“So, you’ve been waiting on me?”
“At first, yes…until waiting became unhealthy for me. I was…it made me sick. Physically and mentally, so, I would say, more like hoping. That day in Austin, even six weeks later, we were still so raw after what we went through, what we put our parents through. Because of the things I said, the way I hurt you, I knew I couldn’t force us back together. I just didn’t know how long it would take, or…” another tear falls, and I hate the sight of his pain, “or if it would ever happen at all. I spent my trip to Europe holding out hope I would spot you in the crowd, that you would come to me. When I got home, I made the decision I couldn’t do it anymore. So, I forced myself to try to move on. I already knew it was a fool’s errand, but last night, the second I saw you,” he shakes his head. “You’re right. I went into full-blown denial, bitter because I’d finally taken steps to try and move on, and there you were.”
“I don’t blame you, Easton. I don’t. You’re right. I knew your number, but I didn’t use it. But when I got here, actually long before I got here, I knew without a doubt I was coming for you—”
“That isn’t all,” he interjects. “As selfish as it may be to say,” he exhales harshly, “I think I really needed to see you fight for us.”
I cock my hip and palm it. “Well, did I make enough of a stink for you?”
He grins and pushes my curls away from my splotched cheeks. “I think half of Mexico heard you missed my cock.”
“It’s a cock worthy of missing,” I sniff.
“God, I’ve missed you so much,” he murmurs, keeping my face in his palm. “You really haven’t been with anyone?”
“No, I couldn’t, and I don’t care if you can’t say the same.” I declare and immediately backtrack. “I mean, I do care, a lot, but I won’t let it come between us. You had every right to—”
“I love you,” he whispers, a tear gliding along his jaw. “Wholly, unconditionally, and definitively, Natalie. There’s no other woman in the world that could replace you either, Beauty. I’m the fucking fool for trying.”
“I’ll never let you go without a fight,” I promise.
“Jesus,” he chuckles, “after what you just did, you won’t ever have to. I’m good for the foreseeable future.”
“I needed my soul back,” I declare. Relief floods me as I slide my arms around his waist. “And from now until forever, I’m holding onto my life-changing man with both hands.”
“Can I…，” he swallows, anxiety flitting through his features. “Can I ask what Nate said before he hung up?”
“How much of that did you hear?”
“All of it,” he replies unapologetically.
“Wow,” I sniff, “I bet your head is about to explode.”
“I’m so glad I did hear it. I was so pissed at you for sucker-punching my heart and disappearing. I was coming to read you the riot act, but hearing that…Jesus, baby, it meant everything to me.”
“I’m so—”
“No more apologies,” he says. “I swear to God, Beauty, I’m letting all of it go, right fucking now, and I hope you do too. I’m yours,” he buries his head in my neck, nudging me to answer, “please tell me what he said.”
I beam up at him. “He said he would really like to meet the man I fell in love with in Seattle.”
This Love
Taylor Swift
Natalie
“I’m never letting you go,” Easton murmurs against my mouth as he carries me through the bar, past Jerry, who flashes us a smile along with the lift of his chin. Easton bypasses the lobby, heading straight toward the elevator.
Raw and emotional, his heart pounds against mine from the way I’m wrapped around him—we wait for what seems like an eternity as the floors slowly tick off.
“This is the slowest elevator ever,” I groan. “You can let me down,” I press a kiss to his neck.
“Fuck that, you’re not leaving my arms,” he growls when the doors finally open. My back meets the side of the elevator as he uses his keycard to access his floor before crushing me against him, cradling my face, his eyes intent as he gazes at me. “I need inside you, Beauty, right fucking now.”
My body instantly responds, tightening with urgency as we begin to ascend. I clutch him as he makes more declarations, his hand gripping my bare thigh beneath my dress. “From now until fucking forever,” he whispers vehemently, “we pay attention to our story, not theirs.”