Recover: Book 2 of the Magic Mutations Series | ✓

19: We Have Forever

April 2017

We spent the following days wrapped in each others' arms at home, reading, watching TV, talking about our lives...

On Tuesday afternoon, my legs were resting on the coffee table as Ollie's head sat in my lap. Her fingers were playing with mine as she stared up at me while I tried—and failed—to watch the movie playing in the background. Because how could I look at anything but her when she was staring at me with such adoration?

"How do you say hello in German?" she asked me when I stopped looking at the TV and instead began to trace my finger down her nose and across her lips.

"Hallo," I replied.

Smirking, she said, "Easy one. How about... goodbye?"

I shook my head before I bent down, brushing my lips on her forehead. "You don't need to learn that one. Because you're not going to say goodbye to me."

Rolling her eyes, she failed to keep the giddiness off her face as she bit her lip. "Okay... How do I say... Lukas is a dumbhead?"

Chuckling, I obliged with, "Lukas ist ein Dummkopf."

A giggle escaped her as she said, "Lukas ist ein..."

"Dummkopf," I repeated, unable to hide my smile.

"Dummkopf... Is kopf head?"

I nodded, turning on the couch so that my legs went on either side of her before pulling her up to my chest. Then I enveloped her in my arms, resting my head on her shoulder, breathing her in. How long would I be able to keep holding her like this? When would our moment of bliss have to come to an end?

"So I could also say then... Lukas ist ein Scheiße Kopf."

"Oh Ollie..." I cackled. "How Australian of you."

"What?"

"The one German word you already know is of course a swear word."

"Whaaaaat?" she repeated, tilting her head to look up at me.

I responded by kissing her on the forehead.

But then she pouted, her whole face falling and eyes clouding with morose.

"What's wrong?" I asked, brows going down as I tried to backtrack on what I did that could have possibly triggered such a response from her.

"Nothing," she mumbled.

"Ollie," I pressed.

"Just... I wish that could be on my lips," she whispered, hiding her face by looking away from me. But even though I couldn't feel her emotions just yet, I could hear her quickening heart and feel the flush taking hold of her body.

I responded by pulling her even closer to me. "Maybe... maybe one day," I whispered into her ear.

"I'll take that," she breathed in response.

· · ───── ∘☽༓☾∘ ───── · ·

The next morning I decided it was time I took her on a proper date.

While the weather was still hovering around ten degrees, it was the first morning there wasn't a drizzle. I packed us a picnic basket—a sandwich for Ollie and an array of fruits, vegetables, and cold cuts to share (though she, of course, wouldn't touch the meat).

The moment we stepped out onto the street, she held her hand out to me, wary about whether I'd want to touch her in public it seemed. But how could she even worry about that after all the affection we had shared in the apartment?