Page 10 of For the Love of Lily

“If I open this up, is a pile of stuff going to fall on me? Or is it always this tidy?” I grinned.

“Maybe not quite this tidy, but I can promise there won’t be an avalanche.”

Opening the double doors, I was pleasantly surprised at his organisation skills. There were more suits than I could count, with sections devoted to ties and waistcoats. Then there seemed to be a more casual side with jeans and tops. The bottom of the wardrobe had pull-out shelves containing shoes, boots and belts. “I’m impressed,” I said. “This is a lot of suits, I like them.” The expensive material felt nice under my fingertips.

“It’s just work stuff.” Walking over to join me, he put his arms around my waist and rested his head on my shoulder. I turned to face him and slid my arms around him in return.

“I like it here, it’s nice,” I said.

“It’s nicer when you’re here.” He stepped towards the bed. “Come lie down.”

Part of me wanted to pick up where we left off yesterday, but I was worried it’d feel awkward. We lay down, facing each other like we had in my bed. Time moved in strange ways, I couldn’t comprehend what was going on. “Does it seem weird to you that we only met for the first time last Saturday?” I asked.

Zack nodded. “It does. I don’t want to sound all cliché again and make you roll your eyes at me,” he teased. “But I feel like I’ve known you a lot, lot longer than a week.” Zack pressed his lips to mine, and I was swept up by him all over again. “I have important questions to ask you, though, these could be deal breakers.” He leaned up on his elbow and tried to look serious. I raised an eyebrow at him as he began. “Marmite?”

“God no!” I replied instantly.

“Phew!” Zack smiled. “Ben and Jerry’s or Haagen Dazs?”

“Tough one. With you, I think Haagen Dazs. It’s smoother. The chunky bits in Ben and Jerry’s could get messy.” I tried to look as innocent as possible.

“I will add Haagen Dazs to the shopping list right away. Big spoon or little spoon in bed?” He feathered a quick kiss across my lips with his question.

“Little spoon, definitely,” I replied, wishing he would keep kissing me. “My turn. Blondes or brunettes?”

“Brunettes every time,” Zack said.

“Sweet or savoury?”

“Sweet. I love sweet.”

“Hmm. What about if you had to choose between touching me with your mouth or touching me with your hands? If you could only use one?” I ran my fingers through that dark, chocolatey hair.

“Are we not considering any other body parts in this scenario?” Zack asked.

“Not at the moment we’re not.”

“Mouth, then, definitely mouth.” Zack slid his hand into the back of my jeans and pulled me even closer. “It’s the big question now.” I couldn’t concentrate as I felt his hand on the skin of my lower back, pressing me to him. “You didn’t want to kiss Adam, did you?” he teased.

I laughed and kissed Zack’s neck in between my words. “Definitely… only thinking about… kissing… you.” As he rolled on top of me, his mouth hard on mine, I sank into the feeling, it drove me crazy. Our limbs entangled around each other, the weight of him on top of me… I was kicking myself for having had the ‘let’s go slow’ talk.

The front door banged, and we heard Adam putting shopping away, the kitchen cupboards slamming as he hummed to himself. We lay back down on our sides and giggled at the interruption.

“That was nice,” I smiled, watching for any reaction Zack might give.

Zack stretched his neck from side to side as he smiled at me. “I better work on my technique if the only word I’m getting is nice.”

“What words would you prefer?” I asked as I ran my finger up his side.

“Actually, I’d prefer to make you speechless.” He held himself up on his bent elbow, his mouth hovered over my ear whilst his fingers traced patterns along my stomach. My back arched towards him, willing him to either move up or down, but those fingers just circled and circled, my skin burning underneath them. “I would prefer to hear your breath in my ear, to notice how it catches and changes depending how I touch you. I could spend days working out which touches worked best.”

I strained to move my mouth to his, wanting to kiss him and carry this all on. “Slowly, Lily, remember?” his voice teased me.

I wanted to take this further, but as much as I was beginning to admit to myself how besotted I was with Zack, I remained wary to make that jump, he was right to make me stick to my own rule. There had undoubtedly been a shift since yesterday. Our kisses were deeper. His hands gripped me firmer and wandered further with each passing minute. After another public display of affection on the station platform, the train took me home. My mind was overflowing with what an incredible weekend it had been and the fact I was missing him already.

Four

The subsequent two weeks were exhilarating, filled with the sense of a new chapter of life bursting into existence. Zack lived about an hour away, not quite long distance but it did require some planning. I found myself in a flurry of late-night video calls interspersed with dates whenever we could. A movie night snuggled together at mine. Cocktails at beautiful bars near his flat. Long lunches, coffees, walks, and every single minute of it drew me closer into him. Workdays were full of messages and cute photographs, planning for when we could see each other next. After each date, I’d replay the conversations, the physical touches, over and over in my mind, wanting to cement them there for eternity.

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