It’s always been you

Chapter #7

I held my hands tightly together as we sped down the highway that we would stay on until we finally made it to the last, small little road we’d follow to the cabin.

Twenty minutes. We would be there in twenty minutes and my stomach was a mess. I was excited but more nervous than I had been since I saw Elias for the first time in five years yesterday.

This was all brand new. I wasn’t fighting back my feelings for him anymore and trying not to be obvious, I was now preparing to do things with him that I’ve never done with any person at all ever. Things I dreamed and wondered about for a long time.

Remember when I saw him in the bathroom? Yeah so do I and that picture told me so much. It was… a lot… like, A LOT. How would that feel and would it… hurt?

My face was most likely bright red because it felt like my skin was burning. With both Elias and I having gone quiet it made my mind work extra hard.

“Addie, you have to remember to breathe. You’re okay, we’re both okay and everything is going to be okay. I’ll always keep you safe, you don’t have to be afraid, with me. What are you thinking about right this second?”

He noticed. Even driving, he noticed. He was looking at me, he was always looking at me. I wouldn’t be able to get away with anything.

“Do… do, I have to tell you?” Answer a question with a question, it was the perfect distraction. Yeah, no it really wasn’t.

“Please, Addie. I want to know everything and plan to tell you everything too, baby. I need you to trust me. Without trust, this will all fall apart.”

He was right. Trust was everything and if I couldn’t talk to him about the most basic things I’d continue to be nervous about everything forever. He would help explain a lot, I’d learn through him.

“I’ve never done… anything… before..” It was all I could seem to say regarding the matter but I knew he would understand.

He chuckled softly. “I know, baby. You’ve never even had a boyfriend. There is no rush to do anything like that. I love kissing you and touching you but I can wait as long as you want to wait. Just being able to physically be close to you is enough. Understand?”

I bit my lip just picturing his hands on my body… “How do you know I haven’t had a boyfriend?”

“Addie…” He paused for a moment. “I told you I wouldn’t ever lie to you, so the truth is… I’ve been keeping a really, really… really close eye on you. Not just parked outside of your house but, well Ennis has taught me a whole lot about, a lot. I sort of know how to hack… anything. Phones, email… Please don’t be mad at me. I needed to know that you were safe when I couldn’t be close to you.”

I’m not going to say it was normal for me to actually find that hot… but it didn’t upset me. Surprised me even more, yes but nothing else.

“I’m not mad… I’m sure I was safer with you being there without me knowing. Even small, quieter towns have dangerous people.”

“I’m most likely the most dangerous person in all of Maine.” His voice was almost a whisper and if it wasn’t as quiet as it was in the car I might not have heard him. “Ennis isn’t the only one who’s served his country. Your dad only knows a very little about my time. I don’t really share with anyone but my brother because he understands how hard it can be…”

I could tell how hard it was for Elias to tell me any of this. Before I knew what I was doing, my hand was on his thigh and I squeezed it gently. “Thank you… for sharing with me. Like you said, there’s no rush with anything. I’m not going anywhere and I can be patient.”

At that moment we made our way off of the highway and onto a road that was pretty void of other cars. We were almost there. And as we did, he grabbed my thigh too and squeezed back.

“You’re the reason I’ve never settled down, Addie. No one could ever compete with you. Not for me, ever. I’ve never done… ‘relationships.’ I never wanted to share stuff like this with any woman. They all asked questions I couldn’t answer, they always wanted more… I know you don’t want to hear this but all I could handle was ‘distractions.’ But I still thought of you. Why didn’t you ever let anyone else in?”

He was right, I didn’t like hearing about other women but I still wanted to know because I wanted to know everything about him. And they were his past. I was his present, future and I would fight for him, always.

“Distractions…”

We were now pulling onto a half gravel, half dirt covered little path off of the road. I could see most of the cabin through a bunch of trees now. It was beautiful. The sky was blue but there were lingering clouds and at that moment it started to rain- well downpour. It was heavy and the drops were big. We both started laughing at the same time.

“Distractions, eh? You mean me?” Elias was brazen but he already knew and I just nodded my head. “Well I’m glad I could be your distraction. I can’t say I would have been nice to anyone who you might have dated. I most likely would have scared them away.”

That made me blush and he chuckled softly.

We were now parked in front of one of the most gorgeous waterfront cabins I had ever been to. It was so peaceful even with the rain beating down.

It was hidden by the trees but peaking out just enough for me to really see it. The front was decorated in a combination of cobblestone and dark, reddish wood.

“I can’t believe you’ve been here all this time.”

“Are you ever going to let me live it down?” He asked with a lifted eyebrow and I almost melted at how handsome he was up close.

“I’ll think about it…” We both laughed at my answer before leaning into each other and kissing. Every time our lips met it was really hard to pull away. When we finally did, we were both panting again.

“We’re gonna get soaked. We’ll have to change inside.” He was right and my white t-shirt was going to be completely see through.

I watched him watch me. My cheeks were burning again at the thought and I knew he understood. “If you’re not ready to be touched like that, just tell me no, Addie. I love you, remember that. Let’s get inside, baby.”

I nodded quickly and opened the door. We both hopped out at the same time and ran to the trunk. We both giggled stupidly as we tried to rush the best we possibly could.

There was no way to avoid the rain, we wouldn’t get any less wet no matter how fast we were.

Elias carried all of our luggage and I admired him, muscles bulging, wet, a force of nature… I was glad that we had gotten caught in the rain.

He guided me up the porch steps and quickly grabbed the key ring off of his belt, opening the door. “Get in, baby.” I was met with the comfortable warmth inside and I sighed with relief.

I watched him place our stuff down and lock the door. He was everything that a man should be and more. He made me so freaking hot just looking at him. I couldn’t control the way he made me feel, I don’t know what the heck I was ever thinking…

He ran his fingers through his wet hair, slicking it back, but that little bit of hair still fell down over his forehead and I loved it so much. I wanted to play with it, feel it against my skin…

“Are you hungry, baby?”

His eyes took in every inch of me and I watched in awe at the hunger there. That want, that need that surfaced instantaneously.

I shook my head.

He was still scanning my body up and down, letting his eyes linger on my chest many times. I felt that heat in my core again and my entire body started to shake.

“Are you cold, baby?”

Again I shook my head. I might have been soaked from the rain but my skin was on fire and I was soaked somewhere else now as well… thinking about it made my face light up as usual. I was red.

He moved a little closer but he didn’t touch me.

I wasn’t afraid, just nervous. I wanted all of him and I didn’t want to wait at all.

“Tell me what you need and you’ll have it, baby. No matter what it is.”

I tilted my head upwards so I could look him in the eyes. My lips parted and for a moment I couldn’t speak. But then he grinned and bit his lip and I couldn’t keep quiet any longer. The tension was almost suffocating.

“I need you.”