Lights Will Guide You Home

Liam

I don't know how the days flew by. I guess we've just been having the time of our lives. After Michael's birthday, I took time out for him – we surfed, talked about random things and I even bought him a couple of books to read. I bonded with him, not just for Claire, but also because he was a really cool kid. The rest of my time was devoted to Claire – it was like I just couldn't get enough of her. But like they say, all good things come to an end. Before we knew it, the last day of their holiday had arrived.

On the last day, we visited the Cathedral of Santa Maria. I couldn't believe we hadn't visited it yet – staying in Palma and not visiting the Cathedral was a big shame. Without further ado, we hired two rental bikes and went to check it out. After that we headed to the Castell de Bellver, a 14th-century circular castle with a unique round tower, the only one of its kind in Spain. After an amazing lunch, Claire and Rae disappeared to do some last minute shopping. The last thing on our list was kite-surfing which, in my opinion, was the highlight of the day.

Dinner was quite a cheery affair, although Claire seemed rather subdued. I laughed and talked to Aiden and Rae, joked around with Michael but at the back of my mind I just kept thinking about how it was all coming to an end. Claire would join in the conversation sometimes but most of the time she was strangely quiet, her fingers locked in mine under the table.

After the meal, Aiden and Michael retired to their room while Rae went down to the pool to look for a scarf she had left behind earlier that day. I took Claire back up to her room.

"Hey," I said softly, brushing aside her hair as it fell over her face while she unlocked the door. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she replied, pushing the door open.

I stepped into the room after her. "Claire?"

She refused to look at me.

I shut the door behind me and pulled her close. I tilted her face up and her pretty blue eyes met mine. She looked away at first, but the next second, she wrapped her arms around me tight.

"I don't want this to end, Liam!" I heard her cry, her voice muffled against my shirt as she buried her face in my chest.

I held on to her tight and stroked her soft blonde hair. The idea of having to let her go was killing me. That's when I made up my mind.

I lifted her face, cupping it gently in my hands. "Nothing's going to end," I said firmly, gazing right into her eyes.

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"We're only parting ways for a while. I'll be back in America in some time, and the first thing I'll do when I get there is come to you."

"But...Liam...you're just gonna go away again, I mean, back to the army!" she turned her face away. "It's not going to work." She sobbed.

"Claire...Claire..." I put my hand on her cheek, turning her towards me. It broke my heart to see the tears in her eyes. "Don't say that, love. Of course we can make it work! Just...there's one thing I need you to do."

She looked into my eyes questioningly.

"Believe," I said, softly.

She smiled through her tears.

I bent down and kissed her hard, as I felt her fingers grip my shirt. My hands wandered down her body, every curve prominent under the silky fabric of her dress. My lips moved to the side of her neck and I planted kisses down it, all the way to her shoulder. As I heard her shallow breathing, I realized how much I wanted her.

Nibbling on her shoulder, I slowly undid the clasp of her dress. As it slid off her shoulders and fell to the floor, I wrapped my arms around her smooth, bare skin and carried her to the bed.