Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 59659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
I came, exploding into her and sending her into her own mutual orgasm as her thighs shook and my knees buckled. Moaning in exhaustion and satisfaction, we tumbled into the bed.
24
MELANIE
Icurled up into his arms as we tried to catch our breath, feeling a weightless, lightheaded feeling of post-orgasm deliriousness. Snuggling into his chest, I felt my heart slowing down and my breath calming along with his as we drifted off to sleep, naked and happy.
The next morning, I was torn when I woke up. It was never a disappointment to wake up in Victor's arms, and I felt like I was still glowing from finally hearing the words I'd been wanting him to say and getting to say them back to him. I loved him. There'd been no denying it for a while, but it had completely taken over, and getting to say it was an incredible rush. At the same time, it was so natural and content it was like I'd loved him all along. I wanted to just lie there and savor the feeling, tell him a few more times, and relish hearing it come back from him.
But that brought with it the other half of the feelings I was struggling with that morning. I didn't have the option to just enjoy lying with him in bed. We weren't even going to spend the day finalizing plans for the store or having fun on some sort of adventure together. That morning, he was leaving. He would be gone for an entire month, and even though he was lying right there beside me, I already missed him.
I'd woken up before the alarm, and the light outside was just barely starting to soften up the horizon. I nuzzled against Victor and spent a few minutes trying to memorize the feeling so I could bring it to mind when I was lonely. All too soon, his alarm went off, and he had to get up to leave.
He'd already packed the night before, so we had a little bit of time. We took a shower together, holding each other under the hot water and talking like we weren't going to be apart. I walked him to the door, and he pulled me close, giving me a long, deep kiss.
"I guess that's going to have to hold me for the next month," he said, resting his head on my forehead and letting out a long breath.
"It will be over before you know it," I said, not really believing the words even as they were coming out of my mouth.
"I'll call you," he said. "And if you need anything at all, call me."
"Even if I just need to hear your voice?" I asked.
"Especially if you just need to hear your voice."
"I'll make sure everything is good with your place," I said. "Bring in the mail. Water the plants. Flip lights on and off. That sort of thing."
He laughed. "I already have Mark handling that on his way to work so you can focus on the rebuild."
“Well, you just think of everything, don’t you?”
Finally, there was no more time left. He had to get going. I kissed him again, and we whispered our goodbyes.
"I love you," I said.
"I love you, too," he said. "I'll call you as soon as I get there."
"Travel safe."
The house felt empty and too quiet the second I closed the door behind him. It was going to be a long month.
It was still early, and part of me considered going back to bed for a while, but I knew my mind wasn't going to quiet down enough for me to really get any rest. It made more sense to just stay awake and try to do something productive to get me through this first hump of him gone. With any luck, I'd be so busy over the next month, I would barely have the chance to miss him.
I went to the bedroom to gather up all my dirty laundry and threw it in to wash. While that was going, I made breakfast. When I was finished eating, it was late enough in the morning for me to get in touch with the architect. I wanted to set up a meeting to discuss the rebuild and the suggestions Victor and I had come up with.
As it turned out, my theory about being so busy I wouldn't think about missing him didn't exactly pan out that way. The next month was crammed, and I was constantly jumping from one thing to the next handling the rebuild of the store and making plans for some changes and improvements in operation when it opened. As a fun side project, I was planning the grand reopening, hoping for a celebration to welcome the local icon back and thank the public for their love over the years.