One Last Day

7

***

"What do you mean you are getting back together? Didn't he cheat on you, why would you go back?" I am so confused right now, I thought what we shared on the cliff was amazing. I looked into her eyes, I looked at that smile after, I kissed those lips. Tasted her lips, felt the way she relaxed at my touch. 

She gazes over at me and giggles.

"You were joking, ok. Got it," I sigh and relax back into my seat.

"There's no way you actually thought I was going to get back with a guy like Jax Easton. He's a guy who deserves whatever he's happy to get. I'm just not mad at him anymore, I think I found someone else." 

I look over at her and she smiles. We stop at a red light and I reach over to place my hand on her cheek. I look into her eyes, those gorgeous brown eyes, that can make any guy melt if they look at them the way that I do. I kiss her rosy lips, savoring each second. She kisses me back. Hard. Her lips are soft like pillows and I sink into them. Her lips part and our tongues dance around each other. Wanting, craving more. She makes little moaning sounds and it makes me want to do more than just kiss her. I want to get closer to her and feel more skin.

The green light and the cars honking break our kiss. I think I chose a bad time to kiss her, but I will never regret that kiss. That will probably be my last kiss ever. At least it was with a girl that was more than worth it. A girl who deserves more than anything in the world. More than anyone. Even if it's not me. She deserves someone who will look into her eyes and feel safe, deserves someone who will appreciate her smile, kiss her lips, touch her skin, and smell her hair. I want that with her, but she needs to have someone that won't abandon her, as I will.

Her hands go back on the wheel and she takes a left turn towards my house. 

"What made you kiss me again? I mean not that I'm complaining, but why?" She bites her lips after asking that question. Her lips are swollen, I did that.

"I found someone," I smile while still staring down the familiar roads. I found someone. I am happy. 

She gets in front of my house and parks the car. She looks over at me and I look back at her. 

"Do you want to meet my mom, I think she should know who I have been out with all day, but if you don't then its per-"

"Of course, I want to meet your mom, I think it would be disrespectful if I don't."

She turns off the car and we get to the front door. She wraps her hands around my arm as I unlock the door. I lead her into the house with my hand placed on her lower back. We run into my mom in the living room, drinking a glass of wine. She gets up and looks at us at the sound of the front door closing. 

"Hey, you're home!" She looks over at Remi, who is right next to me. "Who's this?"

Remi steps forward, "Hi, Mrs. Casey, I'm Remi. Remi Martinez."

My mom flashes a warm smile and winks at me, could she be any more embarrassing? "Welcome, I was just about to give Josh a surprise for his 18th, would you like to stay?"

"Sure, I would love to!"

"Alright, let me go get the surprise." She jogs away from the living room, leaving Remi and I alone.

"Your mom seems nice," Remi says while facing me.

I look down at her and give her a slight kiss on her nose. "She is nice, I like her."

She giggles, I love that giggle. That noise that comes out of that beautiful voice of hers. Beautiful lips that I love kissing. My mom comes back into the room, "Surprise!" She yells.

I turn around and see a man in a military uniform. "Dad?"

"Hey son, I missed you." I run toward my dad and hug him. The relief I feel from feeling him around my arms. He's here.

"I missed you too dad." I managed to say without letting anyone know I'm crying. I haven't seen him in forever, I feel like I lost touch. Any emotion towards him I thought was gone, comes rushing back all at once. He's back and he's holding me. He's here for my...birthday. Oh shit.

He pulls back from the hug and sets his hands on my cheeks to get a better look at me. "You have grown so much, I've missed so much of your life, but I am back now. I hope you didn't hate me that much for missing 5 years of your life."

"I probably would've hated you if you didn't call almost every day. It's hard to miss someone if they make it impossible to miss them." He laughs at my joke and so does my mom. His eyes glance from me to Remi. I look back to look at Remi and smile. "Dad, that's Remi, she's my new... friend."

"Hello Remi, I'm Mark Casey, it's nice to meet you."

"Hi, Mr. Casey."

***

We stay in the kitchen for an hour catching up, my mom and dad drink tea, while Remi and I drink hot chocolate. My parents tell embarrassing stories about me when I was a kid. Remi laughs about it, I know that she likes knowing more about me and more about how I grew up. Remi is settling in ok with my parents, she laughs at my parent's jokes, even though most are not funny. Maybe she has a weird sense of humor that I have yet to know. Yet to understand. She tells stories about her parents, the happy ones of course. Not the ones that cause her to be sad. I want all the parts of her, even the sad ones, but I never want to cause the sad parts. I want her to always be happy, happy with me.

"You know Remi, I actually heard of your mom before." My mom says.

"Honestly, I feel like if you haven't, then you must be living under a rock," Remi says while giggling.

"I lived in a tent, does that count?" my dad says causing everyone to laugh. 

After about an hour, Remi says it is time for her to go home. Both of my parents give her a hug, just before we can leave the living room, my mom says, "Remi, we are having a party tomorrow, for Josh, you should stop by." I didn't want her there, I didn't want her to remember me more, have more memories with me. I didn't want her to miss me.

"Yeah, I will. See you guys tomorrow, it was nice to meet both of you." Remi walks towards the front door and I trail behind her. I unlock and open the door that's in front of her, she walks outside and I close the door behind us. It's raining by now, not hard but drizzling. At least I'll have some white noise to sleep with tonight. 

"It was really nice meeting your parents, I love them already," she says while smiling. Her gaze in my eyes makes me want to stay here forever, I really like this girl. I shouldn't because I met her a couple of days ago and I also shouldn't because I'm not staying for much longer.

"Yeah, I guess they are cool. I couldn't ask for better."

She reaches up and wraps her arms around my neck, and snuggles her head in the crook of my neck. Her hair smells like citrus, I never knew how much I like the smell of citrus until now. I slide my hands around her waist and bring the hug deeper in. She pulls back and kisses me. Her tongue swirls mine, her lips crash into mine. I want a deeper kiss, I crave one. "I'll see you tomorrow," she whispers. She turns away and walks to her car. Her car pulls away from the driveway and just like that, she's gone. 

I walk back into the house to see my parents smiling at the entrance of the living room doorway. My mom says, "We like her."