by Cece Peters
“Oh, Leah, of course you get to have me. Don’t you know that you’ve always had me? From the moment we met in sixth grade, you have had me wrapped around your finger. I didn’t know how to show it back then, and then we were ripped apart. But I have a second chance. We have a second chance. The only thing I want is for us to be together.” Matty leaned over and began kissing me, putting his hands on my cheeks, and using his fingers to wipe away my tears.
“This is crazy,” I said between kisses. “We’ve only been back together for a few days. You can’t uproot your life for me.”
Matty laughed quietly and stocked my face with both of his thumbs. “These three days might as well have been three years, Leah. I never stopped loving you, ever. I didn’t know that I was in love with you all those years ago. I didn’t understand it until you were gone. But I have known for many years now; and I knew it immediately when I first saw you again the other night. I have missed you so much since the moment I climbed out your window that last time. I have been so lost for so many years. But being back with you again,” he paused for a moment before continuing, “well, it has made me whole, Leah. You are a part of me, and I don’t want to live without you anymore. I can’t.”
I sat in disbelief, utterly speechless. In all my fantasies of being with Matty again someday, I had never, ever thought he would say such things.
“I want you to come home with me, Matty. Tonight.” My shyness gone, I was instead emboldened and determined to not let this moment go.
“I was hoping you’d say that,” Matty said, grinning at me with a suggestive look in his eyes. “And if you didn’t, I was going to take you back to my hotel room.” We kissed again before we both pulled our seats up from their reclining positions. We buckled our seat belts, and Matty started the car. I don’t even remember the drive back to my house, or getting into the front door. I was glad that my dogs barely lifted their heads when we walked in as they were already in a deep sleep. To be sure, though, we walked quietly upstairs, the staircase wide enough for us to stay side by side, holding hands and giggling silently as we crept up the stairs.
When we reached my bedroom, I quietly closed the door before turning around and melting into Matthew. Our kissing was much different than it had been when we were younger. We now both knew how to do it properly without butting teeth or smashing noses. And we didn’t have to worry about my parents catching us. I could not get enough of his mouth on mine, the feeling of his lips and the taste of him as we let our tongues explore one another’s mouths, which was much nicer than the first time he’d let his tongue graze my lip in the eighth grade.
The lights were off in my room, but the moonlight shone through the window. My body was already on fire and we hadn’t even moved beyond kissing. My heart wanted to go slowly and enjoy every moment, but my body wanted – no, needed – to move faster. “Matty, I love you so much. I need you inside of me. Now. Please.”
Matthew let out a moan of desire as he shrugged off his suit jacket and loosened his tie. I quickly unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off of him, throwing it aside; he turned me around and unzipped my dress, letting it fall to the floor. Staying behind me, he unbuckled my bra and let his hands slide around to my breasts, stroking them gently and pressing his naked chest against my back, kissing my neck. He then ran his hands down to my panties and hooked his fingers around the waist on either side to nudge them down before returning his hands to my breasts, this time squeezing them with a growing intensity.
As much as I loved his hands on me, I forced myself to wiggle around so that I could unbuckle his belt and undo his pants. He helped by pushing his underwear down and then paused a second before pulling his socks off. I laughed a bit at that, and he smiled before coming back to envelop me in another passionate kiss.
We stumbled towards my bed, making no effort to get under the covers. I did not want anything between us, no sheets or blankets. I just wanted Matthew’s body fully pressed against mine. I wanted to feel every inch of him.
“Am I going too fast?” Matty asked. “Please tell me, Leah. We can slow down.”
“Do you want to slow down?” I asked, and before he could answer, I said, “because I don’t. I said I wanted you now and I meant it.” I spread my legs and wrapped my arms around him to bring him down as close to my body as possible. Matty adjusted and was suddenly inside of me. We stopped kissing and just stared into each other’s eyes as we began moving together. We sped up quickly and I exploded within moments. He kept moving and when he came, I did again. The intensity was almost painful, almost too much to bear. And I came again just before he finished moving.
We collapsed next to one another and caught our breath. We were both naked and sweaty, sprawled out on top of my bed, which was now a tangle of the linens we hadn’t pulled back.
“Leah, did you come…. three times?” Matty asked with wonder.
“Yes, yes I did,” I said confidently before turning over on my side to lay against him. “YOU made me come three times, Matthew Boyd.” And with that I giggled a little before gazing up at him. He was playing with my hair and looking at the ceiling, a sleepy grin on his face.
“If we had to be apart for sixteen years to get to tonight, I can almost say it was worth it,” Matty said, before looking at me and adding, “Well, almost. A few less years would have been better, huh?”
“I’d have waited a million years for you if I would have known this night would happen, Matthew.” I pulled myself up to kiss him gently before snuggling back down next to him.
“I love you, Leah. I love you so much,” Matthew whispered. “I promised you once that nothing would ever keep us apart. I couldn’t keep that promise before, but I can now. I promise you that nothing will ever separate us again.” And with that, Matty drifted to sleep. I carefully reached over and grabbed a blanket from next to the bed and spread it over us.
“I love you, too, Matty. I always have. And I always will,” I whispered as I watched his breath steady and his chest rise. And with that, as I had on that night sixteen years before, I tried to match my breathing to his before falling asleep with him. Yet tonight, I knew that he would still be with me in the morning. While I would have normally felt ashamed at letting my passions get the best of me, I felt no remorse with how the evening had escalated. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I loved Matthew, that he loved me, and that we were meant to be together. If one or both of our lives ended tomorrow, I would be satisfied knowing that Matty had loved me as much as I loved him.
CHAPTER TEN
I awoke suddenly in the night to the sound of someone’s car alarm going off in the neighborhood; and for a brief second was shocked at the feeling of a body next to me. And then I remembered: Matthew. I smiled and leaned over to kiss the side of his torso before letting my hands gently explore his chest, giggling a bit at the hairs that definitely weren’t there when we were teenagers. I knew I should let him rest and that I should get back to sleep myself, but I just couldn’t stop myself from letting my hand work its way down under the blanket. Matty gasped when I reached my destination and opened his eyes to smile at me, “What time is it? What do I own this wakeup call to?”
“Shh,” I whispered. “It’s still nighttime. A noise woke me up, but now I need something to help get me back to sleep.”
“Mmm…. well, since I’m now awake, too, I guess we both need another nightcap, huh?” And with that, Matty rolled over, pressing his naked body against mine. Despite being drowsy, we quickly came together again, once more not able to hold back. We moved together much more slowly this time, though, savoring each other. “You’re so wet, Leah. Oh my God, you feel so good,” Matthew moaned as he gently circled his hips, making the sensation even more intense. I wanted the feeling to last forever, but eventually neither of us could hold back and we came within seconds of each other.
“I could get used to be woken up like this,” Matty said with a huge smile on his face as he rolled onto his side, and, just like he had the first
time we’d slept together, rested a hand on my stomach as he looked down at me. He leaned down to kiss me gently, and I honestly think I could have had him again if I thought he was up for it. But seeing the sleepiness on his face, I rolled onto my side so we would switch positions, and once again I snuggled into him. “In fact, I expect this kind of service regularly once I move here,” he added as he twirled a lock of my hair.
“Yay…. move here!” I said with a satisfied smile on my face. “I cannot wait until you are here permanently.”
“Neither can I, Leah. I know I will have to give two weeks at my firm, although my dad may be so pissed that he tosses me out the day I give notice. Fortunately, I am only renting an apartment, which I can easily give up. I should be moved out here by the end of the month,” he said as he let go of my hair and started running his fingers up and down my back. “I just need to figure out a place to live.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll find something,” I said with a giggle before jumping out of bed, grabbing the blanket, and wrapping it around myself. I started towards the bathroom, but Matty grabbed me from behind and pulled me back onto the bed.
“Hey, I’m not taking any chances of losing you ever again, Leah. I want to be with you. I intend to be with you. Forever. I want to marry you. And married people live together.”
I was stunned. Did Matty just ask me to marry him? Or did he mean he wanted to marry me someday? Was I just purposed to, or was I just informed of an eventual proposal? I didn’t know for sure which had just happened, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about any of it, at least how the options were worded. All I knew was that I could not think of anything to say.
“Ahh, none of that came out right at all, Leah; I’m sorry,” Matty touched my cheek and reached down to grab his underwear from the floor. He was suddenly wide awake, and, thinking I’d angered him, I was expecting him to just leave. Instead he pulled me up into a standing position, wrapping the blanket carefully around me to cover me up. He then bent down on one knee and took my hand. “Let’s do this properly and at least half-way dressed. Leah Andrews, I love you. I have loved you for over twenty years. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Matty took a deep breath and asked, “Will you marry me, Leah? And not later; I mean to marry you now, this week, today if can, tomorrow if I have to wait. Leah, please say you’ll be my wife.”
I stood silently, looking down onto Matty’s eager face. Tears welled up in my eyes before I took a deep breath and whispered, “Yes! Yes, yes, yes, a million times yes, Matthew!” Matty leapt to him feet and embraced me, rocking me back and forth. I could not believe what had just transpired; not just the proposal, but also my response. I was usually so hesitant, always over thinking everything. But not this time. Forget the fact that we had only spent three days together after being apart for sixteen years. Forget the fact that there were still things I didn’t know about Matthew as an adult compared to when I had known him as a teenager. Forget the fact that my family, friends, and co-workers were likely to think I had lost my mind. I knew what I wanted. I had always known what I wanted: Matthew Boyd. And I was not going to take any chances of losing him again. I was going to hold onto him with both hands and never let him go.
As I clung to Matty, I realized that for the first time in my life, it didn’t matter to me what anyone else thought. In that moment, I didn’t care about anyone or anything other than being with Matthew. The pain of the weeks and months and even years after he had moved away finally sank back to the furthest corners of my mind.
I had spent years silently mourning what I believed deep down was the loss of my soul mate. I wondered why God would take away the one thing that made me happy. I convinced myself that it was because I wasn’t good enough or deserving enough, that I was a bad person and was being punished. I had always been so ashamed that I was hanging on to something and someone who I would likely never see again. And even if we had reconnected someday, I always told myself that Matthew would have moved on, would have married, and had a family. Would maybe not even remember me, or at least not remember our time together the way I did.
However, here we were. Literally every dream I had ever had about being with Matthew again was blown out of the water as the reality of him here with me was a million times better than I ever imagined. After so many years of sadness and feeling lost, of pushing interested guys away because they didn’t measure up to the ideal in my mind, my prayers had come true. Matty loved ME, just as much as I loved him. He wanted to marry ME. He wanted to be with ME, forever. Joyful tears fell down my face as I let myself finally feel happiness.
Matty and I reluctantly separated and gave each other several kisses, the huge smiles on our faces making it difficult to lock lips for long. “Dammit,” Matthew said suddenly, bringing his hands to his face. “A ring. I don’t have a ring. Who gets down on one knee and proposes without a ring?” Matt slumped back down to the bed. “I really messed that up. But,” he stood back up, grabbing me by my arms, “I was serious when I said I want to marry you now, Leah. I don’t want to wait. But,” he paused, with a look of realization on his face, sitting back down on the bed again. “I’m sure you want to plan a big ceremony, right? And of course, have your family attend? I’m sorry, I’m rushing you into this; I don’t want to take away from you having your dream wedding. No ring and no wedding. What the hell am I thinking? Leah, you’ve made me go mad,” he said matter-of-factly, putting his face back into his hands.
I couldn’t hold back my laughter. I had always been the one to have some sort of irrational fit; it filled my heart to see Matty have a bit of a melt down over me.
“Matty,” I said sincerely, “you are my dream….my dream everything. I do not need a ring or a big wedding or any wedding at all. I just want to legally be your wife as soon as possible. And if that means we go down to the courthouse and get hitched in shorts and tee shirts, then so be it.”
“You don’t want a church wedding?” Matty asked sincerely. “I’m sure your folks do. God, they will kill me if I take that away from you, from them. Maybe we could throw together a wedding this week? This is a small town, so I bet we can find a church that’s available. I have a suit; we can surely get you a dress. We will get your parents a flight out of Florida today, if possible. And maybe Nonna’s could host a small reception for us? Is there a bakery in town? We need a cake. Oh, and the rings! Who is the best jeweler around here? Is there a jewelry store here? When is Krista getting back? You need a maid of honor or bridesmaid or whatever she would be. It’s only three a.m. now, but stores should start opening around eight, don’t you think? I need to make a list of places to call.”
“Matty, get ahold of yourself,” I said as I stared at him in disbelief. “I’ve never seen you so worked up!” He stood up again and asked where he could get a piece of paper and a pen, but I stopped him and pushed him back down into a sitting position onto the bed. To keep him there, I sat in his lap.
“Matthew, listen to me. I am a grown woman. Yes, if the situation were different, I would want a church wedding with a white dress and a grand reception with all of our friends and family in attendance. But what I want more than anything else is you. My parents can fuss over my sister’s weddings. They loved you, Matty; and I know they will love you again once they know you are back in my life. I want to marry you now; we’ll just tell everyone the truth: we eloped. And if they want to plan some sort of party for later, they can do that. My only concern is you and me, together, as man and wife. I just want us to be bound together so that nothing can separate us again. None of the pomp and circumstance matters to me as long as I have you.”
“Leah, Leah, Leah,” Matty moaned as he grabbed me again for a long kiss. “My Leah. You do not have to convince me; I just don’t want you to ever look back and wish we had done it differently. But if you say it’s a go, I say we make it official as soon as possible.”
“Yes, I can call the courthouse in the morning and find out what they need from us. We may be able to get it
done today even, although most likely by tomorrow. It’s quiet around here in the summer, as you have seen. So, there’s not much action at the local government offices. I am positive they can get us in.” I paused a moment before continuing, “If this is what you really want, Matthew? It’s okay to slow things down and give it more thought. I’ve waited sixteen years for you; I can wait longer if you need more time.”
“Oh, Leah, baby; apparently I haven’t done a good enough job proving to you exactly how much I want this. How much I want you. Let me fix that.” Matty unwrapped the blanket from around me and gently guided me back down on the bed. He leaned down and put a hand on one breast, lowering his mouth to the other. Using his tongue, he circled my nipple before gently sucking on the tip. He then opened his mouth to bring as much of my breast as possible into his mouth, all the while gently stroking the other one with his fingers.
I shuttered with pleasure, anticipating that Matthew would enter me. But instead he laid on his side and slid his hand down until it was between my legs. I gasped at the sensation. “I love how wet you get,” he said huskily as his fingers stroked me, gently teasing my lips, and quickly finding my most sensitive spot, which he circled with the tips of his fingers.
I tired reaching for him but he stopped me. “No, no you just lay there and enjoy yourself. I want to watch your face as I make you come.” I could feel his hardness through his underwear against my thigh.
“It’s okay, I want to,” I said, even though I could barely see straight from the sensation of his touch.
“Don’t worry about me, Leah; just relax and let me take care of you.” Matty moved so that he was out of reach, and I gave up any attempt to reciprocate. The truth was that it felt amazing to just lay there and be loved on. Matty made sure to go slowly, to make it last. He alternated being kissing my lips, sucking my breasts, and staring into my eyes while he played with me. He didn’t even have to put his fingers inside of me; just his hand stroking me was enough to send me over the edge.
