There was nothing I wanted more than for him to just hold me forever, to never let me go as long as we both lived. I wanted to simply melt into his arms, forget about everything except for the two of us, tune out the entire outside world so long as I had him. He was all I needed, all I wanted even, and I was nowhere near ready to let him go, nor did I ever think I would be.
A small gurgling sound came from the quickly filling tub on the other side of the room, reminding both of us of the main reason why we had even come in here in the first place. I detangled myself from his arms with a small sigh of resignation, the cooler temperature of the room immediately hitting me as I leaned away from the heat of his body, lifting my head slowly from his chest. "I should go check on that, yeah?" I gave him a small nod, bringing my lips up to his for a small peck before I started to turn away from him, taking his weak smile as a disinclined agreement.
I slowly crossed the room, making my way towards the tub, stopping for a minute to simply take a look around myself. I had to admit that it truly was beautiful in here. All the effort that Connor had put into getting the atmosphere and the mood just right, and not a bit of it was wasted. The candles cast soft shadows on the walls, giving everything an opaque, dream-like look, the smell of the burning wax slowly filling the room, starting to relax me before I was even in the bath, working wonders for my mood before I had even so much as tested the water. "This is amazing," I told him softly, seating myself at the edge of the tub, dragging my hand slowly over the surface of the water, smiling at all of the little ripples that trailed eagerly behind my fingers. My god. He'd even managed to get the temperature of the water just right. "You think so?"
"Yeah." I nodded encouragingly back at him, having to reach over myself to turn off the faucet at exactly the right moment. The tub was mere inches away from overflowing, just the way I'd always loved it, ever since I was a little girl. Somehow, those few more inches of water had always managed to give me the feeling of being able to swim away from it all if I really needed to, like I could just drown all of my worries and be rid of them forever, never have to see them ever again, after only a few short moments under the warm water. I never did manage to realize that they were always right there in front of me again as soon as I got out.
"You did a really good job," I reassured him, realizing that I had to stand up to wriggle more easily out of the jeans that I was wearing. They were far too tight for me and hard to get off even at the best of times, with me sitting down I knew they would have been near impossible.
I stayed standing where I was and watched him for a long moment, studying every inch of him, keeping my eyes locked on his for a few short seconds before finally I started to cross the room to meet him. I found myself reveling in the smile that had spread over his face, losing myself in the mere sincerity of it. He was so happy right now, and I'd done nothing more than simply give him a chance to get close to me.
I grinned sweetly up at him, having now made my way to right in front of him, just close enough to feel his warmth. "It's almost perfect," I teased him gently, his dimple going in deeper and deeper as he started to think back over what I'd just said. I brought my lips slowly up to his, smiling as he leaned away to let out a small laugh, his breath warm and sweet as it hit my lips. "Really?" He'd brought his voice down to a whisper by now, his lips brushing softly over mine as he spoke, sending a nervous flutter through me, as if I had gone back to being a giddy teenager. I like to think that we both knew exactly what we were doing, that, by now, we were both thoroughly acquainted with what made the other tick. He wrapped an arm around my waist, his hand resting at the small of my back as he pushed me gently onto the counter behind us. "Only almost?"
A nod was all I could manage as I looked up at him, those deep brown eyes of his already starting to lull me into a state of submission, quietly trying to sway me towards completely giving in to him. I brought my arms up around his neck, pulling him ever closer to me, burying my head in his shoulder, as if trying to hide myself away from the whole rest of the world. For a short moment, I caught a quick glance of myself in the mirror next to us, noticing at once just how needy I looked, as if almost desperate for nothing more than his touch. It was almost too much for me to accept, and I should've hated it, should've shied away from the very thought of this, but somehow, I found myself not minding it in the least.
I slowly lifted my head from the heat of his shoulder, bringing my eyes up to meet his, offering him a small smile as I watched him look carefully over every inch of me. "Let me make it perfect for you then, okay, love?" he offered quietly, the mere sound of his voice already proving to me just how much he meant it. He trailed his hand slowly down my spine, a little shiver shooting through me as his fingers stroked lightly over my skin. "Just tell me what you want."
"Mmmmm." A small laugh fluttered through me as I reached up to run my fingers through his hair, working my way gently through all of the knots and tangles he'd acquired throughout the day, trying my very hardest not to hurt him too much. "The water's going to get cold," I reminded him softly as I leaned into him, pressing my forehead against his, waiting for a long moment before pushing myself easily from my perch on the counter into his arms.
He planted a small, sweet kiss at the top of my nose, his eyes immediately darting downwards as I slid the fingers of my one hand under the top of his jeans, the fingers of my other hand teasing at his zipper. "Is that okay?" I asked him quietly, looking expectantly up at him as I waited patiently for an answer. I knew, almost for certain, that he would, without a doubt, in a split second, say yes to anything I threw at him, but even still, after the past few weeks, I still felt the need to be careful.
He gave a long, slow nod, and I breathed in the laugh of agreement that escaped him, drinking it down as if he were the sweetest wine I'd ever tasted. I couldn't resist a smile as he brought his lips down to mine, giving me a small peck before reluctantly loosening his arms around me, just enough for me to be able to undo his zipper and slowly work off his jeans.
I found myself looking up at his face again and again, if only for nothing more than to check his reaction, as if testing the waters, trying to make sure I hadn't gone too far too soon. But, as I really should've been able to expect, every time I looked up, I saw nothing less than a contented smile, his head gradually tilting farther and farther back, his eyes closing after a moment as he started to finally relax, as it finally occurred to him that he could trust me, that I wasn't going to try and take any steps backwards from here. No. We both knew that from here on out, there was only room to move forward.
I let out a small laugh as I felt his fingers glide lightly along my spine, trailing softly over my skin, working their way slowly towards my bra strap, his eagerness just barely disguised by his timidity, his keenness muffled slightly by the caution that he was taking to make sure he didn't mess this up. I smiled softly to myself, taking a short moment to realize just how badly we both wanted this. "Abby," I heard him murmur softly into my ear, as if asking for my approval, pressing his lips gently against the skin of my neck as he awaited nothing more than my response.
Another little laugh escaped me, almost a giggle, as I took his face and brought it to mine, meeting my lips once again with his, as if I just couldn't get enough of him. "You know you don't have to ask," I told him softly. He seemed almost surprised at this, stopping for a moment to simply stare at me in disbelief, as if he just couldn't accept the fact that I was really allowing him to get this close to me. "Connor, I want you to," I reassured him, working my fingertips down his chest and stomach, slowly nearing the waistband of his boxers.
Those few words turned out to be the only thing that he was still waiting for, and soon after I'd said them, he finally found his confidence with me, no longer afraid of my pulling away, finally having broken away from the fear of once again falling back to square one. His hands were all over me, rough and slightly clumsy, as he smoothed his palms over the soft curves of my body, taking his time to remove the rest of what I had on, which was nothing more than a bra and knickers.
We moved slowly towards the tub, tripping over one another as if drunk, planting soft kisses on each other all during the few short seconds it took us to finally settle down into the warm water. The tub proved itself to be more than big enough for the two of us, leaving us with more than enough room to be comfortable.
I was finding that all of this felt almost like a dream, like a happy ending that everyone knew would never be able to last. I almost didn't want to believe how far we'd come in little more than a half an hour, how quickly we'd gone from barely wanting to trust each other to the complete opposite.
Connor held me in his arms, as if to protect me, my head resting softly on his chest as we lay together in the warm water, the row of candles flickering calmly to the right of us, never once losing that one thing that kept them going. Every few minutes, he'd take the time to bring his lips to mine, like he wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to try and go anywhere. His kisses were soft, sweet, each one of them causing me to fall for him that much more.
"My god." His words came out as a long sigh, his chest rising and falling under me with the deep breath he took. I turned my head to him, resting my chin on his chest so that I could look up at him, bringing my fingers up to run them over the cold, worn chain around his neck. "What?" The slightest hint of a laugh showed through my voice, letting me know that right now, I was entirely content, without a care in the world, so long as I had Connor next to me.
He laughed softly, putting his hand over mine before lifting it slowly to his lips. "Is there any way for me to tell you how gorgeous you are without it sounding like a come-on?" He held my hand by his lips, tilting his head slightly to look at me through a few strands of hair that had flopped over into his face.
I looked appreciatively back at him, knowing damn well that there was no way I'd be able to resist him at a time like this, those eyes of his already working towards leaving me absolutely mesmerized. "I really don't think I'd much mind a come-on right now." There was no way for me to hide my grin as I snuggled deeper into his arms, watching as a slow smile spread over his face, his dimple deepening right in front of my eyes. No. I joked silently with myself. I wouldn't at all mind a come-on right now.
He took a moment to move his eyes across each of my features, tightening his arms around me, tracing his fingers softly over the small of my back. "Well, then, you're gorgeous, darling." His voice had dropped down to a whisper, one little detail which somehow managed to leave me that much more fascinated by him, making me almost giddy at just the sound of his voice in my ear.
I smiled up at him, knowing that right now, I was finally letting myself surrender to him, that at last he'd managed to knock down those walls that, up until now, just hadn't wanted to come down. Tonight, right now, as we shared a warm bath, as he held me in his arms, we were really, truly, happy. And the only thing I'd had to do was let him in.
THE END