A/N: For those who are still hanging in there with me. Thank you! I really appreciate it. Thank you for the reviews and follows. Here's chapter nineteen. A step forward is being made and dare I say it, even a bit of fluffyness. Still a long way to go for them though. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter nineteen
If she rejected him now, if she rejected them now, she knew he would walk out of her life and never return again. But could she trust his words? Would he really never leave? Then again there were no certainties in life.
"I need you." Lizzie whispered. "It scares me how much."
"Why?" He asked. Even though the steps they were making were tiny, they were at least getting somewhere now.
She let go of his hands and stepped passed him to lean against the porch. She looked out onto the sea. "Because of the way I lost myself." She eventually said. "There's a part of me that's hesitant to trust you again, to make you a part of my life again. Guess that's me trying to protect myself. But there's also a part of me that screams for me to let you in. That's the part of me that knows I need you. I've been battling with those feelings ever since you came back into my life."
"How can I help?" Maybe another question needed to be asked first. "Do you want me to help?"
"Yes." Lizzie whispered.
"How, Lizzie?" He stepped closer to her until his chest almost touched her back.
"By being persistent, by showing me that you won't leave. Be with me."
Red wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his chest. His lips brushed her neck before he rested his chin on her shoulder. "I'll be persistent. I'll show you that I won't leave. I will break down those walls that you built, but you have to stop putting them back up again, sweetheart."
"I'll try." She liked being close to him. It made her feel safe and it had been such a long time since she'd felt safe. "I have the tendency to ruin what is good for me because I fear I don't deserve it."
He didn't understand where that insecurity came from, but it was something that they would have to deal with. He recognised that part of it was his fault. He had really misjudged what his disappearance would do to her. She'd cared so much more than she'd let on. His need to protect her had blinded him. Still his disappearance had been a necessary evil.
"I missed you." Lizzie whispered as she leaned back against him.
He tightened his grip on her. "I missed you too, sweetheart." His whisper made her shiver which he noticed but didn't comment on.
They stayed silent and simply enjoyed their closeness. It was Lizzie who moved first. She turned around in his arms and wrapped her arms around his chest. She snuggled closer, laying her head on his chest. She breathed out a contented sigh. "Red." Her voice was muffled against his chest.
"Yes?"
"How did you imagine our first kiss?" She asked.
Red smiled though Lizzie couldn't see that. "Slow and sweet." He said, lowering his voice on purpose. "Want me to show you?" He ran his hands slowly up and down her back.
"Maybe." She teased.
Just like before he cradled her face in his hands. Slowly he closed the distance between them and watched how she closed her eyes in anticipation. His lips almost brushed hers when a familiar voice interrupted them.
"Uncle Ray, can we go swimming now?" Abby called out impatiently to her uncle. She was standing at the back door with Jethro behind her.
Red put his head on her shoulder and let out a frustrated sign. This made Lizzie smiled. "I love her dearly, but she has bad timing." Red whispered.
"Let me go grab my things and then we'll go." Lizzie said to Abby. She kissed Red's cheek, stepped out of his embrace and walked inside her house.
"Uncle Ray?" Abby said as she skipped towards her uncle. "Do you like Miss Lizzie?"
"Yes." He looked at his niece for a clue where this was going. You never knew with kids. They were unpredictable.
But Abby didn't say anything else. She nodded, turned around and skipped back into the house. She went in search of Lizzie who had just grabbed her bag.
"Hey Abby. You ready to go?"
"Yes." She took Jethro's leash that Lizzie gave her. "Miss Lizzie, do you like uncle Ray?"
"I do." She waited for Abby to say something more, but she didn't. She simply walked out the door with Jethro following closely. Lizzie shrugged, checked her bag to make sure she had everything and left. On the porch she joined Red, Abby and Jethro. She smiled at the picture they presented. A picture that caused a certain longing within her. Red held out his hand to her which she easily accepted.
"I hope you'll be wearing a red bikini." Red whispered in her ear as he took her bag from her.
Lizzie laughed. "Really? And why is that?"
"Because red looks good on you."
"Well, you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?" Lizzie walked away, laughing at Red's mumbling. She quickly reached Abby who again was impatiently waiting for them. It was time to go swimming.
TBC...