Page 28 of Remember When We
I sucked in a sharp breath. “No, there’s no need to apologize at all. You made it clear you didn’t care about me and I understood.”
“I did care. I do care. That’s why I came here tonight. I do care about you.”
“Gio, just stop. It’s not necessary. It’s been eight years.” I couldn’t hold it in anymore. “If you cared that much, where were you? You could have come before now. Anything you have to say to me could have been said well before now. You didn’t care and that was the truth. You made sure I knew I was nothing to you. Little more than a stupid child who fell for you and allowed you to screw with her mind and body. You just left me here. Left me to suffer. You didn’t care if I lived or died. You just—”
He cut my next words off by grabbing me and covering my mouth with his for a kiss. A kiss that burned my lips from the heat.
It speared across my mouth working its way through me until it ignited every cell in my body and singed my nerves.
Hot, wild, flames licked at my skin washing my brain clean of everything that wasn’t him.
I wanted to think of myself as the girl I had been when we were together, but this was different. He felt different.
The kiss was different too. He slipped his hand behind my head angling me in a way to deepen the kiss, sweeping his tongue into my mouth like he wanted to explore me. The wild, raw taste of him turned me on and tightened my nipples painfully.
I reached up to cup his face kissing him deeper, missing him, and wanting him at the same time.
It was the missing him part of that equation that zapped reality back into my mind.
What the hell was I doing?
I pulled away, stepping back out of his grasp.
He looked at me, but didn’t say anything.
I jumped into my car and drove away fast not looking back.
I just drove mindlessly right back to the house; pretty certain I ran a couple of red lights too. My lips still burning from the kiss and my mind buzzing.
When I stepped into the house the tv downstairs was on which meant Matthew was awake.
I went inside and there he was sitting on the sofa with Dad watching Transformers.
“Mom,” he said excitedly and rushed over to me to give me a hug. This was an early night for me. Often times I didn’t see him this side of the day. It was always in the morning and just after school. I made those hours available for him.
His little arms around mine made me feel at home.
“Baby, what are you doing up still?” I asked him the question and looked over at Dad who was giving me that look of defeat that told me he’d tried countless times to get Matthew to bed.
“I couldn’t sleep.” He said.
“Sweetie, off to bed for you. You don’t want bags under your eyes.”
He giggled in the cute way he always did.
He looked so much like Gio; the same thick lashes, and even the same smile.
“Okay Mom. Goodnight Grandpa.”
“Goodnight baby.” Dad told him.
I went over to dad, sat opposite him on the sofa and waited to hear Matthew go up the stairs before I spoke. I didn’t tell him I’d seen Gio yet, but I felt it was best I did now.
After that time with the whole secret of us together I promised myself that I’d never keep any more secrets from him. Didn’t matter what it was.
He put out his hands and took mine into his. “Sweet girl, I went for a walk today. Lasted for a whole two hours before I got tired. I figure that means I could work the bar in the evenings and give you a break.”
“Dad.” I gave his hands a gentle squeeze. “No, we can’t risk what happened last time.”
