The Missing Gem

22 | Not a See You Later

Lucas

I finished writing the letter I now held in my fingers as if it was made of glass, and was at risk of breaking into a million pieces at any given time.

I re-read the words I had written with a pen and paper over and over again, making sure that I was positive of what I meant once this letter was delivered.

The sound of Nicole's voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I folded the page in half as I looked up at her. 

"Hey, I saved us a table."

She looked like a teenage girl as she stood by the door frame, with a large winter coat that engulfed her petite body and her scarf tied securely around her neck that hid her grin.

Nicole spent the whole day at her apartment, only meeting me for a quick coffee once I was done for the day. When the alarm clock rang at seven o'clock in the morning she looked too peaceful as she slept and I didn't have the courage to wake her up, so I left the house quietly and earned a phone call from her around midday. 

"Great. I'll be right there." Was all I told her as she looked at me. 

"You need help with anything?"

"Nope. All good here."

I opened the small drawer on the side of my desk and placed the letter inside, closing it gently afterwards.

With my black, thick, coat in my hands and a kiss on my lips from Nicole, we made our way out of the store and, with her hand in mine, we walked to Magic Beans.

The weather in London was getting more and more chilly each day, the signs of winter approaching as the holiday season didn't take too long to get here either.

The city was already twinkling in the dark as the Christmas lights were up since before Nicole and I left for America, making the small town of Hampstead look even more warm and cozy, as the cool kids call it. 

"Thank you for letting me sleep in today." She broke the comfortable silence as I sipped on my coffee.

Nicole  grinned shyly at me and drank her hot chocolate. 

"No need to thank me. Hey, Melanie's gonna work a double shift tomorrow and I'm gonna have Lexi, she's gonna sleep at my house."

"Oh... Okay." I could tell she didn't know exactly what to say, but I let her ramble. "I'm gonna focus on my book again, I need to. I'll be at my apartment tomorrow, writing, and then-" Now I couldn't let her go on anymore.

"Hey hey, I was just letting you know." I wrapped my fingers around her tiny hands while I gave her a shrug. "You can still come by my house if you want."

"No, no... It's better this way too. I can never get a lot of writing done around you anyway." She shot me a knowing look and I knew without a doubt what she meant by that.

"It's not my fault your lips are that irresistible."

"Don't start, mister." She rested her index finger on my lips, as if she were trying to shut me up. I kissed her finger before wrapping my hand around it and before gently pulling her towards me, our lips meeting in a sweet kiss.

"Mhm." I softly moaned against her lips before pulling away. "Irresistible."

 * * * 

"I missed having sleepovers with you, uncle Luc." Her sleepy voice gave away how tired she was after spending the afternoon at the park and after ending her day painting some copies of the drawings I made after dinner.