Title: Time
Plot: She had been waiting far too long…It was her move now, plain and simple.
I had never been the type to beat around the bush. It had always been much easier for me to just cut to the chase, skip all the leading up to it and just say what was on my mind.
But now, it seemed so easy, so painless, to just make the assumption that he already knew exactly what I was going to say. But that was the easy way, wasn't it? And life was never easy.
No, he didn't know, he never would, until and unless I let him know. Properly let him know.
"Connor?" He sat calmly, so calmly, next to me, arms folded behind his head in relaxation, seeming to have finally managed to get comfortable, despite the harsh wooden park bench under us.
I moved closer to him, closing the small gap that had been left between us, my leg now pressed solidly against his, his heat seeping slowly through to my skin. I let my hand move up to his cheek, running my fingers lightly along his jawline, stopping momentarily to feel his pulse, its speed steadily increasing under my touch. I found myself smiling at this, just one touch, just this, could really mean so much to him.
He watched me intently, having now given me his full and undivided attention. I felt his eyes on me as I restlessly inched my fingers under the collar of his shirt, stopping once I reached the bare skin of his shoulder, warm and soft against my hand.
No, it shouldn't have been hard, not at all. It was just three words, three little, one-syllable words at that. And it wasn't as if I wasn't sure of them, I was sure, more sure than I had ever been of anything, of the exact way I felt about Connor Temple.
However scared I had been in the past to admit it, I had come to terms with the fact that I was desperately, helplessly, in love with him.
I brought my eyes slowly up to meet his, waiting for just a moment before I softly, slowly said it. "I love you."
He smiled, a small, wary smile, as if he was unsure of what to think, unsure of whether or not I meant what I was saying. But his doubts didn't seem to affect him too much, his eyes showed no signs of worry, there was only contentment, a confidence and sense of invulnerability that hadn't been there before. "Do you?"
"Yeah." I nodded, watching as his smile grew wider, brighter, up until the point where it had reached a full ear-to-ear grin. "Yeah, Connor, I do," I said, reaching up to smooth his hair back behind his ear from where the wind had ruffled it, blown it out of place. I was almost disappointed at having to do this, I liked him so much better when he was all sloppy and unkempt. He looked so helpless, just begging for someone to come and clean him up.
He closed his eyes for a moment, as if stopping to take it all in. "Oh, that feels nice," he said, quietly, in one breath, before opening his eyes to find me looking at him. "What does?"
I heard him laugh, softly, almost to himself, but we both knew better than that. "Hearing you say that," he answered, watching me for a reaction, filling me with a sharp pang of guilt, like I had been neglecting him before. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear that." God, I really had to make this up to him.
I laughed, low and breathy, into his ear, hearing his sharp intake of breath as I hoisted myself gently onto his lap, so that I was facing him. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to say it."
He stared happily up at me, refusing to let his eyes stray from mine, holding them there for what seemed like forever, a simple, quiet forever, where the two of us was all that I cared about, the one and only thing that mattered. There was nothing, no one else that held any importance.
His breath came out as a long sigh, and I breathed it in, let it become a part of me. I smiled as I felt it reach the back of my throat, thickly, heavily, leaving a pleasant tingle even after I swallowed it.
I watched as he let his eyes drift slowly, carefully, down to my lips. He let them linger there just for a moment, before bringing his eyes back up to meet mine, as if asking my permission. As if he really thought he needed to.
I laughed, a small, giddy laugh, more like a giggle, unlike anything I'd have ever expected from myself. It was so comforting to just be here with him, to have him this close, it gave me a sense of security to know that we never had to go anywhere, could stay right here for however long we wanted.
His lips met mine, lightly, tentatively, as if he expected me to pull away at this, like he thought I didn't want this. They were soft, hesitant, under mine, slow and gentle as we fell into a sort of rhythm.
I pushed myself up against him as the kiss grew deeper, deeper, his arms coming up around me, one around the curve of my waist, the other draped gently over my hips. He paid no special attention to where he placed his hands, we were past that by now. My hands moved up to his chest, gripping his collar, keeping him close to me.
He parted his lips, ever so slightly, and I couldn't resist, I ran my tongue lightly along them, silently begging him to let me in, just this once. He gave in right away, opening up just enough for my tongue to dip carefully, tentatively, into his mouth, running over the inside of his teeth, before I finally let my tongue meet his, the action slow and experimental, giving him time to change his mind if he needed to.
There was hesitation, an uncertainty to him, but it was still clear to me that this was what he wanted, he pulled his arms tighter around me, held me as close as he could. He gave a low, almost involuntary, moan at the back of his throat, sending a small thrill through me as I realised that I was the cause of this. "Abby," he said my name softly, breathlessly.
I pressed my forehead softly against his, just to indicate to him that I was listening to what he was saying. "Yeah?" "I love you."
I nodded, making no attempt at hiding my smile from him. "I know, Connor," I said quietly, kissing him again, more quickly this time, cupping my hand around the side of his face, stroking his cheek with my thumb. "I know you do."
I leaned forward, burying my head deep in his shoulder, muffling a laugh that had been bubbling up inside me for quite some time now. "I love you, too," I mumbled, pressing my lips against the soft skin of his shoulder, where the collar of his shirt didn't quite cover.
"Mmmm," he mused. His hand moved to my thigh, he slowly, gently stroked it, his long fingers curling up under it until they reached the other side. "Should I be used to that?"
I lifted my head to look at him, a small laugh escaping me. "No," I answered quietly, shaking my head, trying to read his eyes and finding happiness, calmness, in them, however wide they may have been. My hand moved to his chin, I carefully traced my fingertips over the part of his lips, smiling to myself as they slipped welcomingly into his mouth. "Not yet." He nodded, never taking his eyes off of mine, seeming to fully accept what I had said.
We had time, more than we could ever need, all the time in the world, to get used to just this. There were no due dates, no deadlines, there was no pressure, we could take as long as we wanted, as long as we needed, and still have time left over. We always had, and we always would, have time, and no one, nothing, could take that away from us.