She looks at me and puts her hands over her mouth, tears running down her fingers.
“I know what happened on our wedding night was awful, and my leaving you like that was the worst thing I could’ve done to you. When I hit bottom, Lucias threw me in a ring, and gave me a way to channel my self-loathing. I hate myself so much for leaving you, and not being the man I knew you deserved.” I take a step towards her, walking slowly so she doesn’t step away. “I knew if I saw you, even for a second, before I was better, I wouldn’t be able to let you go, and I would have made the same mistake as before. I know what I did was wrong, and I wish I had a better word than ‘sorry’, but I’m so sorry, Julie. I’m so goddamn sorry.” I get on my knees in front of her and open my arms. It’s the same thing I did in her parents’ house the night I convinced her to run away and marry me.
Julie drops her hands, but tears still stream down her face. “Don’t you do this shit, Abe. Don’t you get on your knees and tell me you’re sorry. You broke my fucking heart, and I hate you for everything.”
“Baby, I hate me too. I hate me for being so fucking stupid and so fucking proud and for walking out on you. I hate me more than you ever could.” I kneel in front of her as she cries. I don’t have any tears left after nearly three years without her, so she cries for both of us as my heart bleeds. “Please, Julie. I can’t do this again. I can’t live without you and I can’t let you go. I’m not the man I was then. I’m so sorry, baby. Let me spend my life making it up to you.”
She looks around the room, seeing the pictures of herself, and then closes her eyes, taking a deep breath. I can see she’s been hurting just as much as I have, and it’s time we both put an end to the pain.
“Shortcake, we have a child together, and now that I know about him, I want to be in his life. I may have been a shitty husband, but I won’t be a shitty father. Whether you agree to let me back in your life is your decision, but I’ll be in his, no matter what. So if you’ll be mine, don’t do it because of the baby, say you’ll be mine again because you love me.”
She opens her eyes and looks straight into mine. “You know I love you more than bacon.”
With her words, I reach out and wrap her in my arms. She falls on her knees with me, and I hold her while she cries.
“Fuck, I love you so much, Julie. I’ll never leave you again, baby.” If this is the universe giving us one last chance, I’m not screwing it up.
I cradle her in my arms before picking her up off the floor and carrying her to my bed. I lay her down on it and climb on top of her, looking down at how beautiful she is. “Four years since I first met you, and you’ve only grown more beautiful. You’re still that gorgeous, sassy shortcake who stole my world out from under me.”
She sheds a few more tears, and I lean down, kissing them away. I kiss her lashes and cheeks, and then make my way to her lips. Once our mouths connect, I’m lost. Her kisses are like a drug, and I drown in euphoria. Our tongues taste one another, remembering the dance we never forgot. I hold her face in my hands, and her arms and legs automatically wrap around my body as if no time has passed. My body and hers, aligning as always, perfectly in sync, like time has stood still.
I’m hard as a rock and stiff with primal need. I push her skirt up and press my jean-covered erection to her warmth. We both moan at the sensation, and I pull back, taking my clothes off.
“Get naked, shortcake. I need to fuck you into the next century.”
She looks at me and blushes a little. She’s shy like never before, and I pause, my jeans halfway off.
“What’s wrong? Is this too fast? Fuck, was I reading this wrong? I thought for sure this was make-up sex.”
“No, no, Abe. I want to. It’s just…my body’s changed a lot since the baby, and I don’t look like I used to.” She tugs at her t-shirt a little, and I lean down over her, pushing her hands away.
“Baby, there’s not an inch of you I don’t love, and seeing as I’ve missed out on every inch of you for the past three years, now is not the time to be shy. I’m the one who’s all scarred-up, and you’re this perfect bombshell. You’re the beauty to my beast.”
Julie laughs a little, and I help her take her clothes off. Once she’s completely naked, I look at her body, seeing a few small scars on her stomach from being pregnant. “The only differences are these,” I say, leaning down and kissing each one. “And they’re so fucking beautiful.”
“Stop it, Abe. You don’t have to lie to me. I got as big as a house carrying your son” She tries to push me away, but I sit up and pin her arms above her head.