Nora tilts her head up, exposing her neck to me, she closes her eyes and I lean down pressing my lips to her neck as I trail kisses along to her ear, I whisper, “Don’t worry, I’d protect you.”
I don’t expect what happens next as Nora’s lips crash into mine, bruising me with their force, but fuck if I don’t want her just as badly. Her hands are on my shorts, undoing the button and the touch of her fingers against my skin makes me feel like I might explode. I’m hard as a rock now and I know there’s not a chance she can’t feel what she’s doing to me. I shift nervously, but she pulls me close, her mouth colliding with mine once again. She slides her hands under my shirt, dragging her nails down my back making me gasp out loud at her touch. I want to be as close to her as possible, so I slip my hands under her shirt, caressing her skin as I kiss her neck, tasting her, taking in every inch of her. I want her so fucking bad and with each moan that leaves her lips, it drives me closer to her. I need to be inside her.
Nora’s hands return to my shorts and I stop her before she can push them down. We’re obviously both drunk and I need to be certain this is what she wants before we go any further. I pull my wallet from my back pocket and the condom that happens to be stashed in there. It’s cliché as fuck, but I’m grateful it’s there.
“Are you sure?” I ask her before opening the condom. I need her to be sure. I don’t want this to be something she regrets later. It’s something I will remember the rest of my life and I want her to feel the same way.
I’ve slept with more girls than I care to admit to, but right now Nora is the only one who matters. I wait for her response, my heart beating recklessly in my chest, my breathing erratic as I hear her breathe out the word, “Yes.”
Her hand slips into my shorts and my breath catches in my throat as she wraps her soft hand around my dick and begins stroking gently. I’m going to lose it soon, so I remove her hand and replace it with the condom.
She moans loudly and when she exhales, she says, “Yes,” once again. There’s no mistaking that we both want this. I look down and our eyes lock and I see in her eyes all the desire and need that I’m feeling.
Her hands tangle in my hair as I slide mine underneath her, undoing her bra. Right now I wish we were somewhere else. I want to see her beautiful body, I want to take her in and taste her and worship her.
I slide her panties to the side, my fingers trailing down the inside of her thigh as I slowly enter her. I groan out loud at the feeling of being inside her and I pull out and slide back in a second time.
“Fuck,” I moan and Nora claws at my back, her hips grinding against mine as if she needs more. “Slowly, Nora,” I murmur, needing to savor every second with her.
“I need you, Elliot,” she says, breathlessly, her chest rising and falling rapidly beneath me.
I begin to move, slowly at first, but as the need takes over I find myself driving into her, each moan that falls from her lips makes me even harder. Her legs are wrapped around my hips as I move faster. I reach between us, my fingers finding her because I’m not going to last much longer. And in that second, we come together.
I’m exhausted, collapsing next to her; I cover us both with the blanket and listen to the quiet stillness of the night. The stars dotting the blackened sky as Nora breathes softly next to me.
“Why does it feel this way?” she whispers, her head resting on my chest as I run my fingers through her hair. “This intense.”
I don’t even have to think about my answer. I’ve known it since I first saw her at the party, I knew it when she left with me and I still know it. “Because I was meant to find you,” I tell her, completely certain about my words. Nora is the girl I’ve been looking for. She was always supposed to be mine.
Her eyes close and her breathing slows, and when I think she’s asleep, I whisper, “I think I’m falling in love with you, Nora.”
I fall asleep wondering if you can truly fall in love at nineteen with someone you just met.
The answer is yes.
The sun is just beginning to rise when I wake up and find Nora still asleep beside me. I’m smiling so much my cheeks hurt. I guess I thought she might have disappeared before morning, that maybe just maybe I dreamed the whole thing. I’ve never met someone who makes me feel this way, like I want to be around her always.
Soon the beaches will be filled with tourists and surfers, lifeguards and people walking their dogs. I need to get Nora back to my apartment, but I’ll let her sleep a little longer. We still have some time.
“Don’t wake up. Sleep, my beautiful girl,” I say, whispering in her ear as her eyes flutter open. I run my fingers down her cheeks and her eyes close slowly, but a small smile tugs at her lips. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to get coffee.”
I kiss her softly as she mutters, “No. Stay, please.” It’s a plea that makes it so fucking difficult to walk away from her, but I need her to know this isn’t just a one-time thing for me. I need to show her that even though we just met, she means everything to me.
“I promise, I’ll be right back. I can’t live without you, Nora.”
I jog away from her, looking back a few times until she’s no longer in view. I hit up the convenience store, grabbing two cups of coffee and two donuts. I’ve had a huge fucking smile on my face since the moment I met her and I’m sure it’s not going away anytime soon. I know there’s a small flower stand about one block over, the opposite direction of where I left Nora on the beach, but I’ll make a quick stop and get back to her.
I pick up a bouquet of daisies and quickly make my way toward where we spent the night. As soon as I hit the sand, I scan the beach for her, for the place where I put down the blankets but there’s nothing. No sign of her. Just the empty blankets.
I feel my heart stop in my chest, a dull ache of panic takes over. I call her name, my voice strained as I call again and again.
But nothing.
I search the blanket for a note, something to tell me where she went, why she left, but I still come up empty handed.
Maybe it wasn’t what I made it out to be. Maybe I fucked up along the way, drove her away. Maybe it was just a one-night stand. But I know that isn’t true. There was something between us and there still is.
I need to find her.
I stand staring out into the vast emptiness of the ocean, my chest tight and my hand clenched around the flowers. This isn’t over for me, and after what we shared over the last few hours; it wasn’t over for her either.
The flowers fall from hand, the waves pulling them out into the ocean. They disappear from my life just like she did.
Chapter Eleven
Present Day – Chicago
I roll over and find her still asleep beside me. This is a first. She’s usually gone before I even wake up—a luxury of working from home. I silently mouth the date out loud to myself. It’s been twelve years since I lost Nora. I make it sound like she died. It’s fucking pitiful. I should’ve moved on by now, I guess in theory I have, but in actuality, I’m living a life that everyone around me thinks I should have.
Next to me in bed is my fiancé, Bridgitte. We met about three years ago. One of those chance meetings in a bar, that somehow led to something more. We were both drunk and I watched her sing a sloppy karaoke version of “Goodbye Earl”, fancying the adorable way she slurred her words so confidently. I approached her following her less than Grammy-worthy serenade and offered to buy her a drink. She giggled and turned me down, leaving almost immediately afterward. But I wasn’t swayed and when she showed up at the same bar with the same friends the next weekend, I tried again. It was just as big of a failure.