Page 141 of The Space Between
I like that dock.
Gruene
Not if it falls in the river, you don’t.
Smiling, I lean against the brick wall, my thumb hovering before I reply.
Me
I like you more.
There’s a pause. And then, three dots.
Gruene
You better love me, not like me.
Because I love you, Blakelyn Walker.
Blinking hard, I stare down at my screen.
Oh, damn.
He says it so easily now.
Me
You know I love you.
Want spaghetti for dinner tonight?
Gruene
I do know.
And sure, that sounds great.
He’s sittingon the porch with a Shiner in hand, his hair damp from a shower, and his shirt rumpled when I pull up.
He looks up like he was waiting for me all day.
“You’re late,” he says, but his smile says he doesn’t mind.
“Kids were wild, Last day before a three-day-weekend.”
He stands, walks down the steps, takes my bag, and sets it on the porch before pulling me against him. He kisses me before I can say anything else, and I melt into it.
“I missed you,” I whisper.
“I missed you more.”
And maybe that’s the simplest truth of all… not the pain… not the trauma… not the past we survived. Just this this. Simple words that means so much at the end of the day.
I missed you.
I want you.
I love you.
