My stomach bottoms out as sadness and dread settles inside. He’s leaving tomorrow, I just know it and I look away to shield him from the view of my teary eyes and my trembling chin. I don’t want him to see how upset I am.
It’s stupid really, I knew this was coming, I knew he’d have to go home to New York eventually, I just tried to convince myself it wouldn’t be this soon, trick myself into thinking he’d be here forever.
“Yeah, tomorrow’s fine. Thanks, War.” He hangs up and tosses his phone to the floor where his jeans lie. He stands at the foot of the bed for a second, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing deeply.
I compose myself as best I can and look up at him as he kneels on the bed above me.
“I’ve got a business meeting tomorrow at two,” he says regretfully, taking my hands in his, squeezing gently. “I wish I didn’t have to go.”
“Me too,” I reply quietly, biting down on my tongue to keep my tears at bay.
He leans down and seals his lips over mine as if trying to ease my pain. I grip his wrists, pulling him down on top of me as he settles himself between my legs.
He nudges himself inside me and I cling to him as he begins to rock into me.
His forehead rests on mine, his eyes staring down at me as he moves inside me with steady thrusts. He cradles the back of my head while his elbows take his weight and he kisses me hard, he kisses me like it’s going to be the last time and my heart squeezes at the thought.
I never knew I could fall in love so quickly and easily as I have for him, but here I am, staring up at the man I never knew I needed in my life, only to lose him tomorrow. Tomorrow, all of this will be a distant memory as we go back to our lives, mine at the diner and his in the city, but for now, I’m going to make the most of the time while I have him, here with me.
I kiss him back with earnest, savouring the feel of his soft, firm lips gliding over mine as he continues to thrust, slow and deep, and it’s not long before I’m coming, my orgasm taking hold so quickly it sneaks up on me and explodes out of nowhere.
I don’t know whether it’s the fact that this could be the last time we’re together or not, but my orgasm is the strongest one I’ve ever experienced. It sends tingles through my body and leaves my ears ringing and my legs shaking.
Royce comes a minute later, erupting inside of me while he buries his face in my neck, groaning through his release.
We stay locked together for what feels like hours, just holding each other, and despite what we just did, I’ve never felt closer to him than I do right now.
He shifts off me and rolls onto his side, pulling me into his arms as he presses his lips to the top of my head and I clutch him tighter, never wanting to let him go, but that niggling voice in the back of my head reminds me that I’m going to have to.
A few minutes later his breathing has become heavier, his grip on me has loosened a fraction, signalling that he’s asleep. I tilt my head up to find his eyes tight shut, his lips parted slightly, deep in sleep and I smile. It’s peaceful watching him sleep, comforting somehow.
I reach up and press a delicate kiss to his stubbled jaw, letting my mouth linger against his skin for a moment. “I love you,” I whisper softly before settling into his side and following him into a deep, uninterrupted sleep.
8
The moment I peel open my eyes to light streaming through my window, there’s a sudden sinking feeling in my stomach, realisation hitting me like a tonne of rocks, weighing me down and dragging me to the ground.
He’s leaving today.
My heart plummets to the pit of my stomach at the thought. The past few days have been a whirlwind of emotion, and even in such a short space of time, I’ve gotten so used to having Royce around that it’s going to feel empty and lonely when he’s gone.
I look up to find him still asleep, his palm resting on his stomach while the other arm is stretches out across the bed with my head resting on it.
I glance over to the clock on the beside table. I have an hour or so before I have to be at the diner to open up. I still have another couple of hours withhim.
I crane my neck up and dust my lips over his cheek, wanting to revel in the feel of him beside me a little longer. His five o’clock shadow grazes my skin in the best possible way and my lips tingle from the friction.
He stirs, his eyelids fluttering open as he finds me through heavy-lidded eyes. “Morning,” he says groggily, peering down at me with half a smile.
“Hi.” I smile back, covering up the fact that all I really want to do is cry.
I snuggle closer to him, breathing in his masculine scent, and his arm holds me tighter. We lie like that for a while until we’ve both properly woken up before I pull myself out of bed. I’m naked, which is a totally new thing to me because I’ve been a pajama kind of girl, but in a weird way, I like this new found liberation.
I stop at the door and turn back to find Royce’s hungry eyes fixed on me and smile to myself, enjoying the way his eyes are eating me up.
“I’m gonna take a shower,” I announce, holding my hand out to him and his mouth widens with a grin.
We hold each other, locked in each other’s embrace while the hot water from the shower head cascades over us. It’s a silent goodbye. We both know that our time together is almost at an end but it’s like we’re both afraid to say the words out loud. Like if we say it out loud it somehow makes it real, and I don’t know about Royce, but I don’t want it to be. I want to stay in this moment for as long as I possibly can.
