Chapter Fifty-Nine Joshua #2
And even if she wouldn’t admit it yet, her being here, following close behind me, wearing my shirt, holding our kitten was proof enough.
Before she could move away, before she could pretend she didn’t just follow me like a magnet, I leaned down, just enough to press a slow, quiet kiss against her lips.
It wasn’t rushed, wasn’t the desperate kind like last night.
It was soft. Careful. A simple brush of my lips against hers, gentle enough to make her freeze mid-breath.
When I pulled back, she blinked up at me, eyes wide and a little dazed, Honey still squished between us like a confused spectator.
“Well, I missed you,” I said simply, voice lower than I meant it to be, then turned toward the stove before I could lose whatever composure I had left.
I could feel her still standing there behind me, hand hovering near her lips, probably trying to process what just happened. And I couldn’t stop the small, satisfied smile tugging at my mouth.
Because yeah, I kissed her last night, more than kissed her, but this was different. This was the kind of kiss I’d always wanted to give her. The kind you didn’t have to think twice about. The kind that didn’t come with apologies or hesitation.
Just… a kiss.
Because I could.
Because she was mine now.
She finally sat down at the counter, Honey curling up in her lap like a little ball of fur. The kitten purred so loudly it filled the silence between us, the kind of silence that didn’t ache anymore.
I flipped the eggs onto a plate, slid one toward her, and leaned against the counter beside the stove. For a moment, I just watched her. The way she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, the way my shirt hung off her shoulder, the faint flush that still hadn’t faded since I kissed her.
Then, without thinking, I asked quietly,
“What made you come back? Why a random Tuesday?”
She blinked, glancing up from the plate. Her fingers toyed with Honey’s tiny paw, like she needed something to fidget with before answering.
“Alex told me to chase,” she murmured. “Aly too.”
My chest tightened at their names, the people who pushed me away yet brought her back to me.
“They—" She paused, cheeks heating as she looked down again. “…they said to be shameless.”
I raised an eyebrow, trying not to smile. “Shameless, huh?”
She nodded, still not meeting my eyes. “I couldn’t wait anymore,” she admitted, voice small. “I kept waiting for you to come back, but you didn’t, and I couldn’t sleep. I—” She exhaled, frustrated at herself, “it’s embarrassing, but I was desperate to have you back. I just… wanted you.”
Her honesty hit harder than anything. No dramatics, no walls… just truth.
I put the spatula down, walked over slowly, and stopped in front of her. She was still staring down at the kitten; her cheeks red, completely unaware of how much I adored her in that moment.
So I hooked a finger under her chin and tilted her face up to mine.
“Desperate, huh?” I murmured, teasing, but my voice was too soft to sound smug.
She swallowed, nodded once.
“Good,” I said quietly. “Because I was desperate too.”
And then I leaned down, this time slower, gentler and kissed her again, tasting the faint salt of her words, the truth of them.
—
Honey was currently using my head as a damn throne. Tiny paws kneading into my hair while Aurora giggled, the soft, sweet kind of laugh that always managed to make me absentmindedly smile too.
She was perched on my lap, facing me, her knees brushing my sides as she tried to calm the kitten down.
And I couldn’t stop staring. The morning light hit her skin as if it had been made for her, and all I could think about was how I got this. How lucky I was to have someone like her.
Honey finally settled, and Aurora’s focus dropped from the kitten to me. For a second, neither of us spoke, just breathing the same air, stupidly close. Then she blinked, flustered all of a sudden, and reached back for Honey, who was now clawing at my damn scalp.
Before I could even say anything, she slid off my lap—fast—like she just thought of something urgent. I blinked, stunned, frozen in place for a second too long.
“Wait—”
But Honey, being the tiny menace she is, decided to jump off my head at that exact second. Reflex kicked in, and I caught her with both hands just in time, the kitten meowing in protest as I stumbled to steady her.
By the time I looked up again, Aurora was already halfway to the door, pulling her hair into a bun, laughing quietly to herself.
“I’m just going to shower at my place,” she said over her shoulder, opening the door. “I’ll come back.”
The door closed behind her before I could respond.
I stood there for a second, Honey squirming in my hands, staring at the space she’d just left. The apartment felt too quiet without her voice, too still without her warmth.
I exhaled, lowering Honey to my chest as she purred softly, climbing back to her usual spot against my shoulder.
“Yeah,” I muttered under my breath, still staring at the door. “She’ll come back.”
Honey purred and jumped off my shoulder to the back of the couch before climbing back on my head, nesting in it, tiny claws snagging a strand, but I couldn’t stop staring at the door she’d just disappeared through.
I sighed and grabbed my phone from the couch.
My thumbs hovered over the screen for a second. I didn’t want her to think I was being pushy. But… the thought of her going back to that empty apartment after what we just had? After finally getting her back?
No way in hell.
Me: Pack a bag. You’re staying.
I stared at it for a second, then hit send before I could overthink it.
Honey meowed down at me, and I patted her little head. “Don’t start. You like her here, too.”
A few seconds later, my phone buzzed.
My Princess: Okay!
Just that. No emoji, no extra words, but I could hear her voice in it. Soft, certain, like she already knew she was coming home.
I set my phone down, smiling to myself.
“Looks like we’ve got our girl back, Honey.”
The kitten purred, laying her chin right on the edge of my head. Probably relieved that her mom was home.