Thirty-Eight
THIRTY-EIGHT
LEORA
I 've made him watch both Mamma Mia movies today, one after the other, and now we're watching a third movie, which, to my surprise, he's never seen. It's a disgrace, but I'm doing my best to fix him.
"So you're telling me he dies because she's too lazy to move?" he asks, completely enthralled with the movie, his eyes fixed on the screen. I nod, not able to speak as tears run down my cheeks. The movie Titanic always makes me emotional and the end makes me cry every single time.
"That's complete bullshit. They both could fit on that door. She can't leave him freezing to death!" he exclaims, shaking his head in disbelief. I mean, he's right, if Rose had just scooted over a bit, Jack could have climbed up, and he'd never have died—and yes, that’s the hill I’ll die on.
I wipe away my tears and look at him with a mix of amusement and agreement. His brows are furrowed, his hand pointing toward the TV as if he’s trying to tell Rose to scooch to the side.
I laugh a little bit at him. "You’re so right, they would have fit. I wish they did, those two were soulmates. But hey, it's the age-old question that keeps everyone coming back to the movie."
Lucas chuckles, shaking his head. The dimple I love more than anything on full display again. "Soulmates wouldn’t let each other die without trying to save each other." His hand goes to my back and moves in a soothing motion before he murmurs, almost as if to himself, "I would have made room for you."
He must feel the way my heart starts to pound. It’s almost as if it’s trying to break out of my chest in an attempt to reach his.
I would have made room for him, too.
When the credits roll, exhaustion washes over me, and I let out a big yawn. Lucas looks at me, amusement twinkling in his eyes.
"Right, it's time for bed," he declares.
I nod in agreement. "It really is. It's been a long day, especially after Michel’s visit." But I don’t move; I snuggle against him even further and Lucas's arms wrap around me, my head resting against his chest. His heartbeat is a soothing rhythm against my ear.
Leaning in, our lips meet in a sweet kiss. The taste of something like home lingers as we pull away. I yawn again and he whispers, "Okay, Sleeping Beauty, let’s go."
Lucas unwraps his arms from around me as we both get up, me walking towards my room and him behind me.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asks curiously.
"To sleep," I reply, confusion etching my face.
"Yeah? Well, you're not sleeping in there."
Confusion turns into surprise as I try to comprehend his words. "What do you mean?"
Determination surges within him, and he quickly closes the distance between us, wrapping his arms under my knees and effortlessly lifting me up. "From now on, you're sleeping in our room. There's no chance in hell I'm letting you sleep far away from me again."
A smile slowly spreads across my face as I wrap my arms around his neck, my excitement mirroring his. "I'd love that," I say, my voice filled with joy.
I wake up with his arms tightly wrapped around me; as if he’s scared I’ll run away. Which is something I would never do because being here, enraptured by the essence of him, feels like home.
It feels right, and it scares me.
Because the last time I felt happy, everything changed and I got stabbed in the back. However, it’s different this time; it’s as though my whole body knows it. It feels different with Lucas.
Yet, I can’t help but worry about the reality that we’ve signed papers stating that this will end. These feelings have a deadline—a deadline I’m hoping we will extend.
"I can hear your thoughts brewing in there."
If I found his dark voice sexy before, it's nothing compared to the allure of his raspy morning voice whispering in my ear.
He releases his tight hold on me, and for a second I miss the heat, but it quickly comes back as he turns me to face him.
"Good morning, beautiful." Lucas presses me closer to his chest, sealing the moment with a sweet kiss on top of my head, eliciting a contented sigh from deep within me
"Morning." My answer is enough for him to lean back and grab my chin, forcing me to look him in the eyes.
"What’s wrong?" Lucas asks with worry in his voice
"Nothing is wrong,"
"Leora?" Just him saying my name in that caring voice of his makes tears spring to my eyes. What is wrong with me?
His eyes search mine and for a second he looks confused. But then it morphs into some kind of fear before both of his hands go to my cheeks and one of his thumbs wipes away a single tear that escaped.
"Tell me so I can make it right." His words are low. There’s so much emotion behind them and it makes more tears fall.
"I’m sorry," I whisper back, but he takes the apology the wrong way.
His eyes move frantically over my face while he slightly moves away to look at me. "Did I do something?" he asks, his voice a bit shaky.
"No, it’s not you?—"
In his stressed state, he interrupts me, "What did I do, Leora? I don’t want to hurt you so please tell me what I did, because I’m the one who should be sorry for your tears."
This time, it’s me who grabs his face, grounding him.
"You haven’t done anything wrong. It’s the opposite. You’ve done everything right and it scares me."
"What do you mean?"
"I’m happy. Everything with you feels right and it scares me so much because the last time I was happy, everything changed and it broke me into pieces. Pieces I’ve been slowly putting together again while being around you."
"What are you afraid will happen?"
"I’m afraid I’ll break again, and this time, I won’t have enough energy to put myself back together." I look him straight in the eyes, and his frantic gaze softens. He turns his head and kisses both of my palms.
"I won’t break you, Leora. If I ever hurt you, I hope the ground opens up and swallows me whole." Lucas uses his hand to push away the hair that has fallen in front of my face. "I’m happy, too." His confession hits home. It’s the words I’ve been wanting to hear for a while.
"You are?"
He leans down and kisses my nose. "Yes, you make me very happy, Leora Ayoub."
Not Leora Davis. Leora Ayoub.
It’s the first time he’s called me that.
He gave me his name.