MELODY
I looked at him. âUs?â
He nodded but didnât say anything. I wanted to laugh so badly, so that if I cried he wouldnât know if I was crying from laughing or if I was crying from the pain I was feeling in my heart right now.
âThere is no us, Xavier, and never will be. We donât know each other. We know nothing about each other. We met, we hooked up, the end of the story.
âForget whatever happened between us,â I said, and standing on my feet, I walked over to the window and looked outside.
âI canât forget you. I canât forget that night. And I donât want to. When I close my eyes, I still feel you coming apart in my arms. I still want to feel the things with you I felt that night.
âYou said in the note you left that you felt the connection between us. You said if we met again, youââ
âStop, Xavier. If you canât forget me, just think I was a good fuck and move the fuck on,â I snapped, turning toward him.
His jaw may have been rigid with anger, but I could see the hurt in his eyes.
The more he stayed in my room, the harder it became to control my emotions. I didnât know if Lisa had any feelings for him or not. But I didnât want to be the reason for Lisaâs heartbreak again.
âI canât. After you left with no trace of how to find you, I tried to move on, but I couldnât. Youâre all I dream of when I sleep; youâre all I see when I close my eyes, if itâs just for a minute.
âI will talk to Lisa and your family if you want. Iâll tell them I love you. I want to spend my whole life with you.
âI knew you were my destiny the morning I held you in my arms when you were sleeping. I fell for you that morning. I canât deny the way I feel for you.â
My heart, which had already been beating fast, took off like a runaway train. Maybe Iâd heard wrong. He couldnât love me.
It didnât make sense. We didnât know each other. We knew nothing about our likes, our dislikes.
I laughed. âYou love me?â I asked, laughing hard.
He nodded. âI love you,â he whispered.
I shook my head. âItâs not some movie or some fairytale romance book, Xavier. Itâs real life. We donât fall in love with people in one day.
âWhen we make decisions without thinking about the consequences, we regret them our whole life. Make bad decisions, reap bad consequences. You donât know me. I donât know you.
âToday you say you love me. What if after a few years, you start hating me when Iâm still in love with you or vice versa? Think about it,â I said ruefully.
Looking up at him, I thought he would be hurt. But there was a smile on his face and appreciation in his eyes.
âI know youâre the one for me, and now Iâm damn sure youâre the only one for me.â He pulled me into a tight hug, like he was afraid if he left, I would vanish into thin air.
âIâm not the one for you, Xavier,â I said softly so I wouldnât hurt him more than I already had.
âWe met because of my own bad decision when I agreed to spend a night with you. A fucking stranger. I never thought I would meet you again.
âNow, see where Iâm standing. One bad decision, and I will break my sisterâs heart. What if she has feelings for you? I donât want to break my sisterâs heart, Xavier.
âI love my family more than I will ever love anyone. ANYONE.â I lowered my head so he couldnât see the pain I was feeling right now.
He heard everything that I didnât say but wanted to say.
He heard I wanted to give us a chance, but I couldnât. He heard if I ever had to choose between my family and him, I would always choose my family.
Because family came firstâ¦
His eyes were hopeful, but there was also the fear of loss. We gazed at each other for what felt like an eternity, like our souls were talking to each other.
Without a word, I circled his neck with my arms and dragged his face down to mine. I felt desire and love surge through me, my skin tingling with happiness.
I buried my fingers in his hair, bringing our faces even closer together, deepening the kiss. I wanted to pour out all the feelings for him that I had in me.
I didnât know if it was love or not, but whatever it was, it was flowing in my veins like blood. If it was love, I wanted to tell him in one kiss how much I loved him.
He opened his mouth and sought out my tongue.
But this kiss was much different from our last.
It was softer, like we were both exploring each otherâs mouths for the first time. Our tongues twisted as we tasted each other. It felt fucking amazing.
We both pulled back, gazing at each other. Our love for each other was transparent in our eyes.
âItâs getting late. You should go to your room,â I whispered, still a little breathless from the kiss.
âI will, but I want to hold you for a little while,â he begged.
âI donât think itâs a good idea, Xavier,â I whispered.
âPlease,â he begged.
I nodded.
We walked back to bed. I lay in it, and Xavier settled in behind me and pulled me against him. Neither of us spoke; we only memorized each other in silence.
âDo you regret it?â he asked, breaking the silence.
My back was against his chest, so I turned so I could look into his eyes.
âRegret what?â
âThat night.â I met his concerned gaze.