Him.

This is a short story, based on truth, any feedback is welcome!

He had to know, I was coming home.

 

I’d only left him 9 days ago, but my heart was overruling my head, I had to go back to him. When I’d left, he’d pulled me close, kissed my hair, my cheeks and finally my lips. He’d whispered in my ear, three words that I longed to return, but choked with tears all I could do was nod. His eyes shone with tears he wouldn’t shed until I was out of sight. We both knew that the 3 days we had together would be all we got. He knew I had to come home, my whole life was on another continent. My job, my family and my house were all back in Scotland, I had to get home. In the 9 days, I’d been home I had begun renting my flat to a lovely couple who were looking for something in the city centre. I had sold most of my clothes and belongings, only keeping the essentials I needed. I’d sold my car. I’d been slightly vain and got my hair cut and my nails done, bought a new outfit, but hey " if I’m starting a new life I may as well get myself a new dress.

 

Today was the day, the first day of the rest of my life, lying in my hotel room trying to stay calm and not get too excited but goodness knows it was hard. I got up, showered, put my slightly damp hair into a French braid. Put on a little light make up and put on my dress, lightweight and comfortable, slipped on the silver band he’d given me as a gift before I left. Checked my handbag for the 100^thtime, passport, ticket and boarding pass. I had everything I needed. Standing in line, with a suitcase containing my life basically and a handbag with the rest. In Glasgow airport wearing a dress and sandals, people must have thought I was mentally unstable. My flight didn’t leave for four hours, I’d already smoked 6 cigarettes. My nerves were almost crippling. What if he rejected me, didn’t want me there. Well it was too bloody late, I was going. Four hours passed in a blur of trashy magazines, coffee and nicotine. Finally, I took my sleeping pill and it was time to fly.

 

The North Carolina air hit me like a tonne of bricks. Dry, unrelenting heat. Already the weight that had been on my shoulders was lifting. I was almost home. Stuffing my denim jacket in my rucksack I went in search of shade and a smoke shelter. Swallowing my water in baby sips whilst smoking, I felt much calmer, like I could breathe properly. In the bathroom, I pulled my hair out of the braid which had left it wavy and hanging just below my shoulders, touched up my make-up, loaded up on the deodorant and spritzed some perfume. It was almost dinner time, I only had an hour and a half or so left to travel then I would be with him.

 

               

 

Work was finally done, cliché I know but I felt like I was barely existing, since she left. All I wanted to do was drink bourbon and sleep. It had been 9 days and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be whole again. I’d told her I loved her, stupid but I had to say it, the girl was my whole world and now she was gone. Back home to Glasgow to live her life and get on without me. My heart and soul were broken. I just wanted to get home, get a shower and drink myself to sleep again. Pulling into the drive, I nearly drove right through the front of my own damn house. I saw the porch light on and under it sat the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Her hair sat in the wavy way I liked on her shoulder, her piercing blue eyes showed absolute exhaustion, her pale Scottish skin already had a little hint of pink. She was here. As she stood up off the swing, I could see her green dress clinging to her in the most delicious way. She was here. Before I was aware of my body I was out of my car, halfway up my drive and there she was, in my arms. Smelling like strawberries and vanilla. Smelling like home. I peppered her face with kisses, kissed away her tears. “I choose you” that’s all she kept saying. My girl was home. Pulling her in tight, I kissed her hard enough to know this wasn’t a dream. She kissed me back just as hard. We had a lot to talk about, but right now I needed her. Bending down I lifted her from the knees so she was thrown over my shoulder, she screamed and held on. Her laughter could honestly solve everything.

Looking at her, her bright blue eyes looking back up at me and I felt it, whole. She came back to me. Her eyes were sparkling but she was clearly exhausted. I’d gone back outside to carry in her bags, in that time she’d made her way to the bed and was starting to dose off. I gently woke her and asked her if she wanted a shower, her skin was sticky and she must have been travelling for hours. We climbed into the shower together and I kissed her all over, her face, her chest, her stomach. We reconnected. As I got her dressed in my t-shirt and a pair of black panties from her case and I genuinely couldn’t stop staring at her, she was really back. I couldn’t wipe the damn smug smile off my face, my girl was back here in my bed with me, sleeping on my chest.

An hour or so later she stretched out like a cat, pressing her beautiful body against me, I felt myself stirring, God this girl was driving me crazy. Her eyes opened and she looked so much better, she smiled shyly up at me. All I could do was smile and pull her closer, ever so slightly pressing my hips against her. She made a low groan in her chest, the sound going directly to my groin. Taking her head in my hands and I pulled her in for a deep kiss. She immediately straddled me, little minx that she is always, she always knows how to surprise me. She pulled off her t-shirt and I drank her in like a fine oil painting. Her pale skin, two dermal piercings twinkled at me from her hip, a tiny tattoo of three stars sitting just above them, her pierced n****e, two more tattoos on either side of her body, covering the scars she was so ashamed of but to me, the girl was absolute perfection. I flipped her onto her back, kissing my way down her body, I pulled off her black lace panties and inhaled her scent. She was practically quivering underneath me, my hands holding her thighs over my shoulder, my name barely a whisper coming from her lips. And my god did she taste good, I could have stayed here all day. Hearing her moan my name may be the best sound I’ve heard in this lifetime. As I crawled back up her body, she circled her legs around my waist and guided me inside her, and honestly no words can even describe how good it felt.

Waking up and I became aware I was hot, too hot. Looking down I could see why. He had his arm thrown over my hips, his head on my stomach and his legs thrown over mine. I could see from the bedside clock that it was 3:32am, but back home it was 8:32 in the morning, my body clock was all over the place. I slid out from underneath him, slipped on a t-shirt and padded out to the back porch. The air was much cooler outside but still dry. Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge I slowly drank it as it sunk in that I was really here. The love of my life was lying inside still sleeping peacefully, I’d never felt so content. Making my way back inside I saw a dirty kitchen, a neglected living room and a pile of washing the same height as me. Getting to work I washed dishes, wiped worktops, tidied up rubbish, swept floors and threw on a load of washing. I scrubbed the bathroom from top to bottom. By 5:00am I was exhausted so I went back to bed, only stopping to admire the love of my life. He had the longest eyelashes I’ve ever seen on a guy, sandy hair and a smile that made you fall in love every single time you saw it.

 

 I guess you’re all wondering where this story began, before we were head over heels in love and I was on a whole other continent. Well let me tell you. In high school, a friend of mine announced she was getting married (at 16) to an American guy she’d met online. Yeah, I know, but she was in love and we were all invited so hell, of course we were going. I’d met him a few times before this, he was funny and kind and had eyes that you could stare into for days. Of course, I couldn’t do anything about it, it was a teenage crush. The wedding was great, we had a fab night and they seemed to live happily ever after. Wrong. They divorced and he went back to America, I’d probably never see him or hear from him again, I was sad to lose a friend but that was the way of the world. Wrong again. The world of social media meant he kept cropping up in my life, liking pictures, posting updates that made me laugh. He joined the Marines, got a new car. We started talking on messenger, and he was the first one to tiptoe near the line of inappropriate, he asked me my favourite place to be kissed. My neck, butterfly kisses. It went from there, soon we were talking every day, sending each other pictures of stuff we found funny, and the occasional slightly more risqué photo. My travel plans went from visiting family in Canada, to spending a week in the states visiting friends. I happened to be passing through North Carolina for 3 days. If he wanted to see me when I was there, great. If not well it would be fine, we’d keep in touch anyway. By this point I was 21, he promised to take me dancing, drinking and skinny dipping " what more does a girl need? He promised kisses and hot sex and pizza. We had 3 days, just 3 days. Buy hey, it was better than nothing.

 

When I left sunny Glasgow on the 25^th of August, I landed in Virginia, where I was met by an old friend Seth, he was going to show me Virginia and then drop me at the airport 2 days later where I’d then head on the North Carolina. Arriving I made my way to my Air BnB, a beautiful little cottage with 2 bedrooms, a spacious living room and a lovely modern kitchen, I was exhausted so I sent him a text to let him know I was here and my address. It was around noon so I grabbed a quick shower, put on some black cotton shorts and a white t-shirt, pulled my hair high into a messy bun and went out to sit on the porch with my book and a bottle of water. An hour or so later I heard someone clear their throat, I looked up and immediately a smile broke on my face. No words needed, he kissed me like I was going to vanish at any moment. We pulled away and made some small talk about the weather and my flights and my trip so far. Then tension was incredible, he suggested a little Italian place for dinner later but for now we could just catch up. He sat down across from me and instinctively I placed my feet in his lap where he clasped his hand over my feet, it felt so natural and like I’d been here, with him all my life. We talked and laughed and tried to ignore the tension between us, before we knew it the sun had set and the air had cooled. We had completely missed dinner. He suggested we order a takeaway pizza which honestly sounded perfect. We headed inside, he ordered the pizza and I changed into a massive oversized sweatshirt to heat me up a little. He pulled me into his lap and we lay cuddling on the sofa, talking about pineapple on pizzas, he called me disgusting for loving Hawaiian. We ate the pizza and before I could stop myself I invited him to stay in one of the bedrooms, to save him driving home. His smile almost made my heart stop. I couldn’t help myself and I leant in to kiss him, he groaned and lifted me, wrapping my legs around his waist and carrying me to the bedroom. He peppered kisses down my neck, he made a move to pull of the sweatshirt and that’s when I stopped him. He pulled back and frowned at me, I suppose it was time to explain myself.

 

Scars, everyone has them. From growing up and skinned knees, burns and other incidents. Mine however came from a brutal attack that almost left me dead. At 18 I was raped and almost murdered by a complete stranger. My torso and stomach took the brunt of 7 stab wounds. Surgeons had hurried to sew me back together so I didn’t have neat scars, they were angry and puckered. In the year that followed I began to cut myself, this took away the numb feeling that was a constant in my life. My thighs took the worst of it. As I explained this to him with tears in my eyes, the look of anger on his face made me stop, the thought that someone had hurt me was killing him he said. He lay me down, pulled off my shorts and began to kiss me from my ankles right up to the apex of my thighs, he was showing me unconditional love and acceptance. Tears formed in my eyes. He moved to lift my shirt up, stopping to check it was alright and grinned like he had just seen colour for the first time when I nodded. I shut my eyes, so I didn’t have to look him in the eye when he saw my scars for the first time. I felt his breath on my stomach, his lips grazing over my hips. He kissed every single scar, twice before taking my head in my hands and kissing me. Our kisses got hungrier and more urgent until I couldn’t breathe properly. The passion and tension that had been burning all afternoon came to a head, and as he slid into me I cried out and wrapped myself around him. We moved together and as he came inside of me he sighed my name and it was the most perfect sound I’ve ever heard.

 

The next morning, I stretched and sighed at the empty bed. Was it all a dream? Where was he, had this been a one night stand for him? As I stood up, a sharp but welcome pain between my legs reassured me it hadn’t been a dream. I jumped in the shower and when I came out I just put on some underwear and a huge t-shirt. I was upset he’d left but it was maybe for the best. One great night was a wonderful memory to have. Making my way to the back porch for a smoke and a coffee my chest was heavy, I had fallen for him last night, head over heels in love with a Marine from a different country, well done me. In the kitchen, I noticed a beautiful bunch of flowers sitting on the table, all yellows and oranges like sunshine. And there he was on the porch, my Marine. He looked nervous, hell I was nervous. Then he truly shocked me and got down on one knee. “Choose me, please stay here and we’ll get married” and I said I’d have to think about it, my whole life was back in Glasgow. I couldn’t make such a huge decision in a split second. He looked upset but he nodded and slid a beautiful diamond silver band onto my left finger. He shrugged and said “Take it, even as a gift baby” and like that we were comfortable again.

 

So that’s how we began, that’s how I fell in love.