Giving Up

Chapter 3 part 2

When Lillie woke up, her head was pounding and everything was a bit fuzzy. She felt an arm around her and for a second, she was really scared that she had done something incredibly stupid. Her fears faded when she heard Jamie's voice. "Good morning beautiful. How are you feeling this morning?" Lillie let out a sigh of relief and turned to face him. "Jamie, did we?" She looked at him in his eyes and waited for an answer, holding her breath because she was afraid of the answer. "No sweetie, you were way too drunk. I would never take advantage of you." He gently put his hand under her chin and tilted her head up toward him and kissed her forehead. "If we're going to do anything, I want you to be sober and remember it. By the way, you are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. My shirt really suits you." He laughed at her while looking her up and down, taking her in.

Lillie felt more comfortable than she ever imagined she would feel lying in Jamie's arms. "You have to be crazy, I must look like crap, and I am sure my next day tequila breath is horrid. Why don't I go brush my teeth and take a quick shower, and then we can hang out. Maybe I will make you some breakfast." She just smiled at him.

"Lil, why don't you let me take you out for breakfast? Or, better yet, why don't you just stay here in my arms for a while?" He looked down at her lovingly and kissed the top of her head. "I don't want to let go of you yet." He held her close to his body and hoped that she would stay for just a while longer. He didn't have the strength to let her go because he didn't know if he would ever have the chance to hold her again. He had no idea what was going on between them, but he hoped this wouldn't be the only time he had her next to him.

Lillie looked him in the eyes, rolled into him, laid her head on his chest, and just let him hold her tight. They didn't speak; they just laid there while James held Lillie and ran his fingertips up and down her bare arms. Lillie dosed back off to sleep, and Jamie just watched her intently. He was so happy to be holding the girl of his dreams and just hoped that she would never push him away. His heart pounded in his chest every time he was around her, and he couldn't help but smile whenever he thought of her.

After sleeping for about an hour, Lillie woke back up and knew that she and James would have to talk, but before she could say anything, Kay came busting through the door. "Wake up Lillie Mae! We have shit to do before I go home today. Oh, hi James. I didn't realize that you were still here, I guess I can give you guys some time."

Lillie grabbed some clothes and went to jump in the shower, trying to hurry so she could spend time with Kay before she left, and spend time with James because she really needed to talk to him about what was going on. She quickly washed her wavy red hair, washed her body, and brushed her teeth. She turned the water off and quickly dried off and got dressed. She ran a comb through her hair and went back to her bedroom where James was still sitting on the bed. "Jamie, you can have your shirt back now." She smiled at him, feeling a little embarrassed about her little strip show the night before.

"Lilly Pad, you look so beautiful in that shirt, I think you should keep it to sleep in." James moved close to her, brushed her hair out of her face, and lightly brushed his lips against hers. It instantly sparked a reaction in Lillie's body, and she let out a soft moan. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled his body tight against hers, and kissed him deeply. She didn't want to let go, and when she heard James moan with pleasure from their kiss, she opened her mouth slightly to let in his tongue. After a couple minutes of kissing, Lillie knew that she better stop before she threw him into her bed and did naughty things to him. She lowered her arms, backed up, smiled, and giggled. "We better go out and see what Kay is doing and figure out what we are doing for breakfast."

When Lillie finally backed out of their kiss, James felt weak in the knees. He didn't want to let go of her. He had the urge to grab her and pull her back in to him, and kiss her forever. He blew out his breath and followed her into the living room. He just hoped that she would want to spend time with him alone when her best friend left to go home. The day just seemed to drag on for him. He took both girls out for breakfast, but then got upset when Lillie refused to eat anything other than fruit. He couldn't understand how she couldn't see that she was perfect just the way she was. He drove them back to Lillie's apartment, and she helped Kay pack up to go home. He couldn't help but watch Lillie as she moved through the apartment. He could tell that she was really sad having to say goodbye to her best friend, because although she was trying to hide it, her eyes looked very sad.

Kay handed Lillie a cigarette and they walked out to the little balcony that was off of the living room. "Kay bear, I haven't had a cigarette since the last time I was up at your house. I'm probably going to get a buzz.. I quit smoking. You are a bad influence ya know!" She laughed at her friend, and lit her cigarette. "I'm going to miss you when you go. Why can't you move here? You have nothing holding you there. You have a crappy waitressing job, and an even crappier week day bartending job. Move here Kay bear. Get a bartending job at one of the crazy busy bars here. Move into my spare bedroom. Please, don't leave!" Lillie let the tears fall from her eyes. She had Seth to spend time with, and now she knew that she would have James, but she needed her best friend. "I have been miserable these last four months since I saw you last. I need you here, I need my best friend." Lillie sobbed.

Kay left her friend's house with both of them in tears. James knew that Lillie was upset, and seeing her crying broke his heart. He pulled out his phone and pushed a few buttons before going to her side and putting his arm around her. "Lilly Pad, why don't you sit down with me? Let me hold you." He led her to the couch and pulled her into his lap and just held her like a child as he wiped her tears from her face. He whispered into her ear, "Lillie, I need you. I want you to be my girl. I can't stop thinking about you, and I just want to hold you and kiss you. I want to make you smile; I want to spend my days figuring out what makes you happy." She tilted her head up to look him in the eyes, looking shocked by his statement.

Lillie leaned into James and softly kissed him on the forehead, the cheeks, and the tip of his nose, his eyelids, and finally his lips. They were wrapped in each other's arms, kissing each other very intensely when someone knocked on her apartment door. She jumped off of Jamie's lap and quickly opened the door. "I have a delivery for a Lillie Johnson." A young man said while holding out a gorgeous bouquet of flowers to her. She had tears in her eyes when she saw the lilies, daisies, white and pink roses, and baby's breath. She brought them in and grabbed for the card, reading it out loud. "Don't cry Lilly Pad." She gasped and looked up at James. "How, what, how??" She went back over and sat on his lap. "Jamie, you were here the whole time and not once did you excuse yourself to make a phone call, how did you do this?" He just kissed her on the cheek and said "I have my ways Lil, I have my ways." He pulled her down closer to him and covered her in kissed. They spent the rest of the day together.

It was getting really late, and although Lillie knew that both she and James had to work in the morning, she didn't want him to leave. "Can't you stay and hold me again? I slept so well in your arms." Jamie laughed at her and replied, "Baby, you slept well because of the tequila and all other kinds of liquor you had ingested, not because you were in my arms." Lillie acted like she was pouting. "James, please stay." She whispered into his ear while nibbling on his earlobe. He knew he couldn't say no. "Fine, but I have to leave early enough to go home and shower and get ready for work."

Lillie popped in a movie, changed into Jamie's shirt from the night before, and slipped off her jeans. James took off his jeans and climbed into her bed wearing his boxer briefs and a tee shirt. He wrapped his arms around Lillie, pulled her close to him, and gently kissed her neck. He breathed in the smell of her vanilla scented shampoo and knew that he was hooked. This girl was like no other girl he had ever met. This girl was special, and he wasn't quite sure why. He closed his eyes, with his head buried in her soft hair, and drifted off to sleep.

Lillie had her head on Jamie's chest and was counting his heartbeats. When she first snuggled up to him they were very close together, but after a few minutes they slowed to a beautiful rhythm. She couldn't help but think about all the times she glanced at Jamie at work and caught him watching her with a small smile on his face, or the way his eyes lit up every time she walked in, or how he listened so intently when she spoke. She didn't know how she didn't figure out sooner that he liked her. She had always thought that she was going to spend the rest of her life alone, but now she was starting to think that her and Jamie were meant to be together. She felt so comfortable in his arms, and she drifted off to sleep while listening to Jamie's heartbeat.

She just hoped that nothing would wake her up from the dream of finally finding someone who was able to look at her like she truly was beautiful. She was tired of being alone and when Jamie complimented her, she truly believed him. It wasn't like when other guys said nice things and she questioned if it was just because they wanted something. Jamie never seemed to want anything other than to make her smile, and she just hoped he never proved her wrong.