Page 7 of Gone Away Home

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. My heart is racing because this could go several different ways. I’ve been dreaming of this moment, fantasizing about it, for years. She could reject me and tell me to get lost. She could laugh in my face. She could break my heart.

“I’m here for you, Zayla,” the words slip from my mouth, and I can hear the earnestness in my voice. I hope she can too. Her eyes flit between mine like she’s trying to read my mind. “Maybe this will come as a surprise to you,” I press my forehead againsthers, my words coming out as a whisper, “but I had plans. From the moment I saw you on the first day of your freshman year, I knew what you are to me. I had plans.”

As she grips the sides of my shirt right at my waist, I can feel the tension in her hands. Her voice is a rasp filled with something like hope, “What was your plan?”

“I was waiting. I wanted you to have the chance to get comfortable in high school. It’s a big change and I remembered how difficult it was for me. I felt like I had been thrown into the deep end without knowing which way was up. I didn’t want to make it harder for you which is why I watched and waited.” I close my eyes, feeling the pain of how it all went wrong washing over me. “I was going to ask you to be my girl at the start of the next school year,” I admit, something I’ve never done out loud before.

She gasps, “You were?”

When I open my eyes and look into hers, a few tears have slid past her lash line and down her cheeks. “Yeah, sweetheart. I was. Then I wasn’t going to let you go.”

She nods slowly, her gaze going unfocused for a moment before she grimaces and jerks back, breaking the connection between us. “Then the day in Millie’s happened,” her voice is flat, and I hate it.

“Then the day in Millie’s happened,” I echo. “It killed me. I’m glad Dad found Janice, don’t get me wrong. He deserves to be happy and so does she, but them being together ruined everything. I felt like I was drowning.”

“I had the biggest crush on you and then-,” she shrugs one shoulder like she’s not sure how to finish her sentence. Her eyes sharpen and I wish I could see inside her mind to know whatshe’s thinking. “Is this why you enlisted and left in the middle of the night? Is it why you never came back?”

I cup her face, needing to feel her soft skin under my fingers. “I’m sorry,” my voice breaks, “but I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t be in the same house as you, be that close, and try to pretend to be a family. Not when all I wanted to do was kiss you and make you mine.”

Her tears stream down her face and it breaks me. She nods sadly like she understands. “I,” she sobs, “I missed you so much.”

One of my hands slides back until I’ve tangled her dark hair between my fingers, holding her in place. “I’ve got you now. I’m never letting go, Zayla. Never.”

“Dustin,” there’s a plea in my name being murmured from her lips.

We move closer like magnets seeking out true north and we don’t fight it. I don’t think we could anymore, not with the truth breathing between us like a living thing, a hidden truth, a secret which has come to light.

There’s more for us to talk about, but it doesn’t need to happen right now. All I need is for her to know I won’t be letting her go. All she needs to know is I’m here to stay. Everything else will work itself out.

My lips hover over hers for a perfect, blissful second. Our breaths mix in that space between what was and what is to be.

She tips up on her toes and I am blessed to feel her soft lips against mine for the first time. Electricity zings through my body and I feel alive again, a feeling I’ve been missing since that day inMillie’s. Nothing else matters. Not our parents. Not the opinions of people who think this is wrong.

This is right. It’s perfect.

Unable to help myself, I deepen the kiss. Our tongues tangle and play, a dance so fucking natural it feels like I’ve been kissing her my entire life. But I haven’t. It’s just her, us, and everything else is stardust.

I knew it would be this way with us.

With my free hand I reach down and grip the back of her leg and lift. When she jumps, her legs wrap around my waist, and she fits perfectly against me. I can’t get enough of her lips. Who needs to breathe anyway?

“Bedroom,” I demand.

“Please,” she gasps. I pull away and arch an eyebrow at her as I take in the dreamy look on her face. There won’t be a day that goes by, from now on, when I don’t see her like this. “Oh,” she cringes slightly, “second door on the right.”

My lips meet hers again and I start down the hallway, not needing to look where I’m going. “I’ll get the tour later,” my words are a promise.

Her bedroom door is open, and I pull away from her and stare into her eyes. I need her to see how serious I am about this. I won’t accept her giving me anything less than everything. I can’t; not after all this time.

“Zayla,” my voice is a coo, “you need to know once we step through this door, that’s it. I’m claiming you as mine. We’ll be together the way I always knew we were meant to be. We might face people who don’t understand and who want to tear us down. I won’t allow it to happen. I’ll fight for you, and I’ll win.I don’t give a fuck who we’re going up against;I’ll win. Do you understand? Do you want this?”

Her brown eyes flare with heat and then soften in understanding. She melts against my body, her hands running from my shoulders and up until she’s cupping the back of my neck. Having her touching me makes it hard to concentrate, but I need this. I need the words.

“I’m scared,” she admits softly, letting me see her vulnerability, “but nothing has felt right in 14 years, longer really. I tried to tell myself it was just a silly crush. You weren’t the only one who lost hope. I’ll stand with you and fight for us.”

It’s all I need to fucking hear. After I step over the threshold, I don’t stop until I can put her back on her feet next to the bed. I snag the bottom of the shirt she’s wearing to rip it from her body.

“Fuck,” I breathe out as I take in the sight of her perfect tits in the bra she’s wearing. It’s simple, but it’s perfect. “You’re gorgeous, sweetheart,” I rasp.

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