[1.5] Midnight Kiss | Ghost

𝐂𝐇. 01

VALENTINA
༻☼༺

     There was something so hypnotizing about the way Simon drove. He had one hand gripping the steering wheel while the other squeezed my thigh every now and then, and with the way he kept stealing glances at me, I knew he just wanted to make sure that I was here, that I was with him, that I wasn't going anywhere.

I felt exactly the same way. I couldn't take my eyes off him. I was afraid that the moment I did, he would disappear and I'd go back to that hollow and empty place.

Because Simon was alive.
God, he was alive.

I wanted to cry all over again. So much that even my eyes teared up a little. Call me dramatic or emotional, but the reality was that I'd spent an entire month believing Simon was dead and that he wasn't coming back, that the only thing left from him was the broken tag with his name I kept clutching in my hand.

I watched him die. I watched him fall into the fire. I saw the way the flames swallowed his body. It was hard to believe otherwise; that he was still alive, so why would I not be emotional?

Why would I ever stop looking at him?

Here he was. My Simon was alive. His heart was still beating inside his chest. His body was still warm. His eyes still had the same shade of honey-brown. He was still as perfect as ever.

"I love you, Simon." I couldn't stop it from leaving my mouth. I was so overwhelmed, I needed to let him know that I loved him.

Simon turned his head toward me and his gaze instantly softened. His hand left my thigh and he swiped his thumb over the edge of my eye where a tear had just made it out. "Val..."

"I came to your grave to say goodbye," I sniffed, leaning into his touch. "I was determined to live the life I promised you. But I just knew... I knew, right in the back of my mind, that I'd live a life full of lies, because I'll never stop loving you, Simon."

He didn't waste any time reacting to my words. His fingers cupped my nape and he pulled me to him until we were both leaning across the console and our foreheads were pressed together.

"Good," he said, "because I don't plan on stopping either, Valentina. Not in this lifetime, not in any other."

My breath hitched. His words always managed to leave me dizzy.

"I love you so much it hurts," I chuckled between the tears. The ones that he kept capturing with his hands.

"I know." He kissed one that made it down my cheek. "Being away from you this past month made me realize how deep I've fallen for you, Valentina. So deep it feels like I can't breathe and the only way I can is when you're near."

Oh, Simon...

"There is no out of this," he added. "I don't want to get out of this. I love you, and I'm here for good."

As if it wasn't enough, he had to come and tell me all these sweet things. There wasn't any shame or hesitation in his words, he meant them, and it made my heart race inside my chest, making me feel so full I didn't know what to do with it. He was right, he made sense, because I felt the same way this time apart, and it hurt, but what hurt more was the pressure in my chest, almost like I couldn't believe I loved him this much and—what do I do with all of this?

I kissed him, grinning against his lips. "You get me."

He mirrored my smile. "I get you, baby," he said, kissing my lips once. "I'm not going anywhere this time. You're stuck with me."

My shoulders shook with a small laugh. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

"Good, because there isn't any other way."

I know.
He gets me.

Simon pulled back to look at my entire face, his hands wiping my cheeks to dry the tears. "I hate it when you cry."

I was about to open my mouth to apologize–though I knew he was just going to tell me that I shouldn't–when I noticed that we'd stopped and were parked across the street from a shop. No, not any shop. It was a restaurant.

I pulled away from him just a little, making him turn his head to watch. It was busy, despite the weather. The rain was falling harder by now, but that didn't stop the people from going out.

I saw the way Simon gulped when his eyes landed on the entrance, his Adam's apple moving up and down. His hand was shaking on my thigh when it returned to rest there. I could feel the slight tremble in his fingers as he kept squeezing. It wasn't stopping, not even when I held it in mine and kissed his knuckles one by one.

He sucked in a breath and looked at me with a forced smile. "Ready to go, darling?"

Not really. Not when he was like this. I knew exactly what he was feeling. This was Simon we were talking about. The one that hid himself under a mask for five years. He was quiet, reserved, and always tried to avoid the crowd–well, at least he used to avoid the team when we were in Las Almas. But most importantly, he hadn't shown his face to anyone in years. So I knew he was feeling anxious. Going from not showing yourself to showing almost everyone? That mere thought sounded hard.

I couldn't let him endure that just because of me, because he thought I'd like to go somewhere like this for our date. No. I just wanted to be with him. I wanted to be alone with him, to have him all to myself, to enjoy his company and his quiet. It didn't matter where, if it was in this car or in an empty house, I just wanted to look at him, to hear him, to feel him.

So I shook my head softly. "No."

He was taken aback. "No?"

"Take me somewhere else. Somewhere quieter. Somewhere where it's just the two of us."

I saw the instant relief in his face, and he gave me another smile, one that said he was glad for this, like he wanted that, too. "Very well."

"Okay."

He put the car in drive and with a last glance at the restaurant, we left the crowded place.

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TO BE CONTINUED...