Page 60 of Falling for Grace

“This song,” I say, pointing at the speaker. “It reminds me of being in Oceans jumping up and down like complete buffoons, singing it to each other.”

Brandon sits next to me. “He always used to try and strip off his shirt.”

I laugh out loud. “YES, he always did that.”

“I’ve missed your smile.” He wipes a tear from my cheek with the pad of his thumb. The contact is almost too much to bear. I nod in agreement, not because I’ve missed my smile, but because I’ve missed his, too.

It was both torturous and comforting being able to see him in films and in magazines.

“What are you thinking?” he asks.

“Just how different I wish things were sometimes.” I move my foot, resting my weight on my black heel, rocking it back and forth. “I can’t believe that’s it… Like, now what?” I look up at him and he is staring at the red curtains.

“Now we try and move on.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.” He stands and brushes his trousers down. “Come on, we better go show our faces.”

I nod and stand, repeating the same motion, wiping my hands down my pencil skirt. The floor is stone and where I was rocking my shoe I have managed to get my heel wedged in a hole. I fall towards Brandon.

“Blimey, you tackle like a rugby player,” he says, catching me and stopping us both from falling over.

“Mother fucker!” I squeal as my foot falls out my shoe and I stub my toe against the wooden bench. “Jesus sweet mother of all things…Cu—”

“And please don’t drop the C-Bomb in the middle of a holy place,” he interrupts, his lips tipping up in a smile.

I hit at his chest, which I’m now partially lying on. “It’s not a church, I can C-Bomb away without worrying about bursting into flames. Besides the priest's gone.”

His chest vibrates as he lets out a chuckle. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, but I stubbed my stupid toe.” I move off him sitting back onto the wooden bench and lean down, rubbing at my poor throbbing foot and wiggling my toes to make sure they all still work.

“You were always so clumsy. I’ll never forget when you walked into the patio door.” He’s laughing and rolling his eyes. In my defense, I was drunk. Brandon joins me and leans forward and grabs my ankle, lifting my foot up. I move to adjust my position so that he can inspect it.

“Stop fidgeting so I can look, will you.”

I wiggle more. “You're tickling me,” I say, trying not to kick the poor bastard in the face.

He moves his fingers along the base of my foot, causing me to squeal and pull it back quickly, but he’s too strong.

“That’s just mean, you know I have ticklish feet” I say, kicking at him, but his hands grip tighter.

“Okay, seriously, let me look.”

I stop fidgeting and watch as he inspects my foot, his hands warm, the heat radiating up my leg into places I really do NOT want to be thinking of today.

“Brandon,” I say, trying to pull my foot away, but he doesn’t let go. His hand starts moving away from my foot to my ankle. Fire ignites along my skin where he touches me, and I really don’t want him to stop but… He. Has. To. Stop.

He’s at my knee now and I grab hold of his hand to stop him moving farther. When his eyes meet mine, they are blazing. He looks at me like I am prey, branding me.

His hands move to my face and my head tilts, my body reacting to him like it always does.

When Brandon leans in closer, his hand still warm on my cheek, I just look at his lips and lick mine in anticipation. He’s so close. My eyes close automatically, waiting, desperately waiting. I feel him close the distance. His warm lips touch mine so gently that I wonder whether he is actually kissing me. But then there’s no mistaking it. His lips find mine and they fit perfectly, like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle fitting back together.

We have kissed before, lots of times, but this… This is years later, after so much has happened. We are different people in very different places. Whether it’s us being reunited, or the hurt and pain of what we are both feeling, the kiss brings me the comfort that I was so desperate for.

It’s soft, it’s gentle, but it’s branding. My mouth opens in invitation, and he deepens the kiss, his tongue brushing against mine tenderly. And just like my first kiss with him, this kiss was perfect, unlike the circumstances and Ava pops into my head, and I do the one thing I don’t want to do, I break the kiss.

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