Love me // Judd Birch x Reader

4: no more running away

At his words, my whole body froze up, but the only words that came out of my mouth were, "Really?" Tears pooled up in my eyes, threatening to spill onto my cheeks if I didn't pull myself together quickly. I prayed that he'd say that he wasn't serious, even though my heart probably wouldn't be able to take it. He looked down at me and bit his lip, not in a pensive way but in a nervous one, which took me aback for a second. Judd Birch...nervous?
"Yeah, really. (Y/n) I've never stopped loving you." He grabbed my hands and intertwined them in his. My heart started beating faster at his touch, I couldn't stop thinking about the period before we broke up though, even though it was so long ago I had so many unanswered questions- not that I gave him much of a chance to talk though.

"That's not fair Judd, that's really not fair." I said, my voice quivering. I let go of his hands and began walking towards the door, but I didn't make it far because Judd grabbed my hand and pulled me back and into his chest. My head his his chest and I let out a little whimper, his grip on my arm was sturdy and it didn't seem like he was going to let go any time soon.
"I'm not letting you run away this time." He muttered under his breath, I turned my head up to face him and we stared into each others eyes for a good couple of minutes without saying anything. I didn't know what to say to that.

Suddenly he lifted up my face and pressed his lips against mine sweetly, I melted into the kiss and wrapped my arms around his neck. In that moment it was just us two, it was as if nothing even mattered anymore. The nostalgic feeling creeped into my throat and I didn't notice I was crying until Judd pulled away and wiped away my tears with the sleeve of his jumper that he was wearing. "I-I'm sorry."
"For what?" He asked, chuckling slightly at the state I was in.
"For c-crying." I replied, sniffling. My whole body was heating up and I was trying to get my heart to start beating regularly again but it wasn't working.
"You're cute when you cry." He said, wiping yet again the tears from my eyes.
"Oh shut up." I chuckled, drying my eyes. I had to admit that after crying I had a clearer head and was a lot more relaxed. I punched Judd lightly on the shoulder in a playful way but he just pulled me into a tight hug, making my head rest on his chest once again.

"I missed you so much baby." He whispered into my hair as we embraced. I took this opportunity to breathe in his cologne, which made me want to cry even more. I missed him more than words could explain, I had never been the same after him.

We remained in a sweet embrace for a few more minutes before I pulled away and straightened out my clothes. "Can I try and win your heart again?"
"You already have." I smiled, his face lit up when he heard my response and he picked me up and spun me around. We both were laughing and I honestly felt like I was in a dream.
"I want to do things differently this time, I want to show you how much I've changed." He told me with a huge beam on his face. I nodded and felt an overwhelming feeling of giddiness that I hadn't felt for 4 years, I felt like a teenager in love again.

"Can we take things slowly?" I asked, I wanted to take things slowly mainly because I still lived in New York and wanted to see how things worked out during my stay in my hometown. I knew that Shannon would hit me if she knew that I was getting back together with the infamous Judd Birch that had been the cause of my depression for months after we moved. That poor woman even tried setting me up with women to try and change the air, I did get a girlfriend actually thanks to one of these set-up dates but of course it didn't last long due to my trust issues, despite her being on of the loveliest girls I had ever met.

"Hey focus on me, you're distracted." Judd said, snapping me out of my thoughts and making me focus all my attention back on him.
"Sorry, it happens often." It was true, recently more than ever I found myself absorbed in my own thoughts, whether it was memories- both good and bad ones, or just random things popping into my head I was just completely distracted.

"Well how about we ditch the guys downstairs and go back to mine, we can-"
"Slash up the tires of every car on this street?" I asked trying to finish his sentence but he smirked and shook his head.
"Jheeze (Y/n), I'm not 19 anymore." He chuckled and I joined in, I felt a little disappointed that he had lost his edge but I was curious to meet this new Judd, but before I could even answer he added "Nah I'm just kidding let's go and slash up some car tires."