That Pivotal Moment

Chapter 22

Hayden

We spent the remaining hour of the drive talking about nothing important. We were both still kind of freaked out over the episode she had. I still can't believe I agreed to tell her everything that happened. 

I wanted her memories back, of course, but I didn't want her living in fear anymore. Even though her father was in jail, I don't she can ever stop looking over her shoulder. 

"Is this it?" she asked as we pulled into the hotel. The water was too cold to go swimming, but she was cleared by the doc to go in the pool. 

"This is it," I answered as we pulled up to the doors. We didn't have many bags, so it was easy to carry them and push her in the wheelchair. She was allowed to walk, but I didn't want her to if she didn't have to.

I booked the room for two nights, figuring that was going to be okay with her. She didn't seem to mind, and smiled at me as I walked back to her with our room keys. 

"All set, Speedy," I said as I started rolling her to the elevators. We got to out room and I noticed when she started to get up. 

"Hey, let me help you."

"Wait," she said and put her hands on the arms of the chair. "Let me try."

I backed off, but stayed close enough to help her if she needed it. She took a deep breath and was able to stand up on her own. She wobbled a bit to get her footing, before looking at me with an accomplished smile. "See, I did it."

"Yes, you did," I replied, shooting her a smile of my own.

"Now, do you want to sit on the bed, or on the balcony? You should rest that leg."

She didn't say anything at first, just looked at me with an odd expression. 

"Gabby, you okay?"

She took one step to close the distance between us, rested her hands on my chest and whispered, "You know you want to kiss me, Golden Boy."

She's trying to reenact our first kiss.

She pressed her lips against mine and I cupped her face in my hands. God, I missed her. She opened her mouth to me, and I didn't hesitate to deepen the kiss. She ran her hands around my neck and pulled me closer to her. 

Without breaking the kiss, I hooked my arm under her knees and lifted her, carrying her to the bed. 

I laid her down against the pillows, and laid myself next to her, careful not to hurt her leg. She pulled my mouth back to hers, as if she was starving for me. 

I pulled away for a moment, not wanting to overwhelm her. "Gabby, maybe we should stop."

She traced my lips with her fingers when she said, "I don't want to stop. I want you like before. I want to feel you kissing every inch of my body, Hayden."

I looked at her, completely shocked, "How do you remember that?"

"In the car, I saw flashes. Not much, but I remember you kissing your way down my body." She met my eyes when she asked, "We were together, weren't we?" 

"Yes. When we stayed here." Fuck, my heart was pounding.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She didn't sound angry, just a little upset that I would keep something like that from her.

How could I explain this to her, without coming off as an asshole? "Gabby, I'm going to be honest with you, and I know how this is going to come off, and I'm not trying to upset you." I took a deep breath before saying, "When I found out you didn't remember our time here, let alone, our relationship, it nearly killed me."