My Personal Stalker

Chapter 25: Angel

Aileen's POV:

I was still staring at the door, Chloe had just left through. The whole situation was overwhelming me completely. Should I look back at him? Should I say something?

Joe coughed slightly drawing my attention back to him. Slowly, he stood up from the couch and closed the distance between us.

With every step my heart beat faster than before. I opened my mouth to say something - anything but the words wouldn't come out. So I just looked up into his hazel eyes. The very same eyes I had seen every night in my sleep. The ones that had made me feel at ease so many times before. But this time they were scanning me, they took in every inch of my face before focusing on my eyes again.

Then, the corner of Joe's mouth twitched upward. I felt my mouth doing the same out of reflex. How I had missed his sweet, loving smile. It felt like the world around us was lighting up.

That's when I couldn't take the distance between us anymore. I made one last step and wrapped my arms around his neck. Joe laid his hands on my back and carefully pulled me closer. For a split second I stopped breathing as his warmth enveloped my body. It was the same feeling I had missed during all those months in the UK, the feeling of being right where I should be.

"I've missed you, Angel." Joe whispered into my ear, causing the hair on my neck to raise.

One tear rolled down my cheek and landed on Joe's shirt. It was followed by another and another. Before I knew it, I was sobbing my heart out. Joe's arms tensed around my body. "How can you still call me Angel after everything I've done. I'm so sorry, Joe. You don't deserve to be treated like that." I eased my grip around his neck but I couldn't let go of him... not yet.

Joe let his hands slide to my waist and waited until we were eye to eye. "Never say something like that again. You will always be my Angel no matter what happens. And I know it's too late to say that but I love you with all my heart."

I couldn't process what Joe had just said to me. All of it was too much. My lips parted slightly and tears started filling my eyes again. I didn't deserve him, I didn't deserve any of this. Months ago, I had left Joe without even saying goodbye. I just couldn't bear it and now that I was with him again, all of the guilt came flooding back to me.

I leaned my head against his chest, soaking his shirt with my tears. He started rubbing my back as an attempt to comfort me but it only made things worse. I didn't deserve him. Joe was the best person I had met in my life and I had screwed things up over and over again.

"Please, stop crying. I can't stand seeing you like that." He held me tightly while placing kisses on my head. "You - we are going to be okay. You just have to trust me."

I took a few deep breaths to stop myself from crying and looked up at him again. "I trust you." The voice that came out of my mouth was only a whisper but it was enough to make Joe smile.

He raised his hand up to my cheek and wiped away the remaining tears. "Welcome home, Angel." It felt like his words were lifting a burden from my chest and all I could do was to smile brightly.

Joe stroked my cheek with his hand before lowering his mouth to mine. The smile didn't leave his face when his lips brushed against mine. It was nothing more than a tickle but it was enough to leave goosebumps all over my body. I kept my eyes shut, still savoring the sensation of our kiss.

His lips traced over the tip of my nose, up to my brow. I chuckled into his soft touch. "Joe?" I whispered.

"Yes," he muttered against my skin.

I took a deep breath and gathered all of my courage. "I love you too."

This time, Joe took my face into both hands and smirked. "Maybe we should call Chloe." he said teasingly.

"Chloe can wait." I bit my lower lip daring him to kiss me again. And so he did. The kiss wasn't as soft and innocent as last time. His lips were actually claiming mine while his hands travelled down to my waist and pulled me into him.

Our tongues began exploring each other's mouths when my phone rang. I hesitated but decided to let it go to voicemail. After a few seconds Joe's phone started ringing as well.

We broke into laughter as Joe pulled his phone out of his pocket and revealed Chloe's caller ID. He pressed the green button and put Chloe on speaker. "As much as I hate to interrupt you..." She paused. "Please, don't even tell me what you were doing... I'm running out of idea what to do outside of my house."

I chuckled before answering. "You really don't want to know what happened."

Joe gave me a mischievous grin and left another quick kiss on my mouth. "But you can come home. It's all clear now."

Chloe sighed on the other side of the line. "Thank God. I'll be there in five."

Joe hung up the phone smiling again. "That means we have five more minutes to do whatever we want." He pulled me back into his arms.

"Joe," I squealed hitting his chest playfully, "you're unbelievable."

"It was worth a try." He laughed and let himself fall onto the couch.

I sat down beside him. "This time we're going to do things the right way." I buried my head in the pit of his neck and smiled.

-

The sound of a key pulled me out of my thoughts. The door opened and Chloe took a small step inside. "Soo?"

I exchanged a loving smile with Joe before turning me head to her. "We're back together."

Chloe tilted her head to the side. "Aww, young love... Wait, does that make me the third wheel from now on?" She narrowed her eyes in a playful way.

"I don't know." I smiled at Joe who seemed to have the same idea I had. We started kissing each other again in the most cheesy way possible.

"Please, stop!" Chloe had covered her eyes with both hands taking a step back towards the door.

"Alright... Now come here and tell me what I've missed during those last few months." I tapped onto the seat next to me.

"Well, there are a few things you've missed out on."

Joe coughed beside me. "A few?"

Chloe narrowed her eyes on him. "Okay, maybe more than a few... I've broken up with Mark a while ago and things have been difficult ever since."

"Did you and Noah...?" I blurted out. I had wanted to ask Chloe about him since I set foot in this house.

Joe and Chloe exchanged a confused look and I felt my boyfriend stiffen beside me. "What? How did you know...?"

"Oh, come on. It was so obvious. His longing glances while you were still together with Mark, his admittedly well-hidden hatred towards Mark... and he kind of told me before I left."

"And you didn't say a word?" The two of them shouted at the same time.

"No! He told me in secret and it was his move to make. Although I was tempted to tell you when you showed me the messages." I said to Chloe.

—

Author's Note:
Hey loves, I could finally write about a happy couple in my story and it was about time.

What do you guys think about Joe and Aileen getting back together? Was Joe right to forgive her so quickly?
Is Chloe going to be the third wheel from now on?
And were you surprised that Aileen knew about Noah's feelings for Chloe?

If you like this story so far please vote, comment, add it to a reading list or share it with your friends. It would mean a lot to me ♥️