And the next thing I knew, EJ's mouth was on mine.
I had said I loved him before my trip, and he said it back.
Then there was Italy.
And I had been back for days.
This kiss had been a long time coming, and I instantly melded into his arms, falling into it. His mouth was on mine, and he wasn't fooling around. EJ was greedy and possessive, and he held me and kissed me hard. I whimpered from sheer need and want, and his touch lightened when he heard me, but I pressed into it. We both ached for this kiss. Both of us needed it, and that was obvious by the passion and care with which we held each other as our mouths connected. We weren't kids anymore, and he kissed me like a man—like a man who knew what he was doing.
Ultimately, EJ controlled the kiss, but I encouraged him and went along with whatever he did. We stood in my living room for minutes or maybe longer. I could never be sure. At some point, we moved to the couch, where EJ pulled me onto his lap. There was hardly a break in the kissing, even when we moved. We would pause sometimes to say sweet things to each other, but there was never a time when it felt like we were finished. We just couldn't stop loving on each other, and time flew by. Or maybe it stood still. I really didn't care. I was oblivious to time.
We were still on the couch at midnight when EJ breathed a long sigh. I knew there was something under that sigh. It felt like goodbye. "I need to go," he said.
"I knew you were going to say that," I said. I was curled up on his lap with my head resting on his shoulder and my face touching his neck. It felt like heaven, and my heart sank at the thought of him leaving.
"You have a long day tomorrow," he said.
"I know. I'm so thankful you came tonight, even though we only got a few hours together."
"It's worth it," he said. I ran my fingertips along the other side of his neck, then up in his hairline, over his ear, loving on him, trying to memorize the curves and the way he felt so that I could imagine it in a few minutes when he was gone. In those seconds, I realized that I was one hundred percent over whatever was holding me back. I wanted to be next to EJ so desperately that it hurt. I no longer wanted to live in a separate state from this man.
"Can we look right now for that Sunday morning flight?" he asked, seemingly reading my mind.
"Yes," I said.
EJ leaned over to retrieve his phone from a nearby table. He had to stretch, and I went to move off his lap, but he kept hold of me. I felt his big, muscular body move and shift under me. At that point, I didn't care if there was a flight. I would drive. I could do seven hours of driving standing on my head to go see this man.
"I can drive there if I need to," I said at the thought. "I could wake up and leave early enoughSunday morning to be there by lunch if a flight doesn't work out."
He held me close to him while we looked for a flight. We found one that would have me in Chicago by 10am, with a return flight Monday evening.
"Oh no," I said, seeing the price. "I can drive it for that."
But EJ was not deterred. He kept pressing buttons to purchase the ticket. He was fast at typing my information.
"Are you sure you're okay taking Monday off?" he asked as it was going to the screen for payment.
"Yes, but I can drive and still be back for Tuesday," I said, knowing we were talking thousands of dollars.
"This is going to be easier," he said. His finger was hovering over the button that would pay for the ticket.
I gave him a nod, and he pressed it.
"Okay, all set," he said. "That leaves you with clearing your Monday."
"I got that," I said. "Thank you, EJ." I kissed his cheek.
He tossed his phone.
"Hey, remember how we were talking about Dom and Marley expecting a baby?"
"Yes," I said.
He had originally told me about it before I left for Italy, and I had asked about them earlier tonight to see how things were going.
"They're telling my family about it for the first time at this lunch," he said.
"Oh, did you get to know early?"
