“How’s Noelle?” Grace asked, bursting me out of my bubble. While I wanted to get a moment alone with Grace, I was also unsure of what to expect. And now it was Valentine’s Day and we were about to be snowed in with each other.
“She’s fine,” I said more to myself than her. “The school emailed me back and said the transition to the new class has been going well. They also placed her with another guidance counselor, hoping the change does her good.”
I finally looked at Grace, who was pacing around the living room, looking like she wasn’t sure if she belonged here. She was restless and literally couldn’t run.
She was wearing my sweatshirt with the Bar logo on it. Grace hadn’t left for the city to get more of her stuff. Thankfully, she had left some stuff at my house before we broke up. She was swimming in my sweatshirt, but it looked so right. Her hair was piled up on the top of her head, and she had on no makeup but looked more beautiful than ever. I shook my head. I shouldn’t bethinking about her like that when we weren’t together, but it was almost instinctual.
I grabbed a piece of wood, tossing it into the fireplace. I rubbed my hands together and then turned to Grace, about to ask her what she wanted to eat. She looked as though she hadn’t eaten a good meal in weeks.
“We should talk,” Grace stammered, pulling on the sleeves of my sweater. She looked so scared, and I wanted nothing more than to hold her. She was bursting at the seams, similar to the old hoodie’s threads she was playing with.
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Okay, let’s talk, Grace.” I waved to give her the proverbial floor. For a few moments, silence lingered between us. The world around us ceased to exist.
“I … I didn’t sleep with Grant,” she finally said, barely above a whisper.
My eyes widened and I blinked, trying to wrap my head around this revelation.
Grace covered her face with her hands. I gently caressed her wrist, touching her for the first time in well over a month. She dropped her hands, and finally I saw what I hoped was the truth shining in her eyes. The love was there.
“So why would you let me think that?” My voice cracked, despite my efforts to seem unaffected.
Her gaze moved to the door behind me and then to the ground. “Because I was hurting and I was being petty and wanted you to hurt too. When I left, I didn’t think you’d come after me. I thought you’d be glad to have me out of your life. Running away made the most sense. But then you showed up and I did the first thing I could to make you hate me.” Her shoulders dropped and she radiated shame and regret.
“I don’t hate you,” I said simply and honestly.
Her head snapped up, her tear-filled eyes locking on to my own. “I’d hate me if I were you.”
“Baby, hate is the furthest thing I feel for you,” I said softly, not wanting to overwhelm her.
She shook her head. “You can’t forgive me this quickly. I broke us. I ran. I lied. I hurt you and Noelle. I don’t deserve?—”
I cut her off, moving closer to cup her face with my hands, cradling her so gently. “Stop. Stop running. Stop beating yourself up. For future reference, you don’t run. You stay and you fight. Because, baby, you and me, that’s worth fighting for.”
“You really do mean that, don’t you?” she asked, searching my face for the truth.
I nodded. “I’ll always mean it. All we need is you here. The rest we can figure out.”
I leaned in before I realized what I was doing. It wasn’t a decision, but an instinct. Her breath hitched as I grew closer, reducing the space between us.
I was almost worried she was going to push me away, but instead, she leaned in and her lips met mine. This kiss at first was soft and hesitant, getting reacquainted with one another after our separation. I grazed my tongue against her lips, deepening the kiss. My hands went from her face to her hips, pulling her toward me. She moaned lightly at the contact, and her hands gripped my shirt, pulling me closer to her. Then her fingers tangled with my hair as I gripped her ass, hoisting her up into my arms. Her legs tightened around my middle, caging me in. She ground against my hardness, causing us both to moan simultaneously.
I swatted a pillow from the couch so it hit the floor. Then I gently lowered Grace onto the pillow in front of the burning embers in the fireplace, illuminating the winter white picturesque scene outside the window.
“Caleb, are you sure?” Grace asked breathlessly as I moved my mouth from hers to her neck, nipping and sucking at the delicate skin there before moving lower. I motioned for her to lean up on her elbows so I could remove her sweatshirt and bra quickly, before she made herself comfortable on the cushion.
I nodded as though my actions weren’t speaking for themselves. My mouth never left her body as I descended to her core, kissing her before her hips jolted upwards so I could tug her pants off. Her lace panties were the only barrier between us. “As lovely as these are, they have to go,” I muttered, sliding them down her body and tossing them somewhere in the living room.
I didn’t waste time or play the waiting game like I typically would, like I had other times. No, I knew what it was like to be without her, without this, and I wasn’t going to stop until I had my fill of her.
My mouth met her pussy and I dove in like a man possessed, fucking her with my fingers and mouth. Going right for her most sensitive spot, I circled until she writhed beneath me, moaning my name. I couldn’t describe how relieved I was that she didn’t sleep with anybody else, and after tonight, I’d make sure I was the only name escaping her lips for the rest of our lives.
I grabbed her thigh, lifting it over my shoulder. Now that I got my taste, I could tease Grace a little. I rubbed her clit with my finger only to pull it away. My eyes met hers, hungry and hazy with desire as she pulled my head closer, tugging on my hair. I flicked her clit with my tongue, and she came undone, arching her back. It was my name she screamed, causing it to echo in the snowy night.
Her chest heaved as she came down from her high, and I couldn’t help but smirk. After a minute, she leaned forward on her elbows and practically purred. “Caleb, you have too many clothes on.”
I shrugged myself out of my shirt as Grace unbuckled my pants and slid down my boxers.
“I want you.” She eyed me up and down, her eyes smoldering.
