Page 102 of One More Time
‘How long were you on a plane, baby?’ he asked, laying the dirty cardigan carefully over a chair.
‘Thirteen hours plus layovers,’ she replied.
‘Shit,’ he mumbled.
‘I really need a shower, Nicky,’ she said, suddenly realizing where all the clothing removal was headed when she spotted the outline of a suspicious bulge in his sweatpants.
‘I don’t care if you don’t, Lou,’ he said, pausing with his hand at the button of her pants.
‘Go on then.’ She smiled. When Nicky smiled back, Lucy knew that whatever might come next, for a dozen years or a hundred, or five minutes it would be worth it. Whatever she had to give up was nothing compared to what she would get back.
‘You quit your job, Lou? Really? For me?’ he asked, pulling her pants and underwear down in one go.
‘Well, forme. To be with you. You were right – I wasn’t happy. I hadn’t been for a while. Maybe you’ll turn out to be my toupee, or my Margaritaville,’ she said, referencing their conversation on the balcony of the Lusso. ‘But I know I was stuck … personally, professionally. All of it. Now I’m free to do what I want.’
‘With me,’ Nicky added.
‘With you.’
‘I think I’d rather be the Porsche.’
He hopped on the bed beside her.
She laughed. ‘Like a classic model with a few miles under the hood?’ she teased.
‘Like a finely tuned, world-class machine. With power and speed.’
‘Oh, right. Of course.’
‘I love you,’ he said against her lips, pulling her shirt over her head.
‘Say it again,’ she begged.
‘I love you,’ he whispered in her ear.
‘I love you, too,’ she said, trying to hold herself together and not weep with pure relief.
‘I missed you,’ he said.
‘God, Nicky, I missed you so fucking much I don’t even know how to describe it. It felt like the whole world was a different place without you in it. I was lost.’
Lucy arched her back just long enough for Nicky to unhook her bra and fling it in the direction of her cardigan.
‘I’m here now. You’re here now. I can’t fucking believe you’re in Monaco.’
‘I can’t believe I’m naked and you still have all your clothes on,’ Lucy said, making a pointed glance down his still fully dressed frame.
‘Shit,’ he said as though just realizing he was the only one in the room with clothes on.
The bed was a flurry of motion, T-shirt, pants, boxers, and socks tossed haphazardly around the place.
When Nicky finally settled again, he put the full weight of himself – skin to skin – against her. Brought his soft lips to her ear.
‘I love you,’ he murmured.
Lucy felt her entire body relax, the tension of days – weeks – melting into the mattress beneath her. She carded her fingernails through his soft brown waves and replied, ‘I love you.’
Nicky slowly brought his lips to one cheek, then the other. He touched their noses together and exhaled, long and slow as if he’d been holding his breath and was finally able to release it. When she brought her teeth to his lower lip, his hips jerked and she could feel the hot length of him pressing on her hip.
