Chapter 11: Decisions Made For Better Or Worse
I stood at the arrivals gate waiting for the woman I'd let walk away once. I was determined that I wasn't not going to let it happen again. I felt incredibly nervous. I didn't know whether to get some flowers or chocolates. I decided that was too cheesy and I could get her something else but then jewellery may seem too forward. I never had this problem when I was seeing Victoria I thought to myself. Lisa was different though. She wasn't interested in fame, or furthering her career. All she seemed to want was to make me happy, and although I had messed it up more than once I was determined to make it up to her. I looked my watch. It had been thirty minutes since she had landed. My phone buzzed
"Waiting for bags, mine are always fucking last" she wrote, I almost snorted with laughter. We are far more alike than we give ourselves credit for I thought. I sent her a quick text back and stood, waiting. I rocked back and forth on the soles of my feet and started to get incredibly nervous. What if she didn't feel the same when we saw each other again I started to doubt myself.
As the seconds ticked by I could have ran out the airport right there and then. This is stupid I thought to myself. I knew this woman better than I knew anyone so why on earth would I be nervous meeting her. I never used to be. The thing is I didn't say it aloud but I knew. Suddenly I had something riding on this meeting. This wasn't the weekly meetings at Costa Coffee, this meant a whole lot more; This woman meant the world to me, I could see that now, and although I knew that being with her wasn't going to be easy I knew I had to try;
I started to fidget as people began to filter out of the arrivals gate. The time was drawing closer to when I would see her face again. I genuinely couldn't wait! More and more people exited arrivals and split off into different directions some meeting loved ones until there were very few people left, milling through slowly. I began to get impatient, I just wanted to see her; One again the doors opened and I looked expectantly only to be disappointed when a family walked through.
Then I saw her, and I couldn't take my eyes off her. She looked tired, but that wasn't surprising. I didn't think I had slept properly in about a week. I could see her looking round for me. Our eyes met and it took all of my self-control not to run over and just pull her into my arms. We must have looked like a couple of idiots because we both stopped and just stared at each other. My heart thumped wildly in my chest. I smiled at her and she smiled back and we walked towards each other.
The knots in my stomach grew to the point I thought they were going to consume me. I wasn't sure what to do, whether I should just say hello or give her a friendly hug or just throw caution to the wind and just kiss her. Seriously what the hell was wrong with me, snap out of it! I told myself. We finally met in the middle of the airport and just looked at each other.
"God it's good to see you" Lisa spoke after several minutes of us just staring at each other. Christ we must look like the village idiots I thought to myself with a groan. I sighed aloud with relief though at someone else breaking the tension.
"And you" I replied, it just seemed so pathetic and I knew that, cringing. I looked back at her expectantly.
Lisa started laughing "God look at us pair" I began to laugh as well. All of a sudden, she leapt at me giving me a huge grin as she pulled me into a big hug.
"I've missed you so much" I admitted squeezing her tightly.
"Not as much as I have missed you" she said with a smile and our eyes met again. Her eyes were hooded as she glanced down to my lips. I brushed my hand across her face, feeling a hundred different emotions. I kissed her gently on the lips, pulling away after a second to make it her choice.
She smiled "let's take this slowly" she said carefully "I don't want to be in a position where I have to walk away from you ever again"
"Not going to happen" I replied and kissed her gently again
"I hope not" she said pulling back with a grin when we came up for air a minute later "But I just want to get used to being with you again if that makes sense, not rush into anything that we might regret, okay?"
"Okay" I said not telling her that all I wanted to do was get her back to my house and rip her clothes off and spend the rest of the day making love to her. I knew I had to respect what she wanted
"Don't get me wrong" she continued putting her hand on my cheek "There's nothing I'd like better than to get you alone and recreate that first night together. But I just think we need to get comfortable around each other. It's going to be different than what we are used to"
"Yeah I know you're right. Not going to be easy though" I smiled at the challenge.
"Well I want a trip to Busch Gardens first" she laughed
"Oh no!" I groaned "I hate that place"
"How could you. Come on then, I want to see how the other half lives"
I smiled and grabbed her suitcase for her. Then I grabbed her hand. She looked at me and smiled. We walked out the airport hand in hand. It felt so right and I couldn't believe it had taken me so long to realise how I felt about this amazing woman.
It was only a twenty minute drive back to my house, but in that time we caught up with all the news we both had to share. I told her about the plans for Money In The Bank and she brought me all the news from home.
"Your mum sends her love" she said to me suddenly.
"You've spoken to her?" I asked surprised
"Yeah I messaged her the other day when I knew I was coming over" she said "her exact words were. 'Finally you've both come to your senses!'" she laughed at the memory
"Typical Mum" I smiled shaking my head "I think she always knew we wouldn't be able to keep away from each other"
I finally pulled into my drive, and Lisa got out the car to admire the view
"Wow this is Beautiful" She breathed as she saw the bay beach from my house
"Yeah it is" I replied although I wasn't looking at the beach. I walked around the car and put my arms round her waist; she had her back to me but rested her head against my chest.
"Feels good" she breathed quietly and turned round to look at me. I couldn't have been happier at that moment, I knew we had to take it slowly, but I moved even closer all the same and drew her into a kiss. It was a kiss that began gentle but became more intense at time went on. My hands were glued to my hips and a moan escaped my lips. I knew that my excitement was growing. Lisa broke away from me suddenly and I looked at her confused
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing" she sighed licking her swollen lips, "It's just that I felt so horrible when I woke up and you weren't there. That night we spent with each other has just left me a bit unsure about everything. I know it's stupid because we have been through so much since then but please bear with me, okay?"
I looked at her with affection and nodded. I knew I loved her with all my heart. She was so strong yet so vulnerable "However long it takes" I said as a promise and I meant it
The day went by quickly. We cooked lunch together; it had been so long since I had cooked for someone and it showed! I had to put up with Lisa's gentle teasing about my cooking skills, but we managed to cobble something decent looking together and afterwards sat giggling as we realized it was just about edible!
"Perhaps we need to eat out tomorrow night?" I laughed
"It's your fault" she said smugly "I'm a really good cook"
I raised my eyebrows at her and she just looked at me. We both burst into laughter. My God it was good to have her back I thought to myself
The night wore on and I could tell Lisa was exhausted. We hadn't talked about sleeping arrangements. I had assumed the obvious but when Lisa had said she wanted to take it slow I wondered if I'd gotten it all wrong. We cuddled together on the sofa, our hands wound together, always stealing glances and gentle kisses but nothing more but God did I want more. Midnight rolled around and I found myself falling asleep
"Do you want to go to bed?" I asked softly "Again I just want to lie with you, and feel you next to me"
"That would be good" she mumbled and promptly fell asleep again against my shoulder. I smiled to myself. Not the way I expected our first night to go but simply having her here was good enough for now; I gently picked her up in my arms, and carried her upstairs gently placing her on the bed where she never moved; I took off my shoes and lay gently down beside her, I wrapped my arms around her and gently kissed her neck; she shivered. I smiled to myself, closed my eyes and fell into a deep sleep not waking until the morning.
When I did wake, I woke up to brilliant sunshine. I glanced beside me and saw that Lisa wasn't there. I wondered where she had gone. I guess that is poetic justice for our first morning; I thought with a smile. She walked into the bedroom. All she had one was one of my shirts and she looked pretty sexy.
"Morning" I smiled at her warmly "How long have you been awake?"
"Well are we talking about the time I woke up thinking I was still watching TV?" She laughed "Or when I woke up to find you softly snoring besides me?"
"I do not snore" I protested with a laugh.
She looked at me bluntly "Believe me you do" She came and lay down beside me, looked straight into my eyes and I was totally lost. I felt like a 16 year old again. She kissed me gently wrapping her arms around me, and I did the same kissing her back;
"This feels good." I whispered to her "Having you here when I wake up feels so right"
"Yes it does" she agreed and kissed me again. We lay there together in each other's arms, limbs entwined just enjoying each other's presence. We both must have drifted back to sleep because when I started up and look at the clock where it showed it was nearly lunch time.
"Im taking you out to dinner tonight" I told her, wanting to show her off to everyone "I know a quiet place that does the most wonderful food"
"Sounds good to me" she said and came to kiss me. The kiss became deeper and I felt both of us both start to lose control as my hands travelled up and down her body. She suddenly broke away but had a mischievous smile on her face. I wasn't sure how much longer I could take not having her
We had a quiet day just enjoying it together until it was time to get ready to go out. I showered and changed and waited for Lisa to do the same. Typical woman I smiled to myself as I sat there waiting for her.
"Okay im ready" She walked into the room. I stared at her like a gaping fish. She looked gorgeous. She had dressed in a short blue dress and matching shoes. Her tanned skin glowed and the smile on her face lit up the room
"Wow, you look beautiful" I said to her as she walked towards me
"Really?"She asked
"Yes really" I said as I grabbed her hands "I'm so lucky to have you"
She blushed and I laughed, I brought her towards me and held her tightly and then kissed her. Her arms wrapped round me bringing me in closer and making the kiss deeper. I began to kiss her neck and she moaned "God that feels good"
It was the first time she hadn't pulled away from me, and I started to explore her curves with my hands. I could feel myself getting aroused. I pulled her in for a deeper kiss, our tongues exploring each other's mouths. We broke for air and looked at each other in a daze.
"Are we going for this meal?" I laughed not wanting to break this moment but hearing our stomachs growling
"Im starving. But I have to say I don't really want to leave"
"Come on" I said reluctantly "we will continue this later"
"You're on" she said and we walked out hand in hand for our first outing as a proper couple
The night was awesome. The meal was great and the company was perfect. I couldn't believe my luck that I had found someone so unbelievably perfect. Our conversation flowed, and we talked about wrestling and both our passions, football. It seemed like only five minutes had passed since we had arrived when our meal was finished and I was paying the bill; I drove steadily back to the house, but instead of going in when we arrived I led her to the beach that was so close. We took off our shoes and walked hand in hand for a short distance before stopping, I grabbed both her hands.
"Lisa I can't believe it has taken me so long to realize how I feel about you. That first day when you walked into my life has turned out to be the best thing that's happened to me. I know I haven't been the nicest person at times, and I know that I have let you down more than once, but please forgive me and understand that I want you with me now, and in the future, and I don't want to ever let you go" I looked at her hopefully
"Stu my feelings haven't changed since the moment I met you" my heart dropped at this, interpreting it differently "I wanted to be with you then, and I want to be with you now and that will never ever change. When I thought I'd lost you I didn't know how I was going to carry on and I never ever want to feel like that again. I have a lot to learn about your life, and I'm worried I won't fit in but as long as you're besides me I don't care"
I smiled at her, and all the self-doubt went away. We held each other close and drew each other into a gentle, slow kiss.
"Shall we go back" I knew I simply needed to be with her right now, no excuses, no doubts
"Yeah" she managed to breathe at me and we walked swiftly back to the house. The anticipation of what was too come was almost too much to bear;
I opened the door before drawing her into another, more intense kiss. We almost fell into the house not wanting to let each other go. I grabbed her hand and led her up the stairs. Once we had reached the bedroom we shared I turned to her and gently brushed the hair away from her face, feeling her shiver at my touch. I brushed my lips over her mouth, her lips reaching for me but I wanted to heighten her anticipation and instead ran my lips over her face and across her neck.
I heard her moan and knew that she was mine; I reached for the zipper at the back of her dress, unfastened it and lowered the dress of her shoulders and down to the floor. My eyes drank in the perfect figure that was before me. It took all my self-control not to grab her, rip her underwear off and take her there and then.
"Stu" she breathed "I need you" She said it and then reached for me. I drew her in for a kiss feeling her cool skin beneath me and began to explore every part of her. I felt her undoing the buttons on my shirt and start to feel my bare skin underneath with her nimble hands it was my turn to tremble at her touch.
"Fucking hell" I moaned as she reached down and rubbed her hands over my ever growing arousal. She reached up and grabbed my hair lowering me into a rough kiss as she skilfully undid my jeans and lowered them to the floor. I removed her bra and caressed her breasts until she whimpered with pleasure. I ran my tongue over them until I knew she couldn't cope anymore; I lowered her underwear, and used my hands to heighten her arousal and bring her closer to the edge.
"I need you inside of me" she breathed almost pleadingly into my ear. I lifted her up and her arms wrapped round my neck immediately as I carried her to the bed. I kissed her gently manoeuvring myself on top of her. She clung to me, her hands travelling up and down my back, her nails digging in ever so often making me tremble from her touch. I just couldn't stand it anymore and I thrust inside her entering her deeply. Her back arched as she moaned with pleasure and I began to take her, kissing her roughly as we began to move as one, heightening every sensation, exploring each other with our lips and hands
"Faster" I heard her say and I didn't have to be told twice. My thrusts became deeper and more urgent. I knew that I wasn't going to last much longer but wanted this to last forever. "Fuck" I heard myself cry out as my release came close and I moved in for one last kiss as I exploded inside of her, both of us reaching our release at the same time and then collapsing into each other's arms.
We lay there for a while completely spent lazily kissing each other before I moved to lay down by her side. I brushed the side of her face knocking some strands out of the way never wanting this night to end
"That's sealed it then" I smiled
"Sealed what?" she smiled back regarding me quizzically.
"That you're mine and im never ever going to let you go"
"Is that right?" she moved in for another kiss "I may change my mind if you snore again tonight"
I laughed and pulled her against my side "Nope you're never getting away"
We lay in each other's arms but there was one thing I needed to say to her before I went to sleep
"Lisa" I said softly. She looked up me "I love you" I told her my heart beating wildly
She looked up at me and gave me the most wonderful smile I have ever seen
"I love you too. I have for a very long time"
I drew her in close, and eventually I heard her breathing regulate into more even intervals and I knew she had fallen asleep. I lay there my fingers running through her hair until I felt myself drifting off; This had been the most perfect night, and the first of many I promised her and myself. I loved this woman with all my heart and soul. Suddenly a plan came to me, and I had only a few days to put it into action