Page 56 of No Take Backs
I turn my attention back to Richard and Lyla, who are living in their own world. A world filled with motorcycles and death that don’t debilitate them to mention it, and friendships that are formed over lunch.
“Did you know that Nia’s boyfriend Josh brought me and my classmates a bunch of snacks and spent the whole lunch with us and he answered all the questions everyone had about being a firefighter?” Lyla asks the table as a whole. “I didn’t like him at first. But you know how important it is to bring snacks. And he understood the assignment. So I like him now.”
Dumbfounded, I stare at Ella with one eyebrow raised, like I’m a fish out of water who has a question that isn’t answered. But Ella stares at me like she clearly has no clue what is going on, either.
“I can’t wait to change my nail polish,” Lyla says after she burps, changing the subject again. “What color should I get?”
“I don’t know.” Richard shrugs. “Another pink?”
He shoved a fry in his mouth and then finishes his quesadilla in the next bite.
And after we finish getting our manicures and pedicures, Richard makes me promise that we’ll go again once a month.
A promise I gladly make, especially when Ella and Trish both say that they think it is a great idea.
“Hey,” I call out playfully as I step into the house, the familiar feeling of home washing over me. The sight of Josh sitting on the couch with a pile of folders next to him and his laptop perched on the coffee table brings a smile to my face.
He looks so focused, so intent on whatever he’s working on, that for a moment, I hesitate to interrupt him. But then the excitement of the day bubbles up inside me, and I can’t help but want to share it with him.
“Can you pause that for a second?” I ask, my voice light and teasing as I walk over to where he’s sitting. There’s a warmth in the air, a sense of comfort that comes from being in the presence of someone you love, and I feel a rush of affection for this man who’s become such an integral part of my life.
He blinks, rubs his eyes, and then closes the lid so he can give me his undivided attention.
“What’s up?”
Before I say another word, I close the distance between us and lean down, capturing his lips in a kiss that’s filled with everything I’ve been feeling all day.
“You went to the elementary school and spent lunch with my niece just to win her over?” I ask, pulling back slightly so I can look into his eyes. There’s a smile on my lips, but the question is genuine. I need to know why he went out of his way to do something so thoughtful, so completely unexpected. “Why?” I continue, my voice softening as I search his face for answers.
There’s a warmth in my chest, a swelling of feeling so deep I can’t explain for this man who’s gone out of his way to make a connection with someone I care about so deeply. It’s a small thing, maybe, but it means the world to me. And as I wait for his response, I can’t help but feel a rush of gratitude for the way he’s woven himself into the fabric of my life, for the way he’s made it clear that he’s here to stay. I don’t think I could get rid of him any easier than I could cut my arm off my body at this point.
“Because it was important to you,” he says like it is the most common thing in the entire world. “Whatever’s important to you is important to me.”
“I’m in love with you,” I blurt out, the words spilling from my lips before I can stop them. It’s like a dam has broken inside me, the emotions I’ve been holding back rushing out all at once.
I had to tell him.
I couldn’t wait another second without him knowing the depth of my feelings.
“What?”
His eyes are almost comically wide.
“I said I love you,” I repeat, my voice soft but steady. There’s a sense of peace that comes from finally speaking my truth. I smile as I sit down on the couch next to him, my heart still racing but in the best possible way. “Don’t make a big deal out of it,” I add with a gentle nudge, trying to lighten the mood just a little. But even as I say it, I know that this is a big deal for both of us.
It’s a turning point, a moment that will forever change the course of our relationship.
And as I look into his eyes, I can see the impact my words have had on him, the way they’ve sunk in deep, touching a part of him that’s been waiting for this for a long time.
“Nia,” he breathes, his voice lower than I’ve ever heard it before, thick with emotion. There’s a raw intensity in the way he says my name, like he’s holding on to it for dear life. “If I didn’t have work that I absolutely had to get done tonight, I’d be throwing you over my shoulder so that I could tie you down and make you say it to me over and over again with my cock buried so deep in your pussy that you won’t ever get the feeling of me out of your mind,” he continues, his words sending a shiver down my spine. The passion in his voice, the unspoken promise of what he wants to do, makes my heart race even faster. “I love you, too,” he says, the confession coming out in a rush, as if he can’t hold it back any longer. “I’ve loved you since you crashed into my life, ghosted me, and then had the audacity to save me in a fire you shouldn’t have been in.” There’s a hint of a smile on his lips as he says it, but the emotion in his eyes is undeniable. It’s as if he’s been carrying these feelings for so long, waiting for the right moment to let them out, and now that he has, there’s no going back. The love in his voice, the way he looks at me like I’m the only person in the world that matters, fills me with all the love I’ve never felt before.
I curl into his side. “Okay, you can go back to work. I’ll just lie here and read a book on my phone.”
Except as soon as he opens the laptop and starts playing old security footage, my curiosity is beyond piqued.
“What’s up?”
“I’m investigating the first fires that were classified as arson. So I can catch the person responsible, and maybe see something that we missed before.”