Page 51 of Our Final Encore

“Opal,” his voice is close behind me, and I feel the graze of his fingertips on my upper arm.

I yank it away from him and don’t look in his direction. “Forget it, Alex. It’s not worth it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you’ll be leaving again anyway, so why bother?” I turn my head to face him. “This is just a waste of my time and yours.”

He’s quiet, his eyes are somber as they study mine. “I should have never left.”

“A little late for that,” I huff a laugh.

“I’ve thought about you every single day since I left.”

“Why?”

“Because I couldn’t forget you. No matter how much I tried, you were still the first thing I thought of in the morning andthe last thing I thought of at night. I always hoped you were living a happy life, even without me in it. I hoped you had gone to college, studied something you were passionate about, had a great job and plenty of money. I wanted you to be happy. I thought staying away from you would help that happen.”

I shake my head and cross my arms. “You never cared. Not like I did.”

“What?” His voice is strained and quiet.

“I always wanted you more than you wanted me. You always had other plans for the future, other girls that wanted your attention. I wasn’t enough for you, I wasn’t a good enough reason to stay.”

“You were always enough.”

“No, I wasn’t. I always liked you more, I was always waiting for you to feel the same way. And you never did. You never will.” It’s raining harder now, and my hair is soaked, water droplets stream down my face in rivulets and at this point I can’t tell them apart from my tears.

For a second he just stares at me, his eyes filled with agony and regret, his lips twitching like he’s unsure about what he wants to say next.

“I fell in love with you the first time I saw you. Riding your bike with your hair in two braids. I fell in love with you again the day you told those assholes to stop messing with me at lunch in sixth grade. I fell in love with you a third time when you accepted me for who I am when no one else did. And I fell in love with you every single day after that.” He steps toward me and gently grabs my waist with both hands, pulling my body flush with his. “Don’t say I never loved you, Opal. I fucked up in so many ways, but I never lied about that, I’ve always loved you.”

My mouth hangs open and my heart races, but my mind has run out of words. His eyes are rimmed with red, and his lips tremble the same way mine are. We stare at each other for amoment, the rain still pouring down on us in the middle of our childhood street.

I slam my lips against his, threading my hands through his hair to pull him closer. My belly dips and the breath leaves my chest, just like the very first time we kissed. The taste of his tongue is the same, the softness of his lips is the same, everything is the same except for the stinging pain that hangs in the air around us.

A low moan escapes his throat and his hands move from my waist to wrap beneath my ass before he easily lifts me off the ground. I wrap my legs around his waist, feeling like I need every inch of him to touch every inch of me. I need to feel him everywhere, to make sure he’s really here, that this is really happening. I feel like I’m floating, like I’m in a dream that will shift into a different reality if I simply pinch myself or open my eyes.

A crack of booming thunder interrupts us, and I gasp against his mouth, my eyes snapping open.

“Come on,” he carries me back onto the porch and through the front door. We’re both drenched in water and dripping onto the floor. He kisses me again, this time gentler and slower, as he kicks the front door closed behind him.

I should turn around and walk right back out. I know I’m being stupid, but I can’t stop it. It’s like every molecule in my body is screaming out for him as if he’s the only source of oxygen that my lungs can breathe.

The next thing I know I’m laying down in a soft, warm bed and his body is on top of me, my legs still wrapped around him. I grind against him, only my thin underwear separating me from his jeans. He groans into my mouth and my core aches with need for more friction.

“You’re gorgeous,” he whispers against my lips. “You’ve gotten even more beautiful, bluebird. I didn’t think that waspossible.” His hand creeps up my thigh and under my skirt, leaving sparks in its wake, and he drags a finger across my folds through the soft cotton of my underwear. That tiny bit of contact makes me feel like I could spontaneously combust. I’m suddenly reminded of what I’ve been missing for five years, what I’ve been trying so hard to forget. All of the work I’ve done to put it out of my mind has been ripped apart with a simple touch.

“Fuck, you’re so wet for me,” he groans.

He gently moves the fabric aside and dips one finger inside me, I try to stifle the moan that escapes me but it’s useless. I feel like I have very little control over my body and its reactions at this point.

“Does he make you this wet? That guy you’re seeing,” he whispers against my neck as he explores my body, rediscovering everything that’s changed since the last time we were together. My eyes squeeze shut, and I shake my head slightly. I feel him smile against my skin, his lips brushing over mine, “I didn’t think so.”

My hands move to the fly of his jeans, and I quickly unbutton them before reaching in to feel him. His soft flesh is hard against my fingertips. He hisses when I wrap my hand around it.

We quickly shed our clothes, my brain on autopilot. He pulls off my underwear and tosses them onto the floor, his eyes grazing over my body as I lay beneath him. “You’re perfect,” he says quietly before his eyes meet mine again. Seconds later he’s on top of me again, crushing his lips onto mine.

I spread my legs and he sinks into me effortlessly, our bodies fitting together like two puzzle pieces that have been searching for each other for too long. A soft moan escapes us both when he pushes all the way inside me, filling me to the hilt.

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