as he sat on the couch to ending with me face down across the coffee table as he entered me from behind. This night because we both remembered it, was one of the best nights. He ended up staying the night and held me till morning. I’m starting to love this man.

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