back to Zack. I offer him the smallest, weakest smile I have. He sighs heavily and I see massive amounts of tension leave his body while relief fills the features on his face. He takes one step towards me, and then another, slowly, cautiously. My smile grows a fraction with each step he takes. “I have someone I need him to meet.”
She eyes me, curiously, for a few seconds but doesn’t ask
“I’m going to go,” she whispers softly. Neither of us acknowledge her as she turns and leaves and offers up a quick wave with one hand.
“Hey.” I think it sounds just as pathetic as it did the last time Zack showed up at my condo. The memory makes me smile. “Is this going to become a habit?”
At his confusion, I explain. “You calling Mia and showing up at my place?”
He chuckles softly and reaches out one hand like he wants to touch me, but pulls it back just as quick. I stop him. I need to feel him. I need to feel the warmth that only he can offer. I grab his hand in mine, and hold it there between us. He eyes our hands, entwined in between us and then back to me.
“That depends. Are you going to make a habit of running away?”
His deep voice hits me like a tidal wave and I want to collapse into his arms immediately. I didn’t know how much I had missed it until I hear it.
Absolutely not, because as crazy as it sounds and as quickly as it’s happened, I am completely, irrevocably in love with the man before me.
I shake my head. He’s what I want. He’s been what I wanted since I left his bus in Philadelphia and I can’t believe he’s here.
“I’m not letting you walk away from me again.” His voice is gruff when he speaks. I feel overwhelmed by the emotion I see in his face. I can see it all. His pain from me leaving, the love he has for me, the patience that he’ll wait until I’m ready.
I see it all in a span of a few moments and all I want to do is tell him that I’m sorry for ever leaving and it will never happen again, regardless of how scared I get. I want to tell him I feel the exact same way. But I have one more thing to do first, and I want him with me.
“I don’t want to.” It’s the absolute truth. “I was just on my way out. Will you come with me?”
He pulls me to him slowly and wraps one arm around my waist. He holds me for a second and then looks down at me and smiles.
One side of his lips twitch and an eyebrow raises. I’ve missed this grin.
“I’ll go anywhere you want. But I think we need to talk.”
I nod. Yes, we do; definitely. But this is more important. “We will. But I want to introduce you to someone first.”
He eyes me warily, obviously wondering who could be so important for him to meet before we can talk about what’s going on between us. I’m thankful when he doesn’t ask. I don’t know if I can tell him. I have to show him. Instead of asking, he simply turns around and we start walking towards my garage.
***
The twenty minute drive is completely silent. There is so much I want to say, so much I need to say. I want to tell him about Natalie, about Sarah. About me trying to let that fear go, but I can’t. I will tell him everything after this.
He stiffens next to me when we drive through the metal archway and I watch him, trying to decipher what he’s thinking right now. He’s completely unreadable and silent as we exit my car and start walking. Without even realizing what I’m doing, I reach out and take his hand, interlocking our fingers together. He doesn’t resist, but neither of us say a word.
I stop once we reach the spot I need to be. The area is slightly shaded by an old maple tree. I picked their resting place because of it. It feels peaceful and calm sitting underneath the towering maple. In the summer, their plots are completely shaded in the hot afternoon sun. Today, the tree is bare, but the leaves cover their graves in a blanket of bright, fire red that sets the whole area alive with color. It’s how I want to remember them; completely