Page 63 of Only After We Met
I just know I couldn’t stop smiling as I looked at him.
We stopped every minute to kiss.
“Jesus, Ginger.” He held my chin.
“I think it’s just one more street.”
Rhys’s look was serious. Firm. Decided. He didn’t hesitate. “If you come up, nothing’s going to happen, understand?”
“Why not?” I unwound my hands from behind his neck.
“Because I need it that way, Ginger. I… I don’t know what I’m doing tonight, but I don’t want to regret it tomorrow. I don’t want to lose what we have.”
“You’re not going to lose me,” I whispered.
He observed me a few seconds, still doubting, still stiff. His hair and his dark jacket were covered in snow. Mist was streaming from his lips. The cold had made them red; my kisses had made them redder. I reached up and caressed them slowly. Rhys caught my wrist and stared into me, and I could hardly breathe.
He wove his fingers into mine and continued down the street that led to the hotel, saying nothing when he took out his key card and slid it into the back door. We went inside. The warmth embraced us. The carpeted floor silenced our footsteps as we climbed the narrow stairway to the third floor, where he had a room. I trembled when we got inside. It was so small, just room enough for a bed, two nightstands, and a little en suite bathroom.
The windowsill was low enough to sit on. I drew the curtainsand leaned against it while Rhys took off his jacket. I could feel him behind me, and I leaned into his chest. I was nervous. Happy. Sad. Everything all at once. His arms wrapped around me, and I could feel his breath on my neck. The snow was falling harder now, covering the streets with white, and the balconies, the tops of the streetlamps and traffic lights, and London’s Victorian roofs…
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Rhys
She smelled delicious. Cream cake or sweet caramel. I took a deep breath, resting my chin on her shoulder and my hands on her waist.
“You didn’t take off your coat,” I whispered.
She shook her head and started unbuttoning the big buttons on the front. I helped her. She turned into me. Her legs touched mine; our eyes looked for each other’s in the shadows. I held my breath as she ran her fingers through my hair and then down, drawing a soft line on my face, my lips, my chin.
“Why can’t we…?” she asked softly.
“Ginger…don’t make this harder than it is.”
“We’d have the memory to hold on to.”
“Memories are much more than they seem.”
“It doesn’t have to mean anything. It’s just you and me. For a night.”
“Come here, Ginger.” I sighed, sat back, and pulled her onto my lap. I stretched my feet out until they touched the other side of the windowsill. We sat there like that for hours, just watching the snow, letting time slip past. Sometimes our lips joined. Sometimeswe listened to each other’s breathing. Sometimes I wanted so bad to say to hell with it and take off all her clothes that my fingers trembled as I ran them across the hem of her shirt, and the temptation grew stronger and her kisses more intense until it almost hurt to look at her.
“What if we never see each other again, Rhys?”
“What do you mean?” I stretched out a bit.
“What if we don’t see each other for years and years? What if you have a girlfriend, kids? What if I’ve met someone and gotten married? What if…?”
“Ginger…” I sighed.
“Don’t look at me like that. Answer me.”
“What do you want me to say?”
“Won’t you regret not doing more tonight? Not knowing what it might be like for us to be together? Not letting something happen when you know you want it…?”
“Dammit…” I stood up and walked to the other end of the small room. “Of course I’ll regret it. I already regret it now.”