Page 118 of A Me and You Thing
Surprise registers on his face, and he doesn’t move for a moment. He stands there staring at me with fire in his eyes and barely concealed desire. Then he reaches behind him and slams the cabin door with so much force, the walls rattle. Next, he’s walking toward me with unyielding, single-minded intention, and I have to stop myself from stepping backwards once again.
Instead, I meet him with matching determination. We’ve waited for this moment for far too long. Our bodies collide, and before I know it, he’s walking me backwards and I’m against the wall as our lips fuse together in a kiss that can only be described as forceful, potent, epic. Better than The Kiss because we’re so invested in each other and our emotions behind it are deep and profound. Sawyer completely lets go of his self-restraint and showers me with the passion he’s kept bottled up inside of him. It’s a crazy and wild frenzy between us as we’re finally able to come together in the way we’ve wanted to be together since the moment I arrived home. He takes my mouth and makes it his own, invading and conquering. When he’s had his fill, he covers my face with kisses, then my neck, my chest. He returns to my mouth just long enough to ensure it’s still his. Then he lifts me into his strong arms, his mouth never leaving mine, and carries me into the bedroom. We fall onto the bed, hardly able to get enough of each other.
He's done being noble.
The culmination is sweet, sweeter than I remembered. More tender than I imagined. Sawyer brands me as his, and I’m exactly where I want to be. Free at last to express our love in a way that doesn’t require words.
Just two crazy hearts beating as one.
Sawyer. He’s my favorite.
Turns out, I’m his favorite too.
Chapter Thirty-three
Sawyer
I AWAKEN WITH Quinn in my arms, her head resting on my chest. Birds are singing madly in the forest of trees surrounding us, as if they’re happier than they’ve ever been.
I know I am. I thought I’d lost this beautiful creature. But she fought her way back and returned to me, against all odds. When I found her on my doorstep, looking weak and delicate, yet determined to scrape and scratch her way back to me if she had to, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what I’d always known—that she was my soulmate, the one I was meant to have at my side, the one I wanted to go through life with forever.
I owe her an apology for not sharing my thoughts with her as I faced ending my engagement with Bree. I should’ve shared everything with her. We should’ve faced it as a team. Instead, I held it in, not wanting her to worry or feel the tiniest bit of stress. My actions sent the wrong message. I believe she thought I was conflicted over the matter. And I was, but not for the reasons she assumed. Hurting Bree was tough. I wanted our relationship to be over, but I didn’t want to crush her. At the same time, I was dying to give my all to Quinn. I’ve never felt so crazed with emotion.
Quinn is my girl, my life partner, the only one for me. She’s the one I crave, the one who speaks peace to my soul.
Could I have been happy with Bree? Yes. She would’ve assuaged my loneliness, and I would’ve been content.
But there would’ve always been a part of me that yearned for Quinn. It would’ve festered like a hole in my heart, a wound that would never heal, a solace that was never mine, something I was always seeking and never finding.
Since Quinn has been home, Bree revealed true colors I didn’t know existed in her. The way she spoke to—and about—Quinn killed me. I knew she was hurting, lashing out, but her actions made me look at her differently. I felt like I didn’t even know her, nor did I want to know her. She apologized and tried to redeem herself, which I appreciated. That’s when I saw the real Bree surface again. Good thing too. I felt relieved to know I hadn’t completely misjudged her character. People do strange things when they’re brokenhearted. I won’t hold it against her. But I also have no desire to remain friends. Harsh, I know. It’s just the way it is, the way it has to be.
Bree and Quinn might be longtime best friends, but they’re polar opposites. That fact has hit me hard.
My thoughts keep wandering to a species of deep-sea sponges. Their skeletons are made of flexible silica, the same material that’s used to make glass. Some experts call them glass houses for sea life because they transmit light so well. Monogamous shrimp often seek refuge inside the small mesh-like interior, but there’s only enough room for two adult shrimp. Once they make it their home, they grow too big and can’t escape, nor do they want to. When they have babies, they’re small enough to squeeze through the holes of the mesh and go out into the world and make their own lives. But the two adults live there forever, cleaning their sponge-home and living off of whatever flows in through the mesh.
In Japan, it’s considered good luck to give a sea sponge with two dead mate-for-life shrimp inside as a gift to newlyweds. It’s a constant reminder to the couple that they can live happily together for life.
I’ve always loved that true story about nature getting it right. People don’t get it right very often, not enough anyway.
With Quinn, I got it right.
I told that story to Bree once, leaving out the part about Quinn. She said, “They’re trapped. Of course, they stay together. They don’t have a choice in the matter. That’s a horrible story, Sawyer.”
Huh. She had a point.
However, with all that’s happened, it makes me reflect on the moment I told Quinn that story.
She cried and thought it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever heard.
Like I said, polar opposites.
With her letter, Quinn showed me that she cared more about me and my happiness. As for Bree, well I don’t want to think about it. Suffice it to say, the whole experience was eye opening. She thought incorrectly that I was making a choice. Like I told Quinn last night, there was never a choice to be made. It was always Quinn for me.
But ending things with Bree was brutal.
Glad to have it all behind me.
Perhaps one of the things that makes us mesh with a mate is how we look at life. I love Quinn’s perspective. She sees things that others never notice.
