Chapter 49: ONE LAST TIME

MIA

He pulled the overnight bag out of the closet early on friday and I stood there watching as he set it on the bed, folding things into it and felt my heart drop to my stomach.

"I figured we'd leave around nine tomorrow," he said. "To beat the traffic."

"Sounds good." I walked to the bed and sat down because my legs started to shake.

I watched as he walked around the room to gather things and smiled when he glanced at me.

I had to leave tonight.

An hour later, Dante was in the kitchen making coffee and breakfast when I quickly ran into the bathroom to text Lin because every second mattered.

“Poney!” I texted then, “he wants to leave tomorrow morning by nine am. I need to leave now.”

The three dots appeared fast. “I need more time. The location isn't ready.”

“I don't have more time. It's tonight or I'm gone for the next two to three days with no signal and no exit.”

A longer pause then. “How sure are you that you can't stall the trip?”

“Completely sure. He's already packing.”

I waited a few minutes, tapping my leg anxiously.

“Okay. You need to leave tonight at midnight. I'll send the address at eleven-thirty.” She finally texted back.

I exhaled.

“How do I get out? He doesn't sleep deeply. And will wake up if I step out of the room.”

“I'll create a distraction with the building fire alarm on your floor at twelve-fifteen AM. Use the thirty seconds while he's trying to understand what's going on, to get to the stairwell. I'll have someone at the side exit.”

“You can do that?”

“Don't ask questions about what I can do, just be ready.”

I deleted the thread, turned off the tap and went to have coffee with the man I was planning to leave in sixteen hours.

The day was the longest of my life.

He was in a very good mood all through that I was almost convinced I had imagined everything I found out. He talked happily about the drive to come, restaurants near the cabin he wanted to try and asked if I wanted to stop anywhere on the way there.

I said yes to everything, smiled and asked follow up questions as I held his hand.

I had already grabbed my wallet, phone and spare key.

I was really leaving everything behind and somehow, I didn't entirely feel happy about it.

I told myself it was because of the years of hard work I would be leaving behind on that drive and because of what I had lost because of him. But deep down, I knew I just didn't want to leave him.

I also hoped Lin meant what she said about helping Yuna and hoped I would reunite with her soon.

By nine PM he was relaxed on the couch with his hand in my hair and a film playing on the television. I was counting down the hours left while trying to still act normal. Around ten I realized this was the last time I would be in this apartment I had grown to love.

At eleven-fifteen I went to the bathroom and Lin's message came in at eleven-thirty exactly. It was an address in Brooklyn I recognized so it wouldn't be hard to get there.

“Remember to use the side door and get in the red car but DO NOT KNOCK.”

I memorized the address, deleted the message, flushed the toilet, washed my hands then went back to the living room where I told him I was tired.

“Me too. Let’s head to bed, we have a long day ahead tomorrow.” He smiled, leading me to the bedroom.

We lay in the dark then he pulled me close and quietly said, “I can’t wait for this weekend. Just us, no distractions.”

He kissed my forehead.

"You're all I need," he said.

My chest clenched and I felt like crying.

"Same," I said.

And then I kissed him. I needed to do this one last time because I loved him that much and I didn't want to forget this version of him. I was going to grieve it later and private to fall apart about it, but not yet and not tonight.

His mouth moved gently against mine, making me melt into him. My hands slid from his chest to cup his face, thumbs brushing over his stubble on his jaw. He made a soft sound, pulling me closer, hand tight around my waist like he never wanted to let me go.

The bed dipped as he pressed his weight on me, soon our clothes also disappeared and we were both naked. He pulled back to admire me and I almost broke down right there.

He adjusted himself until his member pressed right between my legs where it belonged and I moaned as he ground on me slowly.

His warmth and weight around me made me feel safe.

He kissed me again, slower this time, tongue stroking mine with deep, unhurried affection. I memorized his taste, the way his breath hitched when I sucked on his lower lip and the soft  groan that vibrated through his chest when my fingers threaded into his hair.

“I love you,” he whispered against my mouth with so much sincerity that it hurt.

I kissed him harder so I wouldn’t have to answer. My hands roamed his back, tracing the familiar lines of muscle and scar tissue, committing every ridge to memory. He shivered under my touch, pressing closer, his cock hot and heavy against my clit.

He reached between us, fingers sliding through my folds gently to feel me and I was already wet and aching as he drew slow circles on my clit which made me gasp into his mouth. Tonight, we didn't rush as he took his time until I was trembling then pushed one finger inside me, then two.

He pumped them against my g-spot while his thumb still played with my clit.

“You feel so good,” he murmured, lips brushing my jaw. “every part of you was made for me.”

I arched into his hand, a soft moan escaping as pleasure built slow and deep. He kissed down my neck, sucking gently at the spot that always made me shiver, then lower, taking one nipple into his mouth. The wet heat of his tongue combined with the steady thrust of his fingers had me whimpering his name.

When I was trembling on the edge, he withdrew his fingers and positioned himself at my entrance. He looked down at me, eyes soft and full of love I knew wasn’t entirely real.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Yes,” I whispered, pulling him down for another kiss. “Please.”

He pushed inside me slowly, inch by careful inch, filling me up as I dug my nails into his shoulders. When he bottomed out we both groaned, foreheads pressed together, breathing the same air.

“Fuck, Mia,” he breathed, voice strained with pleasure. “You feel like home.”

He started moving with slow, deep thrust. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pushing him deeper because I wanted us to be deeply connected. His breath hitched when I clenched around him, moaning softly on my neck.

We had never made love like this and it felt so intimate. His hands never stopped moving as they stroked my sides, cupped my breast and brushed hair away from my face so he could look at me.

“I love you,” he whispered again, kissing me between thrusts. “So much. You have no idea.”

I kissed him back harder, hiding the pain those words brought. My hands roamed his back, nails lightly scratching as pleasure built higher. He groaned my name against my throat, hips moving a little harder as he felt me getting close.

“That’s it, baby,” he murmured, voice rough. “Let me feel you. Come for me.”

I screamed, clinging to him as I orgasmed, walls clenching around his cock as he kept moving through it and when I was limp and trembling, he let himself go.

His thrusts grew deeper and more urgent. He buried his face in my neck, moaning my name over and over as he came deep in me. I held him tight, feeling him shake as he finished in me.

We stayed locked together for a long time, breathing each other in. He pressed soft kisses to my shoulder, my neck, my temple, whispering how much he loved me, how perfect I was, how he couldn’t wait for us to go on this trip.

At midnight I was watching the clock.

Fully dressed under my robe, other things set in my jacket pocket. Dante's breathing was slow and deep beside me.

12:01.

12:04.

12:09.

Time seemed to slow down as I stayed perfectly still, watching the clock tick.

12:13.

I turned my head and looked at him one last time in the dark.

12:14.