7
Hayley
2008
I want to drink you in, every drop of you. I want to taste you on my lips. — Wyatt
I shower,letting the sweat from my jog wash away. Today I pushed myself, getting in a whole three miles. I’d been tense all day, irritable almost, and my evening run was just what I needed.
Lying on my quilted bedspread, I close my eyes. Wyatt is back.
I’d spent countless nights, much like tonight, dreaming about his return, excited about the possibility of a reunion. Two years. That’s how long I’ve waited with bated breath. I was afraid every call would be the last one, every letter the only thing I’d have left.
He was in Afghanistan, then Iraq, then back on home soil, but always out of reach.
Always just out of my grasp.
I place my hands over my eyes, sighing.
Should I have said something else? Does he still feel the same way?
I hear the first pebble hit my window, and I think I might have imagined it. I ignore it and snuggle closer into my pillow. The second one has my eyes flying open. I bolt up and walk over to the window, pushing it open. Wyatt stands below, grinning and waving at me. I can't help the smile spreading across my face. I wave him up, and in a minute, he's scaling the tree in front of my window, the way he used to when we were teenagers. He climbs in, his long limbs struggling to get in. He stares down at me once he’s inside. My breath hitches. He is even more beautiful than I remember. His hair is cropped short, his jaw dusted with stubble, his eyes holding me captive the way he always did. He’s no longer the boy I waved goodbye to; he’s a man, strong, angular jaw, and in my bedroom.
“I lied,” he whispers breathlessly.
“Oh.” I couldn’t stop the butterflies making their way into my stomach, fluttering around and reminding me of the effect he has on me, the impact he will always have on me.
“There was another reason I came back.” He reaches out and pushes a loose strand of my hair away from my face. “Another reason I couldn’t sleep at night.”
He closes the distance between us, pressing his lips against mine. “You, Hayley.”
My emotions are on high alert. The kiss is like the rain after a prolonged drought. His hands roam the base of my neck and the back of my head. I deepen the kiss, pouring the last few years into it, nipping, tasting, and never wanting the moment to end.
He touches his forehead to mine, and we close our eyes. He lets his hands fall to my waist as he pulls me into him, his firm hands holding me hostage.
“It’s taking everything in me not to make love to every inch of your body, to leave my mark. To make sure you never forget.”
His words sent a jolt to my core as I lean into his solid chest, taking in the scent of him.
“I missed you.” I let the words slip, and he grips my chin in his hands and captures my mouth, our tongues circling in a dance only we know. It feels so right, so perfect.
“I missed you too,” he hisses as he breaks our kiss reluctantly, groaning as he makes his way out of my window. “Until next time, Sunshine.”
I watch him climb down the tree and stalk over to his house, my body aching for more of him.
I lie on my bed, my heart pounding in my chest. He is . . . He is still the one. He always has been.
I close my eyes, every nerve in my body alive.
I want to do that again. I bite my bottom, lip grinning.
