We Fell In Love In October

Session 17.1

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say you won't let go - james arthur
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MY FINGERS WOUNDED around cold empty air — unwelcoming and harsh. I patted the bed in hopes of touching Jayce but I could neither feel his comforting warmth nor his body. I peeled my eyes open and saw empty space rustled by the sheets in the shape of my boyfriend.

I heard the shower running and I sighed, turning around to grab my phone from the side table. Numerous pings followed, making me scrunch my eyebrows in confusion because the notifications weren't from my phone. Picking up Jayce's, I typed in the password  — which was a combination of our birthday dates — and unlocked it.

The wallpaper of his phone was a picture of us- me pulling him by his scarf to place a kiss on his lips. It was taken on the first proper date Jayce took me on. We had gone on a long drive to Dale and chilled in a tea farm with a mini-picnic basket. That was when I realized that Jayce, not only had a romantic bone in his body but had a large one at that too.

And of course, Jayce's wallpaper just wouldn't be complete without a quote. In tiny italics, you steady me and stir me all at once was written, which made my heart swell in love and happiness every time I had a look at it. I fucking loved this man.

I checked the notifications, only to see a flood of matches from the dating app. Something in me just snapped when I saw the different names of women popping up on his screen. And I didn't even want to see their faces because a tiny part of me felt scared that there might be someone better-looking than the boring me with my freckles and red wavy hair.

I quickly deleted Jayce's account and uninstalled the app.

"What are you doing?" Jayce asked and I looked up from his phone, caught red-handed.

He was clad in nothing but a white towel around his waist and his chest was dotted with water droplets, some dripping down in rivulets across his abdomen. Jayce didn't have the perfect body of a male model or such. He had plenty of scars, some having history behind it and some that had come out of nowhere, he'd said. Jayce was fit enough, with his skin stretched across his muscles just appropriately, not too tight to show sharply cut chiseled abs and not too loose to leave his stomach fat. It was hard to come to terms with the fact that he was mine. Only mine.

I slipped out of bed and took two long strides to reach him. With another hand towel, he dried his wet hair all the while eyeing my every move. "I just deleted that dating app from your phone," I admitted. I never felt the need to hide things from Jayce. I wouldn't.

Immediately his lips curved into a smirk. "Why? Scared that I'll latch onto some other woman?" he asked, pulling me by the waist. Pursing my lips, I took the towel from his hands and patted his wet hair gently, feeling the chill of the water drops on my fingers.

"Asterin..." he brushed his nose with mine.

"It was a waste of space in your phone. And besides, it's useless. You've got me now," I mumbled, not making eye contact while running my hands through his hair.

"And I don't want anyone else," he said, placing a chaste kiss on my lips. I smiled and kissed him back, pulling away quickly.

"I have to get ready. We have a long day ahead of us," I said, handing the towel back to him. "How are you feeling?"

He inhaled deeply and nodded, plastering a smile on his face. I snaked an arm around his neck and rested my palms at the ends of his hair. "You are not alone like all the years before. This time you have me and I'll be with you every second of this day," I said.