Been Here All Along

23| kisses

"It's like always and forever; I won't let a moment pass." - Shawn Mendes

The next morning, I woke up in a position I'd not woken up in in over four years. In the arms of Ian Miller with literally nothing separating our skin from touching. My head was laying on his chest as I listened to his heartbeat. I'd only just woken up, and I didn't want to check to see if Ian was up just yet. I was too comfy and content to move.

I felt Ian's hand move from my waist to my hair and before I knew it, he was hovering above me with a beaming grin on his face. He's obviously in much higher spirits than he was yesterday. I'd sure hope so after a night like we'd just had.

"Good morning, beautiful." He leaned down a placed a soft peck on my lips.

It's easy to forget about how special someone is to you and how special they make you feel when you don't see them for a while, years at that, but these past few months of having Ian around and then being with him again like that was a wonderful reminder.

I loved Joel; he's a great guy who was there for me in so many ways no one else was, and I'm endlessly grateful for everything he has done for me these past few years, but Ian is the one for me. I see that now. There's nothing that can come between us.

   I see my entire future in Ian.

   "Good morning," I mirrored his grin. I gently pushed his body off of mine and rolled out of bed to put some clothes on.

   "Where are you going?" Ian pouted from where I'd left him. I rummaged through his dresser until I came across one of his t-shirts for me to borrow. I use the term "borrow" loosely. He will likely only ever see me in it again.

   "I have work in a couple hours, and I need to shower and change." I gestured to my unprofessional get-up that consisted of a pair of athletic shorts that couldn't be seen due to the length of Ian's shirt I had on.

   "Boo," he frowned. "What time do you get off?"

   "8, I think, unless it's busy."

   "I'll see you at 4, then. That's when I work."

   "Okay." I went over to his bed again to give him another kiss. "I love you."

   "I love you more." He winked.

   Although I wanted to argue, I let him have it for now.

Once I got into the comfort of my car, I called Kaila, the sound of the phone rang throughout the vehicle as it was hooked up to the speaker.

"Morning, trouble."

I did not inform Kaila of my whereabouts yet, so how she knew was beyond me, but I was not the slightest bit surprised she knew. She's a wizard, I swear.

"Hey, do you work today? At Westchester?"

I've still not gotten used to the fact she has two jobs now and Westchester is not her primary one.

"From 12-4, but I'm out with some people from work right now."

"So you're not home?"

"Nope." Darn, I'll have to wait until work to fill her in.

"Okay, I'll just talk to you then. See you later, Kai."

My least favorite part about growing up is that I see less and less of my best friend. She works a regular 9-5 job, which is the same time frame I spend on campus, and then I go to work while she's at home.

~•~

I rushed into work, eager to spill the latest tea to Kaila, and was relieved to find out we were working the cafe together for her shift. It made talking to her a lot easier, but still slightly difficult. With school now in session, the weekends are always the busiest days, even busier than during the summer. No one really has time to come during the week. On top of that, Sunday from 11-2 is the busiest the cafe gets all week. We'd surely be running around and barely get a chance to breathe.