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“I love you, and in the face of that, sweetness, there’s nothing I can do.”
Did I hear him right?
Did he just say he loves me?
I laugh in happiness and kiss him greedily on the lips.
“If what you’re saying is true, don’t ever leave me again,” I whisper.
“You’re the one who left.”
“You kicked me out.”
“I told you to stay.”
“You kicked me out! I’ve apologized every day, and you didn’t deign to respond.”
He smiles sweetly, and then he licks my upper lip and then my lower.
“I’d forgiven you before you even left the house,” he says before kissing me.
“Really?”
“Yes, little panda.”
“‘Little panda’? ‘Sweetness,’ ‘little girl,’ and ‘Jude’ aren’t enough ... so now you’re going to call me ‘little panda’?”
Having fun, he leads me to a mirror, and once I see myself, I crack up. One of my eyes is smeared black with mascara. He’s laughing too.
“What were you doing to make that happen?”
“Wiping off my makeup. And to think I’d gotten so cute for your birthday. And now here you go and show up at my least glamorous moment.”
Eric grins.
“To me, you’re always beautiful, love.”
He carries me in his arms all the way to my room. He lets go of me on the bed and then throws himself on top of me.
“God, babe, I love how you smell.”
Carefully, I take off his jacket and begin to unbutton his white shirt. Eric’s hands traverse my body as he kisses my chin and neck. His fingertips on my ribs give me shivers, and I’m beaming. When I finish unbuttoning his shirt, I touch his abs: hard and strong, like always.
“I have a gift for you.”
“You’re my gift, sweetness.”
Kisses ... caresses ... words of love.
“I have to talk to you, Jude.”
“Later ... later ...”
When I get his shirt off and he’s left with just his pants, my hands fly to the zipper. Eric’s skin is burning, and so am I. And when I stick my hand in his briefs and finally have what I’ve been longing for, I gasp.
Eric moves. His erection escapes from my hands, and he kisses me again.
“If you keep touching me, I’m not going to last two seconds ... Are you still on the pill?”