Wedding Bells

09| touch me not

•Katherine•
'Katherine, you might have forgotten. But I could never. It's etched into my mind.'

The words felt like a 1000 thin needles puncturing my heart one by one till everything inside my heart was emptied out. And yet, my heart felt heavier than ever before.

I felt a tear roll down my cheek but I couldn't wipe it off. It felt like I was frozen, like someone hit pause. Jamie came closer and wiped the tear off.

'Do you really remember nothing?' He asked, his hand hovering around my face.

The memory flashed past my eyes- me sitting on a bed in a hospital gown while my mother slept peacefully in a chair nearby. A scrawny boy with short, messy hair climbing up the bed to arm wrestle with me.

I took two steps back. 'Don't bring this up ever again.' I instructed, picking up my bag. 'Let's just pretend that this never happened. And that we didn't know each other before being forced into marriage. Tell your parents something urgent came up and that I'm sorry.'

I walked out of the office and when I heard him trying to follow me, I picked up the pace. As soon as I got into the elevator, I sat down on the dusty floor. I could hear his words over and over again- 'I could never. It's etched into my mind.'
—
I strutted down the stairs and into the open space with wet floors and a huge swimming pool in the centre. I removed my heels and walked closer to the edge of the pool, my eyes searching for Jamie.

He came out of the water at the other end and hit the stopwatch. He was just about to go back in when I screamed his name. He smiled a little and got out of the pool as I passed him a towel.

'Nice to see that you're alive. You haven't replied to my texts, emails, voicemails and calls for,' he took a liberal pause, 'One week and five days. You wouldn't talk to me but you kept in touch with my lawyers- it's a little insulting.'

I apologised. I didn't bother with an excuse or a justification, he would know I'm lying anyway so I simply apologised.

'I know I shouldn't have ghosted you. But I did and I'm sorry.'

'Sorry for ghosting me or for walking out of the office in the middle of a conversation?'

I gritted my teeth. He was enjoying this way too much for me to be comfortable with it. 'Sorry, for the punch you're gonna get if you keep talking like this.'

He smiled and shook his head- like wet puppies do to dry up. I came closer and wiped his head- scolding him for not doing it properly.

'Is this a part of the apology?' He joked. 'You should apologise more often.'

'Don't get cheeky,' I retorted. 'It's only because every second Friday is date night.'

He quickly ran to the shower to get ready, a big smile plastered across his face. He came out 20 minutes later in blue ripped jeans and a white tshirt with a bowl of ramen embroidered on the left. He picked up his keys and insisted on driving so I didn't argue otherwise.

Soon enough, I was firing bullets into paper targets. Jamie kept trying to protest against it but every time he tried to speak, I just tapped on the shooting muffs and pretended like I couldn't hear him at all. After quite a while of uneventful whining, he decided to ease in and give it a try.

He put on the ear and eye protection gear and picked up the range-owned gun. He aimed it at the target and was about to pull the trigger when I stopped him. I took the gun from his hands and loaded it with bullets, smiling to myself at his cluelessness. I placed the gun in his hands and fixed his posture.

I wrapped my fingers around his fingers which held the gun loosely and got as close to him as I could. I pushed his head to lower it and hit his calves to adjust their positioning. I could hear his heartbeat and the blood rushing through his body. I could feel his body shift with every breath and the tension in his muscles as he stood as still as he could.

I was about to pull away when he turned his head to look at me. Up close, he looked different. His eyes seemed more hazel coloured than a wood brown and his perfect nose was actually a little to the right. His eyelashes were long, like they would get entangled if he blinked. His right hand got tighter and I placed my arm on his forearm so he would loosen up.

He put the gun down and his left hand cupped my face. He was much taller than he looked- around two heads taller than me. I felt his arm wrap around my waist as he leaned in and I inched closer. His face was right above mine and our noses almost touched.

'Could I kiss you?' he asked, his voice a soft whisper, 'I just don't want you running away and hiding again. I don't want you pulling away like a touch me not.'

No.

Don't do it.

This is a bad idea.

You will regret this.

My thoughts were almost as loud as the thumping in my chest. Jamie was standing still and unmoving, waiting. Although I could feel my head say no, I just couldn't help myself.

I leaned in and kissed him. His grip around my waist tightened and I could feel him smile against my lips. I went on my toes and put my arms around his neck, trying my best not to smile, but failing.

For the first time in years, in eons, I felt light. Like I could stretch out my arms and fly over the world if I wanted to, like I could float around in a soap bubble all the way to space. It felt like a weight had been brushed off my chest and I could finally breathe.

He picked me up from the ground and leaned me against the dainty pillar as I wrapped my legs around him. His hand wrapped around my ponytail and he tugged on the hair tie till my hair fell on my shoulders- loose and messy.

Everything around me suddenly seemed oddly quiet and it was like we were the only ones who were moving and breathing and living in a still world that spins too slowly. Like we were soaring in an empty sky as people stared from underneath us. It felt marvellous.

But more than marvellous, it felt right.

Like I was born for this very moment, like if I was born for one kiss, it would be this one.

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A/N: you guys are gonna see little to no graphics now onwards so sorry about that. It's just too much effort. Don't forget to vote and comment.
Love you guys, have a good day <3