Page 144 of Eastern Lights

She leaned in and slowly trailed her tongue across my bottom lip before sucking it gently. “How much do you want me?”

Shit… “So much.”

“How slow can you take it with me? To make sure I don’t overexert myself?”

“Baby…trust me, I’ll do all the work. All you have to do is let me have my way with you. All you have to do is say go.”

She wrapped her fingers around her T-shirt and pulled it over her head. Her beautiful bare breasts sat in front of my face, making my cock throb even more. My eyes fell to the beautiful scar developing against her skin. That scar meant everything to me. It meant more moments like the one we currently shared. It meant more moments of love. More moments of laughter. More favorite memories to collect.

More time.

Time was such an odd concept, how it came and went. Each second passing, each minute evaporating. If I had any magic, I’d love to be able to freeze time, so I could enjoy my favorite moments a little bit more.

But that wasn’t how time worked. It kept ticking by, but I learned that that was okay. Every moment that passed was a blessing, because many never had the chance to witness them. I was thankful for being given a few extra moments of time to spend with Aaliyah. Each second mattered. I wouldn’t waste a single one.

I led her to the bedroom that night, and lay her down. I undressed her bottom half as my hands roamed against her breasts. I kissed every inch of her, going slowly, being gentle every step of the way.

I made love with my best friend that night.

And I wasn’t afraid to take my time.

* * *

We rosethe next morning before the sun, and did what we’d grown accustomed to doing on Sunday mornings. We packed a picnic and headed off to go visit Grant. Every Sunday since Aaliyah and I came back together, we’d enjoy our Sundays with Grant. We’d sit and laugh and read the comics as the sun kissed our skin.

There was nothing I loved more than watching the sunrises with Aaliyah, other than watching the sunset with her in my arms.

I felt like I owed Grant the world for not taking Aaliyah away from me too soon, and I’d spend the rest of my life thanking him for that very fact.

I held Captain America’s book in my hand as I read out loud, as Aaliyah sat completely wrapped up in the story. “It was in that very moment that Captain knew he’d discovered forever when Little Red Riding Hood showed up in his world,” I said, making Aaliyah laughed.

“What?”

I kept reading. “Because Captain realized that the secret to life wasn’t having powers. The secret to life was having love. Love was the greatest superpower any person could’ve ever had. So, with that, Captain got down on one knee.” I closed the comic and smiled as I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a ring.

“Connor,” Aaliyah whispered, stunned as she stared at the diamond.

“You are everything good in the world, Aaliyah Winters. You are heaven on Earth, and my very best friend. So, if you would do me the favor of becoming my wife, I’d really appreciate that a lot. Because it turns out I need more than flashes of love. I need your full time love, because you make me whole. Your love is my destiny. Will you marry me, Red?”

Her lips pressed against mine within seconds but not before she whispered, “Yes.”

With one single word, my life became that much brighter.

With one word, I was complete.

48

Aaliyah

It wasDecember when I found the courage to call Marie.

The snowflakes fell softly overhead and melted seconds after they hit the streets of the Upper East Side. The past few months had been a blur of me being in recovery, and falling deeper in love with Connor. Falling more in love with myself. If I’d learned anything over the past year, it was that loving oneself was truly the best act of rebellion anyone could partake in.

I wasn’t perfect. I still had flaws. Sometimes I judged others, sometimes I judged myself. I nitpicked at my scars and at times hated the number sitting against the scale. Yet, the greatest discovery of self-love was realizing you didn’t have to be perfect in order to be worthy of love, of respect, of the ability to grow each and every day.

The truest form of authentic love began when one could look in the mirror, see the flaws, and still accept self as a full being who deserved the highest level of happiness.

I knew it was important to work on me, before I could face my past. I had to create boundaries strong enough to keep me from allowing others to hurt me.

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