Pieces of You(76)

“What?”

“Help. I’ve fallen and I can’t giddy-up.”

“That is terrible.”

“I thought you’d like that.” I sit her down on a barstool so our eyes are level. “I just want to make you happy.”

Her smile disappears again and she looks down at my chest. “You did make me happy. You made me happier than I thought I could ever be. Then you left.”

I brush her hair off her forehead and she looks up. “Claire, we both left. You left to school and I left to Hawaii. I’m surprised we both made it back here at all.” I plant a soft kiss on her lips. “If we break up forever, we’ll both probably move on. That’s just reality. But I’ll never be the same. You changed me and I know I’ve changed you. You’re not the same scared girl hiding in a meditation cave all day long. You’re mine, and a piece of you will always belong to me the same way a piece of me will always belong to you.”

I kiss her cheek to catch the tears as they fall. She clutches the front of my shirt, her chest heaving as she tries to decide what to do.

“Come and lay with me,” I say, and she looks at me suspiciously. I shake my head. “Not to have sex. That was a long drive. You need to rest. Then you can leave if that’s what you decide.”

I wrap my arms around her waist and she wraps her legs around my hips as I lift her off the barstool. She rests her head on my shoulder as I carry her to the bed and set her down gently.

I kiss her forehead and step back. “I’m gonna get you a bottle of water. Do you need anything else?”

She shakes her head as she lies down and curls her legs up. She’s so beautiful; it’s difficult to tear my eyes away from her. I grab a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and glance at the cupboard above the refrigerator where I hid Claire’s surprise gift. I wish she had come looking for it when I told her about it.

I make it back to the bedroom and hand her the bottle of water as I lie next to her. She props herself up on her elbow to drink half the bottle then she screws the cap back on and places it on the nightstand. She turns back to me and I beckon her to lay her head on my shoulder. She does and I kiss the top of her head as I wrap my arm around her.

“Do you remember the first time I walked you to work?”

She lays her hand on my chest and I resist the urge to bring it to my mouth to kiss it.

“Of course.”

“You never asked me how I got your boss to give you the day off so we could go on a date.”

“I figured you fed her a dirty lie and I didn’t want to know anything about it.”

“That doesn’t make sense. You should have asked me so we both had our stories straight.”

She traces her finger in light circles over my heart and I can’t resist anymore. I grab her hand and lay a quick kiss on her knuckles before I place her hand back on my chest. She giggles softly and I continue.

“Anyway, I told your boss that I was pretty sure I had just met the love of my life and that I had to take you on a nice, long date to make sure my instincts were correct.”

“You did not tell her that.”

“I did. And she knew I was serious.”

We’re both quiet for a minute before she speaks. “I really miss being here. I miss seeing you and Cora and I miss how easy everything was before I went back to school. I miss waking up next to you or in the apartment below you. I miss being close to you.”

“I can get an apartment in Chapel Hill and commute to Raleigh. It’s only a forty-minute drive.”

“Why would you do that?”

“To be closer to you.”

She pulls her head away from my shoulder to look up at me. “You would do that?”

“Of course. I’m very serious when I say I want to be with you forever. I’ve already tried living without you and it nearly destroyed me.”

She climbs on top of me and lays her head in the center of my chest as she wraps her arms around my waist.

“What’s wrong?”

She shakes her head. “Nothing. I just can’t believe I’m here with you. I can’t believe you’re real.”

I want to ask her if she’d like to take off her jacket and boots to get more comfortable, but I don’t want her to think I’m just trying to get her into bed so I can have my way with her. I really want to have my way with her, but I can wait until the time is right.

I run my fingers through her hair and I can feel her body relax on top of me. After a few minutes, her breathing has slowed so much I’m certain she’s fallen asleep.

“Claire?” I whisper as low as I can.

“What?”

“I thought you fell asleep. Were you meditating?”