Chapter Thirty-Six
Holly
I couldn’t believe it. Not only was Xavier alive, but he still wanted me in his life. I went to the bathroom to wash my face and make myself look decent. I’d rushed over to the hospital without even bothering to brush my hair. I’d just been so overwhelmed with emotions and fear that I hadn’t worried about myself. I looked in the mirror now and laughed at myself. This was the face that Xavier had just seen. Once my face was washed, I put a comb through my hair and tied it up into a high ponytail. I put a little bit of mascara on and a dash of lipstick. I sprayed some deodorant under my arms and dabbed on a bit of perfume. There was nothing I could do about my clothes – my jeans and an old t-shirt, but at least I was now looking a bit more human. I walked back to the hospital canteen to wait for him.
When I saw him walking towards me, I ordered us each a cappuccino to go. I handed him a cup and smiled at his handsome face.
“I figured you might need this,” I said.
“Oh yeah. The last few hours have been rough.”
“I’m sure. I can’t believe how bad that fire was, Xavier. I’m just glad that you’re okay. I’m so sorry to hear about your friends, though.”
“I think we’re all in shock. It’s been rough. I had no idea it was going to be that bad.”
“I’ve missed you so much.”
He looked at me. “I’ve missed you too. Want to go down to the lake? It’s such a beautiful day.”
I smiled. “I’d love that.”
At the lake, we took a seat on the grass and looked out at the water.
“Water. The opposite of fire. No wonder I like coming here so much,” he said.
I leaned in towards him and took his hand. For a while, we didn’t say anything. We just looked out on the lake and held hands. I felt calmer than I’d felt in a very long time.
“I hear congratulations are in order,” he said to me.
“They are?’’
“You got a job. Well, that’s what I heard anyway.”
I smiled. “News travels fast in this place. Yeah, I got a job. And I love it. I’m so happy there. I have the most amazing boss, a great group of colleagues and the work itself is exactly what I want. It’s in the city, very cool place, right next to the most amazing café.”
“I’m happy for you, Holly. And I’m so grateful that you didn’t get a job out of town.”
“Me too. Although, I’ll be honest, I did think about it. I figured going out of town would be the best thing so that I didn’t bump into you. But I also didn’t want to run away from my problems anymore. I wanted to face them head on. I figured if you didn’t want to be with me then you should be the one to go away, not me. My stubbornness is what kept me here.”
He laughed. “I’m glad. And I’m sure your father is happy.”
“He is. Poor thing. He must be feeling so confused right now. I think he’s going to be fine, though. We probably should’ve been upfront with him from the beginning. I think the whole thing was just a shock to him.”
“Does that mean that we’re going to stay together?’’
“Of course it does. There’s no way I’m letting you go now, Xavier.”
“And I’m not letting you go. Did you hear about Kenny and Andrea?”
“I heard,” I said. Andrea had called me up in tears just the other day, and I’d sat with her while she told me that she was pregnant. I couldn’t believe it. “She said they were so careful too. But she did admit to being drunk a few times. I’m surprised her and Kenny did it more than once. I thought he was strictly a one-time sort of guy.”
“He is. Well, twice is his maximum, usually. But they definitely did it more times than that.”
“Does that mean he likes her?”
I shrugged. “I have no idea. I think he does, but he doesn’t seem to want to admit it. He keeps telling me that he doesn’t want to settle down and that he isn’t in love with her, but I’m not sure I believe him. It’s not my place to force him to do anything, though. He’ll have to figure it out on his own. It’s a messy situation; there's no denying that.”
“Even messier than ours.”
He laughed. “That’s for sure. I hope they sort things out. They’re both such great people. What does she think about the whole thing?”
I thought about Andrea sobbing into my arms and shook my head. “I think she’s just in shock. She’s always wanted to be a mother, but not in this way. She’s had the most troubled past with men, and I think she’s just upset that this has happened. She’s such an incredible girl, and all she wants is to find a guy that treats her well. I think she really likes Kenny, but she said he doesn’t want to be with her. So I’m not sure. It’s funny, I look at their lives and think how easy it is. It’s simple to me – they should just be together. And I’m sure they used to look at us and say the same thing. It’s always easier when it’s not your own life don’t you think?’’
“You’re absolutely right. Kenny used to tell me all the time that I should just be with you.”
“Kenny is a very smart man. We should listen to him more,” I said, and we both laughed.
We sat like that for another hour, just holding hands and talking. I called my dad too just to let him know that I was fine and that I was sitting with Xavier. He sounded sad on the phone, and I asked him if everything was okay.
“I just shouldn’t have done what I did, Holly. I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive myself for what I did. I thought I was doing the right thing.”
“Oh, Dad, don’t be sorry. We’ll all sit one of these days and talk things through. I promise.”
“Thanks, my darling. I love you.”
“I love you too, Dad.”
“Tell Xavier I love him too.”
I chuckled. “I’ll do that.”
I cut the call and turned to Xavier. “My father says he loves you.”
“Wow, things have changed.”
I giggled. “I’m glad he finally saw the light and saw how amazing you are.”
He raised his eyebrows at me. “So you think I’m amazing?”
“You should know that’s exactly what I think,” I said and leaned in to kiss him. The kiss was slow, lingering and passionate, and I immediately felt my body respond to his.
“Your place is close, isn’t it?” I said.
He laughed. “It sure is.”
Back at his place, we walked almost shyly to his bedroom. Every time we’d had sex in the past, it had been with an almost urgent energy like we were worried someone would stop us and we wouldn’t be able to do it again. Each time always felt like it might be the last. But today was different. We took our time with one another, and as we fell into bed, we kissed slowly and gently. It felt more like the start of a million more days to come. I knew that this wouldn’t be the last time I’d be making love with him. He pushed gently inside me, and I moaned softly. How could I have lived without this man? How could I have lived without doing this with him every single day of my life?
Afterwards, we lay together and faced one another. We were holding hands and smiling at one another.
“That was nice,” I said.
“Just nice?”
“It was perfect.”
“That’s what I thought too. Holly, we’re going to make this work between us. We have to. We’ve already had one big obstacle in our way, and we have overcome it. That means nothing is going to stop us now. We were meant for each other. I love you and promise you that I will never leave you. This is it. You’re who I want.”
A tear rolled down my face, and he wiped it away.
“Happy tears,” I explained. “I feel the same way about you. This is it for me. I don’t want anything else. I love you, Fireball.”
He groaned. “And the nickname resurfaces.”
“Speaking of nicknames, any chance we can go for a ride on Norman?”
He looked at me in surprise. “You want to go for a ride on the motorcycle? Seriously? I thought you hated it.”
I smiled. “I guess you showed me the light. Doesn’t mean I want one myself, but I really like holding onto you as you ride. I should probably get home anyway; I don’t want my dad to just think I’ve abandoned him. But let’s take the long way home.”