“I was so mad and hurt when you left,” I swallowed audibly. “But I couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t get my bearings. Somehow, being there, feeling close to you, well, it helped,” I admitted.
I heard his pillow rustle as he turned to face me. “Thinking about you sleeping in that empty garage will break my heart for the rest of my days, babe,” he rasped.
I turned my head to meet his heated gaze, surprised and warmed by the passion I saw reflected in the dark depths of his eyes.
I looked back up to the ceiling. “So where were you?” I asked, feeling finally brave enough to ask the question that would lead us into uncertain territory.
He sighed and I heard the familiar rasp of his hand moving over the whiskers on his chin. “Spain, for a while anyway. I went to go track down my father and his family,” he told me.
My eyes opened wide, that wasn’t what I had been expecting. All he’d told me in the past was he’d never met his father. His mother, who was American, had a one-night stand with his father while on vacation. She came from money, and it was a huge scandal when she’d let a Spanish man knock her up after one night. She’d then had Sal here in the U.S.. His dad had never been in the picture.
“And, were you able to?” I asked quietly.
“Yeah,” he nodded, rubbing his hand along his jaw as though lost in thought. “I met him and my grandma, some of my aunts and cousins, too.”
“What’s your father like? How was it meeting him?” I propped myself up on my elbow unable to hide my curiosity.
He shrugged and I could tell he was already shutting down. Part of me felt deeply disappointed, hungry as I was for knowledge about him, while the other part felt relieved he’d opened up at all.
If I was zeroing in on my question threshold for the night, I had one more I had to get out.
“What made you come back?” I asked somewhat hesitantly.
He rolled to his side, his warm eyes only inches from mine. “Isn’t it obvious by now? I came back for you,” his deep voice replied. “I thought I couldn’t breathe before - all my life I felt that way. I knew I needed to try to figure my shit out. But it wasn’t until I left you that I realized all the good air’s with you,” he admitted with a half-smile before turning back to the ceiling.
I stared at him in shock at his admission. Not only at what it meant, but the fact he’d admitted it. It was so honest and sweet.
But I was still confused about something. “If you came back for me, if you thought about me, then why didn’t you call?” I asked.
“I couldn’t.” He shook his head sadly. “If I heard your voice, I knew I’d lose my focus and head straight back home. I had to finish what I started, and I had to do it alone,” he explained. He looked at me with wide, earnest eyes. “Do you think you can forgive me? Can you come to a place where you can try to understand?”
Could I? I knew if we were going to make another go of it, I couldn’t hold this over his head. I had to try to move past it and forgive him for leaving the way he had. It would take time, but I was willing to do it for him. I swallowed and looked off to the side before I nodded slightly.
He blew out a relieved sounding breath as we sat in contemplative silence.
“That Gavin guy, did you like him?” he asked, surprising me with his train of thought.
I sighed. “He’s a great guy. But, no, I didn’t have any feelings for him.”
”Good,” he answered simply.
“While you were away, were there---?” I swallowed audibly, unable to finish my question about other women.
“No, baby,” he said as he shook his head firmly.
We stared at each other for a few intense moments before I rolled to my back, needing a minute to collect myself. Plus, I was too chicken to make the first move and I knew he was waiting for me after everything between us tonight.
I believed him about the other women. Oddly enough, for Sal and I that had been one of the few things we’d never had issues with. I knew he’d been with his fair share before me. I saw the way the unattached women at the club clamored for his attention. But, once we’d hooked up, Sal’s eyes had never strayed. He’d never paid a moment’s focus to any other woman except me.
“Let’s get some sleep,” he suggested after a while.
“Okay,” I agreed, quietly wishing like hell he’d roll his beautiful body over mine and take me. I’d never had to make any moves with Sal. I was in unchartered territory.
I tossed and turned for hours, not even close to sleep. I tried not to disturb Sal with my movements.
Finally, hours later and exasperated with myself, I got up to get a glass of water. I stood by the sink drinking, and when I started to move, I backed into a hard, bare chest.
I spun around with a small shriek, surprised. I looked up at him and my panties were immediately wet from the carnal expression on his face.