Page 73 of Sorry, We're Closed

“A boyfriend! A boyfriend in his life!”

My cheeks flush at the word, as Marcus dashes to tend to his over sizzling pans. Avory’s hand returns to my thigh as he mouths the word,sorry, over and over.

The entire morning is filled with cooked breakfasts, stories of Bright Lights on their travels, and Marcus learning everything about me which he didn’t already discover through Avory, including my trick to fix burnt coffee by adding a pinch of salt, making Marcus reconsider every burnt cup he’s ever had.

Avory keeps many chapters of my life private from Marcus, and through our constant glances at each other and need to always be touching each other somehow, I hope he realises how grateful I am for that.For him.

“Right, you two, I need to get showered, and Avory and I need to finish packing, we’re off tomorrow morning, you!”

As Marcus strolls over to what I assume is his room, he shouts across the room before closing his door, “Hey, A! You better ask him now!” Marcus’ chuckle bounces off his bedroom walls, the bass vibrating throughout the flat.

As I bring myself under Avory’s arm, resting my head against his chest, his heartbeat echoing throughout my mind, he speaks with a quieter and higher tone than usual, is he nervous?

“Sawyer?”

I peer up to him as he speaks, his neck tensing then relaxing over and over as he thinks. I’ve always loved how you can see when Avory is thinking, planning his next words. He pulls my legs over his lap, turning my body into his as his pools of cobalt blue look directly at me, all of me.

“Please come with us.”

Thirty-Two

Avory

The words hang between us as the silence leaves my nervousness to grow, to plague my chest with the chance that this could be the last time I see him. Sawyer. Sawyer with his curls which shine in any light, his eyes which mimic the colour of ivy crawling up cottage walls, his lips which always appear smooth and soft, and always feel like it, too.

My Sawyer… if he would like it that way.

He begins to shuffle in place, his arms tighten themselves around my neck as his lips press hard against mine, over and over and the breath from his words tickle the thin hairs on my top lip.

“You mean, leave Tetherton? Are you sure, Avory?”

While my name feels foreign since we call each other anything but recently, it just confirms that I’m not dreaming some sort of romcom, because I’d choose any nickname over my real name if it’s coming from Sawyer.

Our lips continue to meet, warming each other’s and our tongues tangling briefly before Sawyer pulls himself away once more.

“I’ve never travelled anywhere else; I’ve never known anything else other than here. I mean, damn it only a few days ago I dropped everything I’ve known for so long and- and—”

As I watch his mind begin to spiral, his eyes seeming to shake behind his eyelids, my hands reach for his cheeks and pull his forehead to mine.

“Hey, hey, hey, it’s okay. I know it’s a lot, too much really, to consider in one moment but—”

“I don’t want to leave your side, Avory, but I haven’t experienced change in my life for so long. My life was repetitive, a constant cycle of desperate, stupid hope that one day I could have her appreciate me for once. For years, I lived like that. Then you guys came along, and suddenly, everything is changing, and while I can do this—”

Sawyer’s hands weave into my morning curls as he pulled his lips to mine, planting a gentle, warm kiss between us and I can’t help but smile against his soft lips.

“—It’s scary, Avory. Really scary. I mean, what twenty-year-olds are having to figure out who they are, what they want to do, where they want to be? In general, and in life?”

Tears begin to collect on his eyelashes, making them glitter in the light and I force myself not to gently wipe them away, one by one. Sawyer buries his head into the crook between my neck and shoulder and I wrap my arms around his waist, one hand rubbing small circles on his lower back.

His breath warms my neck as his lips move to my ear, his voice soft. “All I’ve figured out, is that I feel like you were sent to me for a reason, and I’m meant to be with you, and something feels okay with that being the only thing for certain in my life right now. You and I are okay.”

I smile at his words.He feels like I was sent to him, that we are meant to be together, and that’s okay. Sawyer said that’s okay.

My arms tighten around him as I pull my lips to his ear. “Say those last words again, Sawyer.”

He sits himself up as he shuffles around on my lap, his eyebrows furrow at my request. “You and I are okay?”

“Good. Now, say it like you mean it, baby.”

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