Be Mine

by Amber Branley

  Lily

  We sit together in the jacuzzi, and by now the sun has risen fairly high in the sky. Neither one of us are tired, but both of us seem to agree that we just got a heck of a work out together. I’m smiling at him as he looks down at me before clinking his glass of orange juice against mine.

  “I worked up an appetite after that,” I laugh.

  “You too?” He says, sounding relieved. “Whew, that’s good to hear. I thought I was the only one,” he laughs.

  “I was afraid to tell you at first,” I say. “I didn’t want you to think I’m like, eating non-stop.”

  He furrows his brow, looking at me with a confused expression. “What’s wrong with that? Eating is awesome.”

  “I agree.”

  “We’re definitely soul mates,” he says, chuckling.

  “Definitely. And you made me feel so good inside,” I smile.

  “I’m glad I did,” he says. “And you made me feel so good too, Lily. You made me feel incredible.”

  “Do you work today?” I ask him, blushing.

  “No,” he says. “Duty doesn’t call again until Thursday. Which means today I’m free to spend time with you, if you’re free too.”

  “Of course I’m free,” I say, smiling. “My workplace is a smoking heap of rubble now.”

  “I’m glad no one was hurt,” he says.

  “Yeah,” I sigh, nodding my head. “If they had been hurt, I wouldn’t be smiling. That would be awful.”

  “How long you worked there anyway?” He asks me.

  “A year,” I say. “And I work sixty hours a week for pretty low pay. But I’m twenty-two and not qualified for anything right now. I’ll finish my degree at some point, but I’ve been working at something for a while… A silly pipe dream, I guess,” I blush again.

  “What is it?” HE asks me, staring at me curiously.

  “I wanted to be an actress,” I say, rolling my eyes. “I know, what a surprise, right? Girl in Los Angeles dreams of becoming famous. But I don’t care about fame. I just want to be able to support myself. I’d be thrilled to be a character actor, having small parts in television shows and movies. Just making enough to get by and save a little for old age.”

  “You know, that’s so damn awesome,” he says, taking a drink of orange juice and then setting the glass down on the side of the hot tub. “Seriously. You’ve got dreams and you’re following through with them. You’re pursuing what you want to do in life. And you want to act. I respect that. I really do.”

  “Really?” I smile at him.

  “Really,” he says. “And you know what? You’re beautiful, you’re charismatic, you’re charming, you’re sweet, ya-da, ya-da, you get the point. But anyway, it’s all true. So I think you’ve got a chance of making it. A good chance, Lily. You shouldn’t give up on those dreams, because who knows when your lucky break will be?”

  “I hope it’s soon,” I smile.

  “Keep at it,” he says, giving me a thumbs up.

  We stay in the hot tub for a few more minutes before we get out and dry off. He kisses me repeatedly as we laugh together and smile at one another. I can’t stop smiling when I look at him. He’s just so charming, and I can’t get enough of his kisses. I’m so in love with him, and it’s crazy that we only just met, because it honestly feels like I’ve known this guy for so long now.

  I know we were meant to be together. We were meant to find one another. And even though it was something dark and scary that brought us together, I’m glad it did. Because without that fire, I don’t even think I would have ever been able to meet Hank.

  We go inside and he makes us sandwiches. We sit in the living room with the television on and eat, and I feel so safe with him, so secure, and just so freaking happy that I could practically scream. I lean over and kiss him on the cheek, and he looks at me and finishes his bite of sandwich as he smiles.

  He takes a sip of water and washes it down, and then he practically tackles me, kissing me and tickling me, making me laugh out loud more times than I can count. I’m head over heels for this alpha firefighter, and I know that this love is only going to grow more and more.

  I feel like the luckiest girl in the world right now.

  Hank

  I fall asleep with her head resting against my chest. She’s curled up next to me with her left arm wrapped around my torso. She’s breathing softly with her face squished up against my body. She looks more beautiful than ever. I can’t take my eyes off her, despite the fact that I now feel exhausted.

  I simply can’t bring myself to close my eyes, which is required of me if I want to sleep.

  After a while I do wind up drifting off I guess, and when I sleep, my dreams are filled with images of her. I wake up later in a moment of sheer panic, and for a quick second I worry that it was all a dream. But when I look down at her and see her face still against my chest, relief washes over me like a tidal wave.

  “It was real,” I say, and she opens her eyes and squints at me before yawning.

  “Huh?” She says. “What was real?”

  “Oh, sorry,” I laugh. “Didn’t meant to wake you, sweetheart. I just had dreams of you, and woke up worried that the whole thing was a dream. When I saw you, I was so relieved.”

  She smiles and says, “It’s real. Don’t worry. It’s all real. And that’s funny that you dreamed about me, because I dreamed about you too.”

  “Oh yeah?” I grin.

  “Yeah. Except it was kind of a… Dirty dream,” she laughs.

  “About earlier?” I wink.

  “Something like that,” she says, winking back at me with a sly grin on her gorgeous face. She yawns again and stretches her arms. “What time is it?”

  I look over at my phone. “Two in the afternoon. We should wake up now so we don’t sleep all day. Otherwise we won’t be able to fall asleep at night.”

  “Good point,” she says. “Plus, I can’t sleep any longer. I just want to see you with open eyes every second I possibly can,” she grins.

  “Kiss time,” I say, leaning over and pecking her on the lips.

  But she obviously wants more than a peck, because she wraps her arms around my muscular back and pulls me close to her, then she goes to town on my lips with her own lips, smacking them against mine playfully and sucking on them loudly.

  “I love you,” she says.

  “I love you,” I tell her, holding her tight in my arms, feeling her curves pressing up against my body and savoring her warmth.

  “I’m so happy with you,” she grins.

  “Me too,” I say.

  “Isn’t it crazy?” She smiles. “I mean, it’s not, but people would think it’s crazy. Heck, before today, I’d have thought it was crazy if someone told me everything that was going to happen.

  “What’s that?” I ask.

  “This,” she says. “Us.”

  I nod my head, knowing exactly what she means. “It is crazy,” I say. “We fell in love so fast. I never knew that was possible. But we’re not crazy. Just the situation is. I mean, it just feels completely organic to me; natural. I’m just doing what my heart tells me.”

  “Me too,” she says. “And right now my heart is telling me that I’m the luckiest girl in the world.”

  “Oh yeah?” I chuckle. “Well, mine just so happens to be telling me that I’m the luckiest guy in the world… What a coincidence.”

  “It is, isn’t it?” She says teasingly. “But seriously… Mine is really telling me that. I mean, I feel like I’m the world’s luckiest girl right now, ever since I met you.”

  “And I feel like the world’s luckiest guy. No joke. I’m so fortunate to have met you,” I tell her. “I just wish it had been under safer circumstances. It sends shivers down my spine to imagine you yesterday in all that smoke, surrounded by all those flames.”

  “But like you said, I’m safe now. It’s all over,” she says in a soft, loving voice.

  “You are safe,” I say, kissing her lips. “And I’ll ma
ke you’re always safe from harm, babe.”

  “I know you will,” she says, looking into my eyes. “You’ve got the sweetest eyes. I mean, you’re such a big, tough guy, so strong and stern… But your eyes are so kind. You’re so sweet to me.”

  “Because you melt my cold heart,” I say playfully, nuzzling my nose up against hers.

  She laughs and we kiss some more. Then she closes her eyes and presses her cheek against mine. She lays like that for a while, and then her eyes open and she smiles at me. “Yeah, I tried to sleep some more, but I definitely can’t. I’m just way too excited about being here with you. No sleep for me anytime soon.”

  “You want to go hiking around?” I ask her.

  “Hiking? There a place nearby?”

  “Topanga State Park,” I say. “Not too far of a drive. Up in Topanga Canyon.”

  “Sounds awesome,” she grins excitedly.

  “Let’s get dressed and hit the road, then,” I say.

  “But first, more kisses,” she says.

  We lock lips, and like always, it’s absolutely magical. It knocks the socks off my feet.

  Lily

  The sun shines high in the sky, and it’s a hot spring day in Los Angeles as we work our way up the dirt trail towards a peak that Hank says overlooks the Pacific Ocean. It sounds beautiful, and I can’t wait to see it. I feel so fortunate to be with him today, to be spending time with him in nature and at his home.

  But to be honest, I’d be happy spending time with him anywhere, even if it happened to be at a garbage dump. Because every moment with this man is a gift, every second with him is a second I’ll cherish. He’s so kind to me, and so sweet, so giving and generous.

  For example, every time we get into his truck, he hurries to the passenger side to get the door for me. And to think that before I met him, I thought chivalry was dead! Now I know that it’s not, at least in part because of him. And he’s the only guy I could ever imagine being with.

  He’s all I’ve ever dreamed about in the flesh. Except he’s even better than my dreams. Sweeter, more in charge, more heroic, stronger, more handsome. He’s a perfect specimen in my eyes, and I feel so lucky to know that I have him as my own.

  And like we both said, it’s happened so fast, but it feels so… Natural. It feels so organic, and I feel like I’ve known Hank so for long. I know that I feel that way because we were meant to find each other. We were meant to be together, all this time. We just didn’t know it; not until we met each other. We didn’t even know that the other existed. But now I’m so happy that we both are here, hiking up the deserted trail in sun-drenched Southern California.

  I couldn’t think of anything else I’d rather be doing right now. Hiking with him is a dream. Anything with him is a dream. And I can’t stop thinking about how good he made me feel early this morning when he took me back to his place and showed me such a good time…

  I giggle a little bit to myself and he looks over at me. “What?” He says, smiling as he squints through the sunlight.

  “Sorry,” I laugh again. “I was just having some dirty thoughts about… Earlier.”

  “It’s still on your mind, huh? Guess that means I’m pretty damn good in bed,” he laughs. “You’re going to turn me into a cocky bastard, aren’t you?”

  “You are amazing in bed,” I tell him.

  “So are you,” he says.

  “And you’re all mine,” I say.

  “I’m all yours,” he whispers, suddenly pushing me gently up against a tree and wrapping his arms around the back of my neck. “And you’re all mine.”

  “Yes,” I say. “I’m all yours.”

  “Forever,” he rasps.

  “Forever,” I say in a shaky voice.

  He kisses me, and I feel the hairs stand up on my skin. It’s – so – freaking – incredible.

  Hank

  We make it to the top of the trail and the lookout is fantastic. The sky is clear and blue, and the Pacific Ocean is much the same, so much in fact that the sky and the ocean almost blend in together. It’s a stunning sight to behold, and sharing it with Lily makes it all the more stunning. I lean over and kiss her on the cheek, and she giggles and looks up at me.

  “I love when you kiss me,” she says.

  “Then you’re going to really love me a lot, because I plan on kissing those perfect lips of yours non-stop,” I laugh.

  “Please do so,” she says playfully, and I do – about twenty or thirty times until we’re both stuck in a giggling fit.

  She leans her head up against my muscular shoulder and we both stare out at the Pacific Ocean as it stretches out past Malibu and the Pacific Palisades, along with Santa Monica and Venice to the south. I look down at her soft hair and I run my fingers through it as she sighs happily. What a lovely day it is, and to think that just a day before I was all alone in this world.

  “I still can’t believe that we found each other,” she says, staring up at me with watery, big eyes.

  I kiss her on the forehead, run my fingers through her silky smooth hair, and hold her tight in my arms, never letting go. “We’ll always have each other now,” I say.

  “I know we will,” she says. “I don’t have any worries about that. I feel so sure about you. So sure – like, more than I’ve ever felt about anything in life. Way more.”

  “Me too,” I say. “That’s how I know it’s real. That’s how I know it’s meant to be… That’s how… It’s how I know you’re the one. Because I literally have no doubts about it. Everything is perfect.”

  “No one is perfect,” she says. “I’m definitely not.”

  “I know no one’s really perfect,” he says. “Me included. But together, as a couple, we’re perfect. And I mean that.”

  “We are, aren’t we?” She grins.

  “We really are.”

  “God, I can’t stop wanting to kiss you all the time,” she laughs.

  I press my lips against hers, feeling how soft they are. Then I kiss her forehead, her temples, her nose, both cheeks, and her chin before I pull my face away and start to laugh with her. “You’re so funny too,” she says. “Always making me laugh. Always making me smile. Always making me feel so warm and fuzzy inside. You’re like a superhero to me.”

  I shrug. “I’m just a normal guy. You bring the best out of me, because I love you. You make the best side of me come out.”

  “There’s nothing normal about you,” she smiles. “You’re amazing. And you’re mine.”

  “And you’re mine.”

  We stand up to leave, but before we turn to go, we embrace each other. His strong, thick arms feel so good against my back, and I love the way he runs his fingers through my hair. Gosh, he makes me so happy. I look up at him and feel like I’m going to start crying tears of joy again, just like before.

  He leans down and kisses me before I get a chance to. “I’m always going to treat you like a princess,” he says to me. “Don’t you ever worry about a thing, Lily.”

  And I know he will. He’s my dream guy brought to life. He’s my everything. He’s my hero, and he always will be. I’m so in love.

  The End

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