A Love Like Ours || m.f.

42

He rolled up one of his sleeves revealing inked skin. By the looks of it, each individual tattoo was precise with sharp clean lines until it morphed into another, eventually covering his whole arm. His hand wiped tiredly over his eyes and down his face making it seem like my presence was an inconvenience to him.

"When did this happen?"

"In March." I responded bravely, even though when unfamiliar men showed signs of anger it spooked me slightly, no thanks to Abel.

"Are you happy with him?" His voice switched from menacing to a small squeak between his lips.

"Very."

He nodded and replaced his unfriendly attitude with a more pleasant one.

"If you're happy, I'm happy. Am I at least invited to the wedding?" His teeth poked out from beneath his lips in a struggled smile.

"Only if you would like to be invited." I sighed, watching with wide eyes as our food arrived at the table.

We munched hungrily on our ordered food and I gave Spencer the time of day to explain what was going on in his life. He had moved away from Omaha as well (can't blame him) and found a cozy apartment in Pennsylvania where he opened his own bar. We chatted about that and my continuous love for writing whilst cleaning our plates. When that was said and done with, he kindly payed the tab and ushered me out in front of the sad looking burger place.

I shrunk back in fear when he grabbed for my hand, then relaxed when I realized he was only being nice. He enclosed my palm in between his and smiled up towards me. His smile faltered slightly when his hand bumped the ring on my finger. It was the smallest hesitation in the curve of his cheeks, but because of being with a person for as long I had been with him, I could tell. The air around us was muffled with the sounds of car horns and rumbling motors. I gazed back into those same emerald green eyes I fell in love with, and saw nothing.

No longer did his presence make my heart skip a beat. No longer did the sound of his voice make me shiver. His suave movements were charming, but I couldn't find myself getting lost in them like I used to.

"(y/n). It's been so good to see you. Now that I know what's happened with you, I think I can leave you be." He chuckled, dropping his eyes to the broken pavement.

I followed his line of sight, but nothing caught my eye. A sincere smile sat permanently on my face as he explained himself.

"Before I go please let me do something I've been wanting to do for about a year and a half now."

I tilted my head in confusion and waited patiently for him to continue. He took his free hand and shoved it in his pocket before squeezing my hand in his firmly.

"Kiss you goodbye."

He didn't give me a second to respond as his hand from his pocket escaped and rested onto the back of my neck. I thought he was going to lunge for me at the speed he was moving at, but he didn't.

"It doesn't mean anything, ok? Kiss goodbye, that's all I want." He cleared, and I shrugged my shoulders.

I didn't love him like I loved Mark, so what did it matter? The kiss would be just like he said- nothing. His nose approached mine and I had a sudden rush of nostalgia. My eyes went cross trying to stare at his lips as he advanced slowly toward me. He paused millimeters from my face and smiled at me with those breathtaking emerald eyes of his. Then he placed his lips on mine quickly and pulled away.

Something must've took over his system, because it didn't stop there. He gripped my hair tightly in his hand and leaned back in again, this time taking my bottom lip in between both of his. His actions were threatening to reach too far when I felt the heat of his tongue graze across my lip.

I flattened my palms against his chest and pushed him away. He stared at me -or more my lips- as I raised my car keys in the air and triumphantly pressed the unlock button.

"Goodbye Spencer." With a swift turn and a confident smile, I left him in my dust.

____

"Whatcha working on babe?" Mark asked as I fixed my position in the office chair.

I could hear his voice behind me as he entered the doorway of the office. Stacks of printed papers lay neatly in front of me, some marked in red pen, some not.

"Editing some of the newer journalists work." I sighed and scanned over the page I was on, slowly feeling my eyelids draw closed.

My mind shut down for about a minute even though Mark had just walked into the room. My conscious faded and I felt my hand slip from under my chin. I jolted up quickly to catch my head from falling onto the desk in a embarrassing disaster.

"I'll take that as a no?"

I turned my head slowly and let my sleepy eyes lock with his. He looked sympathetic, like I was a child ready for bed time. That's what I felt like at least.

"Hm?" I mumbled, giving into my mind's desires and lying my head down on the paper I was currently editing.

I heard a low chuckle rumble in Mark's throat before I felt the soft touch of his fingertips on my cheek.

"Do you even know what time it is baby?" He whispered, his voice just as soft as his fingertips, that were now sweeping loose strands of hair behind my ear.

"Hm." I replied, as I couldn't seem to form any other coherent words.

Mark's chuckle arose again and I forced my eyes open so that I could bask in the light of his smile. A tired grin broke out onto my face as well at the sight of his.

"It's almost four a.m. You work too hard for your own good, you know that?"

I nodded incoherently and let my eyes slip shut again.

"You do?"

I could sense the smile on his face even though my eyes were obviously closed. The desk was becoming more and more comfortable the more I shut off my thoughts.

"Let's get you to bed." He grunted, standing up, then bending over to grab my half asleep body.

I woke up enough to raise my head as he lifted my limp body out out of the chair. He set off towards the bedroom carrying me in his arms. Before tucking my head into his chest for warmth, I peered up at his face and watched as he formed words in his head. His serious demeanor fell as he glanced down at me. With a warm smile and a quiet sigh, Mark spoke what he was thinking;

"Now I can actually carry you bridal style, my soon-to-be-bride."