Shallow Valley

56.One Last Chance

56.

Can we put this back together?
No more empty promises, they don't exist; just me out in the open.
I know this will take time,
can you give me one last chance to make it right?
(Daughtry-One Last Chance)

The sunlight filtered through the curtains, gently caressing Lincoln's face. The man slowly opened his eyes, sensing that something was different from usual. He turned to his right and his lips pictured a light smile. Next to him Octavia was sleeping, softly snoring and all curled up, her fists clenched like she was a newborn baby. Lincoln shook his head. He couldn't believe she was there with him. The night before he had found her at his door, crying. He would have never thought that she was there to confess her feelings for him. And what happened after, well, he was so scared it would have turned into a dream. Lincoln was a handsome man and of course he had been with other girls through the years, trying to dig his feelings for Octavia. However, he had never been so well in his life. He and Octavia had made love in such a caring way, that Lincoln had feared his heart would have exploded at a certain point.

"Hey." he said, noticing that she was waking up.

"Hey." Octavia replied, in a whisper. She turned to him and looked at him with her blue eyes. She smiled at him, allowing him to gently caress her hair.

"Are we okay?" Lincoln asked, a bit scared that Octavia had changed her mind and regretted the night before. The woman stretched her hand and caressed his cheek.

"More than okay, Lincoln. I've never felt like this with anyone. I'm so sorry it took me so long to see you.". The man smiled back at her and took her hand, softly kissing her fingers.

"It's okay, O. Honestly, I think that if something is meant to be, it happens sooner or later. Probably before today we weren't meant to be." he said, reassuring her. Octavia sighed and cuddled up to his chest. She gazed at him and leaned in, kissing him softly. Lincoln kissed her back, with all the tenderness and love he had. He noticed some tears rolling down on her cheeks and hurried to wipe them.

"Hey, are you okay? Did I do something wrong?" he asked her concerned, gaining nothing but silence. "O, please, talk to me."

"You did nothing wrong, Linc." she said. "I'm just happy. I'm realizing that I spent my last years after a man that used me and nothing else. I was so blind, chasing the love of a guy that has never loved me. Thank you, Linc. Thank you for having helped me opening my eyes.". Lincoln held her close to her chest and kissed her, this time with passion and ardor. Octavia moaned and bit his lip, then started trailing kisses along his jaw, then the neck and the chest. Lincoln closed his eyes, but opened them immediately later. He gasped, realizing how stupid he was.

"Linc, what's happening?" Octavia asked, scared. The man sat up on the bed and frantically searched for his mobile phone on the nightstand.

"God, I'm such an idiot."

"Linc! Lincoln, hey! You're scaring me." Octavia told him. She didn't understand such a shift of mood. The moment before they were about to make love, while now Lincoln was getting up and picking clothes from his wardrobe. Octavia followed him and surrounded him with her arms, forcing him to turn and face her.

"Lincoln, if you regret..."

"No O, I don't regret anything. I want you, but probably you won't want me anymore when you know the truth."

"The truth about what?" Octavia questioned, alarmed by Lincoln's words. "God, don't tell me that you have a girlfriend."

"What? No!" Lincoln hurried to reassure her. Octavia shook her head, more and more confused.