Love In Colour

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: CALMING TEAS & LOVE CONFESSIONS

THANDI POV:

After a very tiring shift, I am on my way back home. The drive is nice and quiet. A part of me knows I should have called Grayson and had him pick me up, but I just decided against that. Why?

That is a question, I don't have an answer to.

I roll my shoulders as I stop at a red light. The time on the dash displays that it's only five minutes till seven in the morning. I cannot wait to get home. When the light turns green, I continue on my way until I get home. My body sighs in relief the moment I step out of the car and into my house.

I make my way up the stairs to the bedroom. I immediately go to the bathroom and strip off my scrubs and underwear before going into the shower. I could almost cry from how good the hot water felt on my body. Work was a lot. After helping with the gymnastics injury patient, Zoe – I had more patients to see and more injuries to tend to. See, that's the thing with working at a hospital, there is never a shortage of injuries and in my field, there are always broken bones that need to be set.

When I feel clean enough, I step out of the shower and go through the rest of my routine before slipping into a satin nightgown. Just as I put on my bonnet, my phone rings. A smile pulls at my lips as I answer.

"Hey, you."

His smile just lights up my heart. He's so beautiful. "Hey, yourself," I say in response. I carefully make my way down the stairs to the kitchen as he asks how I am.

"I'm alright, just really tired. How are you?n How was your night?"

"Been quite long," he sighs, "I missed you."

The smile that appears on my face could split my face into two. "I missed you too. So much."

"I think I'm getting too attached to you. Is that a bad thing?"

I prop my phone against a vase on the counter and grab a mug from the cupboard to make myself chamomile tea.

"I don't know because if it is a bad thing, then we're both in trouble because I'm getting too attached to you as well." I want him around all the time now. It physically pains me to be away from him.

He smiles and asks about my shift at work.

I switch on the kettle and tell him about my day while I wait for the water to boil. "It was alright. Had a patient come in with a gnarly injury from falling off a pole."

"Damn, stripper?"

"Gymnast."

His eyes widen, "Wait...like Final Destination type of gymnastics injury?"

I laugh, nodding my head, "That's exactly what I thought when I saw her leg."

"Great minds," he muses.

The water comes to a boil and while I make my tea, he fills me in what he'll be doing today. He'll meet up with one of the guys he collaborates with and work out some software thing. I never understand the jargon – but I love listening to him talk about his work.

I walk up the stairs with my mug filled to the brim with tea. I get into my bedroom and shuffle my feet towards the bed. "While you normies get to work, I'm going to sleep." Our lives are so different. Being a nurse has me on a weird schedule.

"Get some sleep, angel. Give me a call when you wake up."

I nod, settling into the covers, and taking a sip of the hot tea. It better relax me because I need to wake up refreshed. I've got my last shift tonight and then I'm off for a week."

"I will. Drive safe."

He nods, the smile on his face tugs at my heartstrings, "Dream of me."

I wink at him, "I'll try."

***

GRAYSON POV:

I am definitely in love and I am definitely marrying Thandi.

I'm not just saying that because of the amazing, mind-blowing sex we had last night, but because I genuinely care so deeply for this woman. She has captured my heart and I am happy that it is in her hands. She's so strong, compassionate and giving. Her big heart and self-sacrificial love are awe-inspiring.

She's on my mind every single moment. I can't focus on work because I am always thinking about her. Her smile, the way she laughs. I love her laugh, Thandi isn't one of those women who are shy and hide their laugh. She is loud and laughs from her soul. It's a beautiful sound. One that I want to hear for the rest of my life. I love how she is so caring and devotes herself to her work. That woman cares so much for her patients. She gives her heart and soul to her job, which is a very admirable trait to have.

There aren't enough words to describe how incredible she is. I'm truly lucky to have had my path merge with hers in this life.

"Hey Gray, are you good?"

I turn to Noah, who looks very concerned, "Yeah, why do you ask?"

He puts down the pen in his hand, and leans back on the chair, "Because you haven't heard a word I've said for the past five minutes."

"Yeah, I have." I lie. Of course, I haven't been listening.

He shakes his head, a shadow of a smile on his lips, "Gray, you've been zoned out, smiling for the past half an hour."

Busted, "Alright, I haven't been listening. I'm sorry"

"That's okay, being in love looks good on you bro."

My mind immediately goes back to thinking of Thandi, "I really do love her"

He shifts and leans forward, placing his elbows on the table. Noah and I work on a few projects together. He's been one of the few people that I trust when it comes to collaborations. "Have you told her yet?" he asks.

My heartbeat accelerates, "I haven't."

"Why not?"

I sigh, "I don't know. Maybe because I'm a little scared of how she'll respond...or what if she thinks it's too early in the relationship for love confessions?"

He smiles, and gently claps my shoulder, "Grayson my friend, love is never too early or too late. Tell your girl how you feel about her, then take the rest from there."

"Easy for you to say." I shake my head at him, "You married your first girlfriend."

He grins, "What can I say? I got very lucky."

I playfully roll my eyes at him, "Thanks for the advice but let's get back to work– we have a glitch to fix."

He shrugs and we both turn our attention back to our screens. His words stick with me as we work, "love is never too late or too early." That is such a deeply profound thing to say, but only a man like Noah who has been happily married for so many years could say such. He knows what he's talking about. I shouldn't be bound to societal pressures of how long one has to wait to let the other person know that they love them. I love Thandi and she deserves to know that. She deserves to know that I am enamoured by her and I don't ever see myself not loving her.