Summer in our bones ✓

22| promises we made

I can't find the words to respond. I'm looking at Nico perplexed.

"What? But...I've never given Sofia a reason. I mean, I guess I flirted with her a bit, but after I met you... "

"I know. It was all in her head. She obsesses over things easily, I mean part of it is because of her diagnosis, but also in this case..." he averts his gaze." I... I fell for you right away too, so I can't blame her. I guess it was my fault, I should have made things clear with her, tell her that I like you too, not go behind her back. I never told her I went to London, I didn't want to upset her. And I never lie to my sister. So yeah, when I heard that she's off the meds and that she's found out that I'm with you, well, I ran back home, scared shitless that she would hurt herself."

"That's... I don't know what to say..."

"Nothing, there's nothing else to say," he clears his throat. "It's in the past now. She's been committed to a care facility for young adults with mental health issues now, here in Madrid, that's why I don't live in Valencia anymore. I hate that for her, but it's for the best. I can't keep her safe all the time. And it's a nice place, it really is, it's in nature, I visit every day and we go for walks. She's doing better, really, and she's allowed to paint and she loves painting. Honestly, she's so talented," he smiles proudly, pointing at paintings scattered on his walls. "They're giving her different medication now, so we'll see how that's going to work with her, and hopefully she'll be ok to leave in the near future, so yeah..."

"Ok, good, that's good... I'm sure she'll get better. And I'm sorry that I caused..."

"No. You didn't. Let's... forget about it, yeah? I told you what it was and now we can move on."

I grab his hand because I feel the need to touch him, my thumb strokes the skin of his knuckles. This information definitely confused me but I'm glad he told me. I'm learning so much more. Nico looks at me with an unreadable expression, like there's still something that he wants to say.

"Can we move on?" He asks and I don't know what he wants me to say. I stutter.

"I... yeah... Thanks for telling me everything. I'm glad we had an honest conversation."

"No, I mean... Us, this... whatever this is, I want it."

I look at him as he says these words with so much certainty. Then he comes close, so close, and whispers, lifting goosebumps on my skin. "It broke me when I pushed you away. All I did in these few months was want to reach out and tell you how much I like you. How much I like myself with you. But I didn't dare. You said not to call you ever again and I wasn't ready to talk about Sofia and me, not until she was in a better state of mind. But I want to be selfish now, she's being taken care of and I can finally... I can finally... god, this is going to sound awful but I can finally breathe and live my life."

"And you want me in your life?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He asks with a voice dripping with lust. "When I saw you in that event all I wanted was to feel what I felt when we kissed for the first time when I had you inside me. You've given me the most amazing moments in my life."

I close my eyes just feeling the words, lit up inside. And I don't know who leans in first or we both do that at the same time because we have only one thing on our minds and that's to feel as close as possible and he ends up on me, straddling my lap. He kisses me. A deep, desperate kiss, holding my neck and taking my breath away. After a few seconds or maybe minutes, I know that we're at the point of no return.

"So?" I nip his lip with my teeth, tempted to bite lower, where that sensitive soft skin of his neck is, wanting to leave a mark for everyone to see.

"So?" He repeats against my mouth, giving them one more peck. And another one. And a few more.