Page 59 of With Love

Adrienne

An hour goes by and we’re still laying there, our bodies fitting together perfectly, like a puzzle. Finally, I lift myself up onto my elbow and cup Marshall’s cheek with my hand.

“Thank you,” is all I say before bringing my lips to his. When we kiss, it’s like it’s the first time all over again. It feels so good, so right. I never want to leave his arms. We take turns nibbling on each other’s lips in between darting our tongues in and out.

The sound of my stomach rumbling breaks our kiss.

“Are you hungry?” he asks me.

“I feel like we just ate but, yeah I could eat a little something.”

Marshall pulls his phone out of his pocket and sends a message to someone.

“Travis is headed to grab something now. I thought that we could eat in.”

“That sounds perfect, because I really don’t feel like getting up right now,” I say with a smile. I lay back down and snuggle into him once more.

“I’m here for you, anytime you want or need to talk. To let things out, to scream, to cry, to get mad at. I didn’t go through the same ordeal as you, but my life shattered that day, too. I’ve been where you are now. I want to be there for you so you don’t have to go through all of these emotions alone.”

“I know you are. Thank you for everything you’re doing for me and have done for me. I promise that I will try my best not to suffer in silence.”

“That’s all I ask,” he says.

* * *

I am finishing the last few bites of my burger from Shay’s Grille when Travis speaks up.

“This might be one of the best burgers I’ve ever had,” he says, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

“Yes, this so good!” I agree with my mouth full, my hand covering my face so they can’t see my food.

“This was the same place that I got us food from the night of our first date. Remember, I was telling you about showing up at your apartment with burgers and fries?”

“Is this when I told you the only reason you were invited in was because you had fries, or something like that?” I laugh.

“Yeah, you really know how to make a guy feel welcome, you know that?” Marshall answers, pretend insult painted across his face.

“I’m very serious about my french fries,” I explain as I turn to Travis.

“Wow, is it really 11:30?” Marshall asks, looking at his watch. “We need to get this cleaned up and head out. We have somewhere to be at noon.”

Popping the last few french fries into my mouth, I begin to put all of my trash into one of the takeout bags before taking that to the trashcan in the kitchen.

“Here, let me take that,” Travis reaches down to grab the bag of trash from the bin. “I’m not sure when we will be back, so it’s best not to leave food trash in the apartment.”

I smile at him before I walk over to the front door and put my shoes and jacket back on.

“Where are we headed now?” I ask Marshall as I wait at the door for him.

“I’ll tell you about it in the car,” he answers.

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