Page 117 of Yours, For Good

Because my name… and the voice… how he'd said it…

"Nora."

I turned to find Javier standing in the middle of the room, his eyes serious on me.

My lips parted. "You came."

"You said you missed me."

He took a step toward me and came to a sudden halt. His fists curled at his sides, tension building as he kept himself still.

I got out of my chair. "I thought you'd just call me back— I didn't expect you to come here— you didn't have to drop everything—"

"Yes. I did." He released a frustrated gust of air. "I had to come, that is. I didn't drop anything— I had already taken the day off."

I took a step toward him. "Why did you take the day off?"

"To be miserable. To question myself for hours if I had done the right thing, or I had done something I'd regret forever… then I got your text." He pressed his lips together not to smile. "It might have been overkill but… I needed to see you."

"Not overkill." I took a step, another.

"It's only been one day, and I don't mean to pressure you— I said I'd wait, and I'll wait— but when you said you missed me, I…"

I stood an arm's length away. His breathing was fast, his eyes tracing my face like he couldn't choose a single spot he'd missed more.

"You, what?" I breathed.

"I… I didn't think. Before I knew it, I was on my way. If you want me to go, I'll leave right away…"

"I missed you, Javier. I'd rather you stayed."

He gulped. "How close?"

"This close."

I jumped to him. He barely had time to prepare, but he took the inertia of my body well. His arms went around me, mine went around his shoulders. I leaned on him and he held me.

We kissed. Lips to lips, tongues dancing together, we rocked in place. He pulled me closer and I almost climbed up his body— we couldn't get close enough.

"You missed me," he said after a while. "Did you grieve me?"

"Too hard." I gave him another kiss. Peppered them over his face. "So hard that I had to wonder, why would I do this to myself?"

"Kindly notice this affected me deeply, too."

I chuckled. Kissed his mouth again. "Noted. I don't want to do that either."

"So what will you do?"

"I forgive you. I believe in who you are. So I'll move to New York. I'll find a place even if I stay with my boyfriend most nights."

"Your boyfriend." One of his tiny smiles made an appearance. "Does he know you're kissing me at the moment?"

"I don't think he'll have any issues with me kissing you often." I ran my fingers up the short hairs at his nape. "I want to kiss you as often as I can."

"But do you love me?" The question was so soft it could have been swept away by a gentle breeze. "Or at least… do you care about me enough that you could love me one day?"

"I love you. It's an ocean inside of me—"