Always

bonus chapter: Liam

LIAM

I dialed André's number. My leg was bouncing up and down as I bit down on my lip. He hasn't picked up any of my calls for the past week and all his texts were vague.

Was something wrong? What isn't he telling me?

I was about to cut the call once more when I heard static on the other side. Some papers shuffling around? I tapped the bedpost as his voice filled my ears.

"Hey," he said.

His voice was still sweet as ever, but I was too furious to care.
 
"Hey? Why the fuck have you been dodging my calls for the past week? Is there something wrong? Are you in trouble? Do you owe someone money? Did someone hurt you? I'll beat that motherfucker up. No one hurts you and gets away with it." I rambled, my hands curling into fists.

"Bébé, I'm okay. I told you, I was helping one of my friends pack up to move." He scolded me, but his tone was far from serious. I could almost see the smile on his face from here.

"I know, but you never dodge my calls and I was fucking worried that something happened to you." I whisper-shouted at him through the phone.

"I know, I know. Je suis désolé. Anyways, look down your window." I got up and opened my balcony door and peered over the edge.

André was wearing his goofy smile, his hair looking like fucking clouds, his hands looked rough from a distance, his lips looked kissable and his eyes were gems in the dark. I swear he knocked all my breath away every time.

I quickly rushed down the stairs, careful not to wake anyone up or make any noise. André was waiting for me at the front gate, leaning against his car. I practically threw myself at him and crashed my lips against his.  

His kiss is not at all the same as those movie stars, but one steeped in a passion that ignites. It is the promise of realness, of the primal desire that lives in us all. And with it, he tells me that he is awake, connected within, that he embraces himself rather than hide as a copy of those romantic idols.  

"I didn't know you were in town," I told him, nuzzling into his neck.

I felt him shrug, "I wanted to surprise you. Did you like it?"

I smiled. "I loved it, baby." I gave him a chaste kiss as we both got into the car.

The car breathes and takes energy as if it were part of the flora of the land, and so driving becomes as natural as running free. I grip André's hand and relax in the passenger seat.  

We drive through the night. We don't stop. No one talks. Words are not exchanged. We understand each other. I need him and he needs me. He's my whole world. And that thought excites and frightens me at the same time.

When we finally stop. We have reached an abandoned park at the edge of town. The swigs were broken, the slides had holes in them, the grass was an ugly shade of brown and the flora was withering.

I sat down on top of a raised platform and dangled my legs from there. André was right by my side. His head lent against my shoulders. I closed my eyes and secretly wished that this moment would last forever. 

_________

Turns out that we'd both fallen asleep there. We woke up just in time to catch the sunrise. The sun bloomed on the horizon, golden petals stretching ever outwards into the rich blue. It was the brilliant flower of the sky that warms our days. It was the invitation to a new day, that sunrise so ordinarily extraordinary.

I leaned my forehead against his and looked into his deep green hues that made me want to confess my deepest darkest secrets. 

"I love you," I told him. Waiting for his response. I'd never said that to anyone before. Except for my sisters. It was scary giving your whole self to someone, vulnerabilities, insecurities, flaws, and all.

"I love you too bébé," he kissed me with everything he had and it was amazing.

When we finally broke away, he was wearing a shit-eating grin on his face. I smiled back in return, melting into his warm embrace. 

I'm in love with this man.