2.0 The Chronicles of Us - Shame & Blame

Chapter thirty-seven

*♡ Ellie ♡*

Sometimes it still amazes me what gentle and amorous lover Tex can be. Yesterday was a perfect example of his romantic nature. Every featherlight touch of his fingers and every brush of his lips drew our souls closer, forging a connection that can never be broken. Though, if I'm honest, nothing beats the sensation of being the only thing in the world that can satisfy his desperate hunger. In those moments, when he's rough and urgent, greedy and grabby, that's when my bliss can't grow any bigger.

I rise on my elbow and kiss his bare shoulder. After our lovemaking, Tex carried me to his bed and we fell asleep cuddling. It seems both our energy levels were depleted because we slept for nearly twelve hours. The dawning sun rose not that long ago.

Feeling better than I have in months, I leave Tex to slumber a little longer and take a thorough shower. Yesterday's tears have no business staining my skin on this brand new day. I'm not so foolish to think that everything will be downhill from here, but the worst is behind us. How can it not? We've seen each other's lows and it only strengthened our bond.

With my damp hair hanging loose and a towel that only just covers my private parts wrapped around me, I tiptoe into the living room. Yesterday, my mind was too busy being a fruitcake to have noticed the different furniture. It doesn't take a genius to understand why that is. With a solemn sigh, I take my forgotten friend from the windowsill. I bought the pancake-plant as a joke and named it Gary. Every time I patted its leaves and praised its photosynthesis skills, Tex rolled his eyes, but couldn't hide the upward curling of his lips. It's a good memory, one of many, actually. I run my fingers along the crack in the ceramic pot. Tex must've flung it across the room in a fit of anger, but he also glued the pot back together and kept the plant alive. It's flourishing and new stems are sprouting.

It would be easy to feel down, thinking about the hurt Tex endured by my design. Instead, I put the plant back on the sill with a smile on my face. Next time, I'll add googly eyes to give Gary more character. That will surely cause some eye-rolls and badly hidden smiles.

My eyes travel to the other side of the room and my feet follow. The bookshelf holds a few new items. A small collection of framed pictures is displayed on the eye-level shelf. The first one is the picture of him with his mother when he was only a ten-year-old boy. The second is a family photo of him with his mother, father and sister. They are standing near a lake, all smiling, with a big tent and other camping equipment in the background. Therapy has been good for him. The restored relationship with his family is clear evidence of that.

However lovely the two pictures are, the third one really sends my heart into a gallop. It's the one Jonathan took of us on our first date. I had forwarded it to Tex since he's part of it, but he merely responded with 'nice pic'. Apparently, he took such a liking to it, he had it framed.

While I stand beaming, sounds of someone getting up and about carry through the quiet apartment. A moment later, after a flush of the toilet, I feel the presence of my love sneaking up on me. His arms wrap around me from behind, pulling me against him, and his nose nuzzles under my ear. "You smell nice."

I giggle from his ticklish sniffling and turn in his embrace, resting my hands on his chest. "It's just shampoo. I'm surprised you had a full bottle of my favorite brand. Did you buy it especially for me?"

He laughs inwardly, shoulders lightly shaking. "Remember when you asked me for my shirt? Let's say it's something like that."

"Hm-mmm." I hum with slight suspicion. His reasons were most certainly of a less, shall we say, innocent nature. That's okay. It's one of the many reasons that I love him. His white-teethed grin reminds me ... "Just so you know, I used your toothbrush because I forgot mine. I hope you don't mind."