𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 ━ ZONAH AU ✓

29

z a c h { 8 years later }
I was just about to call over the bartender when he came over with a drink. "I didn't order this." I pointed at the martini placed in front of me. "I know, it's from the gentleman over there."

My eyes followed the direction he was pointing. And on one of the tables sat no one other than Jonah Marais. My heart dropped into my stomach. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

Jonah smiled at my reaction and got up. He came over. "Hey Zach." My tongue became numb. "I—you... Jonah?" Jonah chuckled as he pulled me into a hug.

And when his scent travelled up my nose, I knew it was him. His cologne brought back nostalgia. The memories of my 16 year old self took over my brain.

"Oh my god..." I sat back down as Jonah joined me. "When did you?..." I couldn't even finish my sentence. I still blame myself everyday. "Get out? A few years ago." Jonah answered.

"I actually looked for you, but I couldn't find you at all. It was as if you weren't even in the country." Jonah told me. "That's because I probably wasn't."

He gave me a confused look. "What do you mean?" He asked. "I joined the military." Jonah's expression fell. He wanted to be happy, but I know he wasn't.

"You did?" He seemed surprised. "Yeah... after you got—I had nothing left in life. So when I turned eighteen I signed up. I thought, if I couldn't get you freedom than maybe I can do it for other people."

Jonah gave me a sad smile. I know talking about our past is as hard for him as it is for me. "Thank you for your service." He smiled nonetheless. "So... what's up with you?"

"Well, I ended up finishing college after getting out. Now I'm a social worker." I nodded. "That seems like its your calling." I smiled back. "Yeah, it is. I can relate to the kids on some level."

"So um... my apartment is near by, you wanna catch up some more?" I offered. I just wanted to spend some alone time with him. I just wanted to stare at him for as long as I could. So I can finally feel like this is real.

"That sounds great." Jonah smiled. We got up. We got into Jonah's car and I gave him directions until we reached my apartment.

"Well, this is it." I unlocked the door. Jonah took a look around the living room. "It's the same colour as our bedroom." He pointed out with a smile. "I know, it brought me back some nostalgia."

I made us some coffee and we caught up for hours. "I actually wanna show you something." I said excitedly. "Wait here." I ran to my room and came back to him a few seconds later.

"Look," I held up the little red car toy. "I still have it." The look on Jonah's face was unexplainable. It looked like he was happy to see it, but also like he was about to cry.

"I still love you." He confessed. My eyes met his. And before I could respond, he closed the gap between us. Jonah's lips brushed against mine gently before I shut my eyes.

Slowly, the same feeling that I felt eight years ago was coming back. I kissed him back passionately. "Me too." I whispered. I quickly dropped the car and straddled him.

Jonah deepened our kiss. I knew where this was going. "Before we do this," I pulled away. "I just thought you should know that... after you, I didn't sleep with anyone else."

"Really? I didn't either." Jonah shook his head. But it made sense. He was in jail and I was serving across the world in Afghanistan. How would we find the time?

I connected our lips again. I truly missed having him touch me, near me. It was all I could've asked for. After I took my shirt off, Jonah flipped us over.

⇔

We lay in my bed for hours that night, awake. "I wanna take you out on Friday." Jonah whispered softly. I placed a soft kiss on his chest. "I can't." I sighed. "Why not?" He pouted. "I leave for Iraq tomorrow." Jonah laced his fingers with mine. "I'll wait for you. Always."

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-dolanschonce