Chapter 48
48
Bryce - 32 years old
M y eyes are still transfixed on her looking at the screen.
All the love.
All the loss.
All these days that went by.
All the fucking memories that we held on to.
I save her from drowning in her own thoughts as I take my phone back from her hand, closing the distance between us. My lips touch her forehead and I feel her whole body shudder. “Don’t think about it,” I whisper. “It’s time for us to move on.”
I don’t really know what happens next. It’s all a big fat blur, literally, caused by her tears, eyeshadow, and mascara all staining my vision. I just know that the kiss that we plant on one another’s lips feels like coming home. All raw, and rough, and frantic. In her arms, with her next to me, I feel whole. And the next thing I know, we end up on her couch.
“Would it be presumptuous of me to think that this date would end with us having sex?” I ask with a throaty chuckle. She just laughs at me while her mouth dives back to mine. Urgent, but delicate. Familiar, yet different.
We peel each other’s clothes off like we’re horny teenagers, fumbling with every single button. The corners of my lips quirk, remembering jock Bryce and manic pixie queen Haruki doing something similar to this. Haruki must feel my smile on her neck because she lifts up her head to meet my eyes.
“What are you smiling about?”
“Would this be the right time to tell you that I got my dick pierced on a dare in high school? I wanted to save the conversation for the second date. Didn’t want to freak you out,” I joke before sucking on her neck and cupping one of her breasts with one hand, unclasping her bra with the other. A soft moan escapes her as I flick her nipple.
“Bryce…” she calls out my name as she tries to steady her breath while I lay her down on her back, giving me a view of her almost naked body. “Unless you have an STD that you want to tell me about, please stop with your nonsense.”
I let myself enjoy the taste of her skin, leaving a trail of kisses from her collarbone down to her stomach. My fingers slide inside the only thing that’s still covered, her slit, and feel the wetness that’s pooling.
“I miss you,” I tell her. “I miss this. I fucking miss us.”
Sliding the last garment on her body down her legs, my head finds its place between her thighs. The overpriced dinner at that organic restaurant was nothing compared to this. This, what’s right here in front of me. This is a feast. And I savor the meal in front of me, lapping up her juices and moving my tongue toward her clit, licking the bud again and again until Haruki grabs my hair and moans out my name.
Haruki is still catching her breath when I move up to kiss her and put my tongue between her lips, giving her a taste of herself. “Bryce, that?—”
“Flip over,” I say as I reach for my jeans pocket and grab a condom from my wallet. We don’t want kids. Safety can be fun.
The moment she does, I slide my dick inside her, the metal on top of the head already glistening with precum. Over the years, I’ve memorized everything about this woman, but somehow I didn’t remember that being inside her feels like this. “Fuck, Haruki.”
I don’t want to talk anymore, we have the whole night for pillow talk. I glide myself in and out of her. Slow at first, then increasing my speed as she gets used to me. My hands grab the sides of her hips as she meets me thrust for thrust. My attempt at being gentle is thrown out the window the moment she takes one of my hands and guides it to the swollen bundle of nerves.
“You want to come with me, baby?” I ask, momentarily taking my hand away and coating my finger with my spit before going back and massaging her clit.
“Please…yes.” She nods.
I feel it. Both of our orgasms are on the precipice. A few more flicks, a few more thrusts, and both of us are going to go over the edge. We come undone with Haruki moaning, and me groaning and cursing as I blow my load. A perfect end to our first date. Just like the first one years ago.
“How are we going to do this?” Haruki asks me sleepily in the dark. After having sex three times, I’m not sure I have the fucking energy to have this conversation, but I know this is something that we need to talk about.
I stay silent, my eyes staring at her ceiling. “Let’s go with Denmark.”
“Come again?” she asks.
Turning my head to her, I see the two brown eyes trying to read my expression. “We never ended up picking a place to live in. I vote for Denmark.”
“Are you insane?” Haruki hits me in the arm playfully. “We barely know each other as adults, Bryce. You can’t just make a decision to move on a whim. And you can’t leave your family behind.”
I grab the arm that she used and hold her hand. “I’m dead serious,” I answer. “When we did it the first time around, we never had a plan, we never had an end date. I’m telling you now; if six months from now we’re still together, I’m going to move here. I’ve spent a lot of years not prioritizing us, putting us on the backburner. I’m not going to do it anymore, Haruki.”
“What about Lily?” she asks, biting her lower lip. “What about Birdie?”
“I’m going to miss the shit out of Birdie, but Lily will be fine. Lily has Nick.” Remembering the conversation I had with my sister, I smile to myself. I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for us, Bryce. But it’s your time to be happy now. “Lily gave me the go ahead.”
“And what exactly will we do in the next six months?”
“FaceTime, visits, holidays. You know the drill.” I kiss Haruki’s shoulder, excited for what’s to come for us. Better be fucking rainbows and butterflies. “We do an easier version of what we were doing before. Copenhagen to Berlin is not that bad, baby.”
“What if we fail again?” she mutters. Jesus Christ, so many questions.
“I’ve learned my lesson. I’ve matured. So have you. And if we have new problems coming our way, then we’ll go through them together. If they break us, which they won’t, then we’ll just try, again and again.”
“You always were overly confident in yourself.” I don’t miss the hint of a smile in her voice. “No wonder you ended up as a sales guy.” Haruki rests her head on my chest and draws circles near my collarbone. “Consider your kokuhaku accepted.”
I kiss her forehead, pressing my lips to the bed of hair that smells of almond oil and sex. “Today's the twelfth of April. Remember it and forget the old one, Haruki. New chapter. New book.”
“I love you, Bryce,” she murmurs into my skin.
“It’s a little creepy to say that on a first date, don’t you think?” I feel her roll her eyes on my chest and try to hold back my laugh. Because the memory of the first night we met is seared in my brain, and I know she’s replaying it, too. I say, “You won’t regret it this time, Haruki Sano. I promise.”