“Don’t leave,” I whisper against his lips. “Take me to bed instead,” I beg, sliding my hand down the front of him until I can grab ahold of his cock that’s standing at attention between us. I apply some pressure and move my hand up and down. “I know you want this, Ethan. You want this just as badly as I do.”
A growl rips from his lips as he pulls my hand away. He doesn’t push me away, though. He scoops me up as his mouth moves against mine. My arms and legs wrap around him, and I kiss him with everything I have as he carries me across the room, toward the bed. I know I have limited time to make him open his eyes to what this really is. He’s convinced himself that we’re nothing but a good time, but my eyes have been open all along. I’m not blinded by my past. I can see clearly, and for the first time since I met him, I can see a future with us.
I can see us being together, a couple who falls more in love every day. A couple who has differences and who might fight from time to time, but perfection is boring. Anything worth having is worth fighting for. So that’s what this is to me. This isn’t goodbye. This is me fighting for us, fighting for him to see that he loves me, that we can have more together, and that he is ready to move on from his past. He’ll never stop loving her, and I’m okay with that. He’ll never forget her. I’ll do everything I can to keep her spirit alive because she helped create the man I’ve fallen in love with. Without her, I wouldn’t have him. She’s just as much a part of my story as she is his, and for all she’s done for us, I owe her everything.
Ethan lays me down and crawls up to cover my body with his. He stays on his knees as we kiss, and I push his shirt up his chest. He grabs hold of it, breaking our kiss and ripping the material away. He slings the shirt onto the floor, and I pull at hissweatpants until they’re low enough for his cock to spring free. It bobs until I take him in my hand, working him slowly. His head falls back, and he hisses as his eyes roll.
“It feels so good when you touch me,” he breathes, bending over and pressing his mouth to mine. He kisses me hard and fast as he pushes my pants down. My panties go with them until I’m bare from the waist down. He moves his hips forward and back, allowing his cock to slide against me, bringing my body to life until my excitement is covering us. Then, without warning, he thrusts into me. My back arches, and I moan, both of us stilling as we give one another a moment to adjust to the intensity.
I comb my fingers through his hair and direct his eyes to mine. “Be here with me.”
He wets his lips. “I am.”
I shake my head. “No, you’re not. You never have been. You’ve kept yourself locked away inside your head. You’re so relieved to not be thinking about the past that you can’t ever appreciate the now. Look at me. What do you see?” I ask him, wiggling beneath him and causing his hips to move with me. “Now, close your eyes and tell me what you feel,” I whisper, watching as his eyes close. “Do you feel that?” I ask as his thrusts go a little deeper. “This isn’t just bodily need being taken care of. It goes deeper than that. That’s why we couldn’t resist.”
He shakes his head and pulls away, overwhelmed with everything I’m trying to make him realize, but I won’t let him go that easily. If he’s going to walk away, he’ll go knowing exactly how he feels. When he rolls onto his back, I’m quick to sling my leg over his hip. I slide down his length and his hands move to my hips. He gasps as I slide down inch after inch. “Right there,” I tell him, meeting his eyes. “You feel that?” I reach for the hem of my shirt and pull over my head. I drop it beside the bed before reaching behind me to unclasp my bra. It falls away from mychest and my nipples harden. I watch as his eyes move down to take them in.
“Your past is painful; I know that. And it will take a long time to heal from that kind of loss. Doing it alone only makes it harder. I’m here to help you. Iwantto help you,” I say as I ride him. “This has never been about sex. We’re drawn to one another for a reason. This path we’re on is our destiny, but where we end up, that’s fate. Deep down, I know we belong together.” I bite my lower lip as I feel my release build. “I think you know it, too. Don’t you?”
His hands tighten on my hips, squeezing. His eyes close. I’m not sure if he’s trying to hold back his true feelings for me or if he’s trying to hold onto his past so he can continue to use it as a shield. That’s what he’s been doing for all these years. He’s been afraid to move on because he’s afraid to let someone get close. He fears losing them, too.
“I’m not going anywhere, Ethan. And neither are you.” I grind against him. “We’re both a little screwed up from our pasts, but we’ll work together and overcome it. Not only for ourselves and each other but for our child.” I move closer. My breathing is harder now. “Tell me you’ll stay.”
His jaw flexes, and he wets his lips. His eyes grow darker as they stay locked with mine.
“Tell me, Ethan,” I beg, moving faster now, my release gaining strength.
His hands tighten on my hips and start egging me on. “Fuck, I’m so close. Come for me, Ally.”
“Not until you say it.” I try to slow to keep myself from falling over the edge, but he won’t have it. His hands rock me forward and back, and now he’s thrusting up from beneath me. “Oh God, please?” My heart is pounding. Every muscle is hard and tight, growing warmer and warmer.
I look down at him, seeing the way he’s on the verge of ripping at the seams, too. His mouth is open, and every muscle is flexed and hard. “I…” he pants. “I can’t.”
“Yes, you can, Ethan. Look at me.” My hand moves to his jaw, and I force his eyes to mine. “Look me in the eye and tell me what you feel. Not what you felt yesterday, a year ago, or six years ago. Tell me what you feel right now.” My eyes roll back as my release breaks. I no longer have control over it. It just builds until it’s too large for my body to contain.
“I love you,” he says, giving into the wave of emotion and pleasure that courses through us. I bend over and kiss him hard as we continue to move perfectly to chase our high. He thrusts up and I rock over and over and over until I’m too weak to move another muscle.
I feel him twitch inside of me as he releases his seed. He grunts with each twitch, and just when I expect him to go limp, he rolls me over instead. He rolls his hips, bringing our bodies back to life. His hands find mine and he laces our fingers together. He lifts my hands above my head and pins them to the pillow. He kisses my lips and my jaw. He bites my neck and ear. He rolls his hips and thrusts into me over and over, causing the headboard to knock against the wall. The room is filled with the sounds of our lovemaking, and for the first time in I don’t know how long, neither of us is thinking of anything other than this moment. The past is gone, and the future doesn’t exist. Right now is all that matters.
My eyes close, and a whole future I haven’t allowed myself to think about makes itself known. Us living in this house together, raising our child, and working at the hospital. We go to work together, we come home together, we have dinners as a family, and then hold onto one another every night like nothing else in the world matters. We have more children that we watch grow. We grow old together. We fall more in love once our childrengrow up and move out, allowing us to start a new phase. Then we fall in love all over again with our children’s children. We have big family get-togethers, massive Christmas parties, and birthday parties. We retire, putting all that time into one another instead of a career. We get older and older, and closer and closer. And then when the time comes, we go out together, moving onto the next phase where we’re scattered among the stars so our love can be witness for all of eternity.
When my eyes open, I see him in a whole new light. He’s not just my boss. He’s not a man who’s twice my age. He’s not just the father of my child or the man who took my virginity. He’s my forever, my eternity. I know it; I just have to make him see it, too.
24
ETHAN
There’s something different. It’s not physical; it’s emotional. Spiritual.
She’s giving me a piece of herself she’s never given, and I’m not sure what to do with it.
Is this the first time she’s offered herself to me like this, or has she done it every single time and I’ve just been too blinded by my past to see it?
The real question is: Can I accept it?
Accepting what she’s giving means letting go of the past. It’s knowing that my past will always be there, and it will be choosing to keep looking to the future rather than give myself over to the pain like I’ve been doing for the past six years.
These past two months with her have more than made up for the past six years. This entire time, I thought that I couldn’t give Ally my heart because I’d already given it to someone else.