Chapter 35
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
MAEVE
I’ve never been one to do things on a whim, but a month ago, that all changed.
Little did I know that my entire life was going to be flipped upside down when I agreed to let Tatum take me on that road trip.
I had grown in so many ways and healed in others that I didn’t even know I was capable of healing, and now, I was a doing-things-on-a-whim kind of girl.
The current whim being that I just flew all the way back to Seattle before Tate drove back to Pennsylvania so I could ride with him.
I’d technically only miss three days of class, since the day we get back is a holiday anyway.
Three days is minimal compared to the amount that he’s missing, plus I can do stuff online if I need to.
I wanted it all to come full circle.
I was with him for the entire trip to California and Seattle, and I wanted to be there with him for the drive back home, too.
The only catch to all of this is that Tatum has no idea I’m in an Uber on my way from the airport to his Airbnb. He’s been under the impression that I’ve had classes all day and that’s why I haven’t been able to talk to him as much.
The thought makes a smile tug at the corners of my lips.
It gradually gets darker outside as I sit in the back of the Uber, my hands in my lap, anxiously fidgeting with my phone.
There’s a light layer of snow that covers every surface that whizzes by, but it’ll soon be washed away by the misty rain falling from the darkening grey sky.
Tate really wasn’t kidding when he said that all it does here is rain.
My phone buzzes in my lap, pulling my attention to it as I look down to see the text message from Tate popping up across the screen.
Tate
Are you still in class?
I bite down on my lip to stifle my giggle, just as the driver pulls up to the tiny house Tate’s been staying at for the past week.
Thanking him, I climb from the back of the car and round the open trunk to grab my suitcase.
Rain mists against my face as I walk up the sidewalk toward the house, rolling my luggage behind me.
Quietly hauling the suitcase up the steps as I walk up to the porch, I can’t contain my excitement as I hurry to rap my knuckles against the wooden front door.
My heart pounds in my chest as I bounce on my heels, waiting for the door to swing open so I can see his face.
The face I’ve missed so much over the past week and a half.
The door cracks open then, slowly, and Tate’s confused expression meets me on the other side.
His eyebrows are pulled together tightly until his dark eyes take me in, and after a few seconds, the realization kicks in, and his entire body relaxes.
His shoulders sag and the breath he was holding releases from his chest in a relieved exhale.
“Maeve?” he rasps out, his eyelashes fluttering faintly as he struggles to keep the water in his eyes to a minimum.
“Hi,” I say in a whisper.
“What’re you doing…” He shakes his head like he still can’t believe it. “How are you here right now?”
“I’m here to finish our road trip.”
“Our…” He trails off, his eyes softening down at me as another realization washes over him. “You flew out here to ride home with me?”
I nod gently as I wrap my arms around myself, the chill getting to me finally, and he notices too because he’s immediately grabbing onto me and pulling me inside.
He steps out onto the porch and rolls my luggage in behind us, closing the door once we’re finally all settled in the warm Airbnb.
My body shudders as it adjusts to the heat, just as he engulfs me in a hug.
“I missed you so much,” he mumbles into my hair as he squeezes me so tight that I’m letting out breathless giggles.
“I know,” I tease, “that’s why I’m here.”
When he pulls back, he kisses my forehead, his lips lingering there for a moment. “But what about class? I don’t want you missing your classes, too.”
“It’s only three days,” I assure him softly. “That’s one day missing from one class, and two classes missed from two others. It’s okay. That’s doable.”
His hands reach up to cup my cheeks. “You’re sure? The last thing I want is you falling behind. I know how important it is for you to go to medical school and—”
The words leaving his lips are interrupted as I push up on my tippy toes and slam my mouth against his.
His hold on my face weakens just a fraction as his mind struggles to keep up with what’s going on, but when it clicks, he’s kissing me like his life depends on it.
One hand cups the back of my neck in a desperate grip while the other wraps around my waist to pull me closer against his body.
His lips taste better than I remember, and I relish it as his mouth moves with a fervor over mine.
He groans, breaking the kiss just barely as he says, “God, I missed you, Maeve.”
“It’s only been a week and a half.”
“A week and a half too long,” he mumbles against me, kissing my lips again. “One minute is too long without you.”
I giggle into his mouth. “Oh, the dramatics.”
“You act like,” he pauses to pepper tiny kisses along my jawline, “you didn’t miss me, too.”
The truth is, I missed him more than I think I’ve ever missed anything before.
Probably more than I missed my family for the entire year I didn’t see them.
As soon as I got on the plane that day to go back to Pennsylvania, it was like a massive weight sitting on my chest. This unbearable weight that only got heavier every second that I thought of him.
The first week of classes wasn’t nearly as exciting as it would’ve been if he’d been there.
Experiencing a whole new semester with Tate now was something I’d looked forward to, so it had been a bummer to have to do all of it without him. I don’t know how I ever did before.
“Trust me, Clark,” I sigh as his lips trail down my neck now, “I’ve definitely missed you too.”
Loosening his grip on me, he unzips my winter jacket as his kisses find their way to my collarbone, and then he shoves the coat from my shoulders until it’s free from my arms and on the floor.
“Hmm, I don’t know. I think you should show me how much you missed me.
Just so I can really get the full picture here. ”
“Right,” I nod, pursing my lips in a playful manner as he presses his lips along my collarbone, “because me flying all the way back over here to accompany you on the road trip home isn’t proof enough.”
“You could be just doing it out of the goodness of your heart,” he counters, kissing against my chest as he tugs down the collar of my sweater.
I snort. “The goodness of my heart. Oh my god, Tatu—”
His lips against mine cut me off from the rest of my sentence, but I welcome it as I envelop my arms around his neck.
My body melts into his hold as he kisses me sweetly, hanging from him like my legs can’t support my weight anymore, as his arms wrap around me.
A soft sigh leaves my mouth as he kisses me, swallowing the sound down with ease.
God, even his smell. I hadn’t realized I’d missed it this much.
My head spins as I get drunk on him, but then he’s pulling away, leaving me pouting weakly up at him. His hands stay on my waist, holding me steady as I give him a tiny glare up through my lashes.
“I’m so happy you’re here,” he murmurs down at me, his features stoic as he speaks, except for the small pinch between his brows before he wipes that away. “You don’t know just how much I was dreading making that drive all by myself.”
I raise a teasing brow. “Oh, is that the only reason?”
He shakes his head, leaning down until his forehead is pressing against mine, one of his hands coming up until his thumb is sweeping my cheekbone.
“No… Because I’m wholly in love with you.
Because when I’m not around you, I want to be.
Because this road trip feels like ours. It wouldn’t have felt right finishing it without you. ”
As he finishes, there’s a sudden realization that has me biting back a smile. I can’t remember the last time he stuttered. He used to be this guy who couldn’t even keep eye contact with me for more than a few seconds, and now…
“No stuttering,” I say.
“What?”
“You don’t stutter anymore, you know that?”
Tate blinks a few times as he registers my words. “I… I guess I didn’t even notice. I told you, Mae. You make me feel comfortable. It doesn’t come out unless I’m nervous. Or anxious.”
“And you keep eye contact now,” I muse.
At that, his eyes fall to the floor and his cheeks flush pink—a sight I haven’t seen in a few weeks.
With a snicker, I push up on my tiptoes and press a soft kiss to his cheekbone, feeling the warmth under my lips, before plopping back on the balls of my feet and wrapping my arms around him in a hug.
“I love you, Clark,” I tell him.
“I love you, pretty girl.”
As we stand there, embracing for a while, I realize just how much he’s changed me, too.
Before him, I had stopped smiling; the moments I did were becoming more and more futile as time passed.
There wasn’t much that brought me the kind of happiness required to crack a smile.
Before him, I was close to forgetting what it felt like to belly laugh.
What it felt like not to have to wear my mask all the time.
What it felt like to just exist comfortably in my own skin.
The chains around my wrists put there by Landon were gone. I wasn’t shackled by the weight of him anymore. I wasn’t convinced I was a broken, unfixable girl who didn’t deserve anyone as amazing as Tatum.
Now I know that I’m the only one who does.
He was made for me.
He’s mine.