I've Missed you

PAIGE

6:40 PM. I'm ready. Fully dressed. Hair done. Makeup perfect. Standing in front of the mirror like a statue.

Sadie leans against my doorframe, arms crossed, grinning. "You know it's 6:40, right? He said 7."

"I know."

"So you're just gonna stand there for twenty minutes?"

"I'm punctual." I smooth my dress. "I've always been punctual."

"Girl, you're anxious. There's a difference." She walks over and fixes a strand of my hair. "You look beautiful. He's gonna lose his mind."

My phone buzzes.

Marcus: Outside whenever you're ready.

"He's here," I breathe.

"Then go." Sadie pushes me toward the door. "Text me everything."

I grab my purse and hurry downstairs. Marcus stands by his car, hands in his pockets. He looks up when I walk out and his whole face changes.

"Wow." He says it like a breath. "Paige. You look... beautiful."

"Thanks." I smile. "Where are we going?"

He opens the passenger door for me. "Somewhere special."

I slide in. He closes the door and jogs around to the driver's side. The engine purrs to life.

We drive. Small talk at first. How was work. How was his day. Normal stuff. Then his hand finds mine on the center console. He squeezes gently. I squeeze back.

Time passes. I don't know how long. I'm too busy watching the city lights blur past and feeling his thumb trace circles on my skin.

He pulls up to a restaurant. I look at the building. My heart stops.

"This is..." I can't finish.

Our first date. Ever. The place he brought me freshman year when we were just starting. Italian food. Cheap wine. The night I knew I was falling for him.

I turn to him. He's watching me nervously.

"You remembered," I whisper.

"Of course I remembered."

I grab him. Hug him tight right there in the car. He laughs and hugs me back. His arms around me feel like coming home.

"Come on," he says softly. "Let's go inside."

He opens my door. Helps me out. Pulls out my chair like the gentleman he is. The restaurant looks the same. Maybe a little updated, but the feel is there. The table in the corner. The candles. Us.

We order. We talk. Laugh. Remember old times. It's easy. It's always been easy with him.

Then he gets serious.

"Paige, I need you to understand." He reaches for my hand across the table. "When we were together, my parents were on my back constantly. Be the perfect CEO. Marry the right person. Don't screw up the family name. I was drowning."

I listen. Squeeze his hand.

"I chose wrong. I chose them. Their pressure. Their expectations." He shakes his head. "But now I'm the CEO. For real. I run things. The pressure is still there, but it's mine to manage. Not theirs."

He looks at me with those blue eyes. Honest. Open.

"So I'm telling you now. No lies. No excuses. I want you back. I never stopped wanting you back."

Marcus never lied to me. Not once in the two years we were together. That's the thing I loved most about him. And hearing him now, hearing the truth in every word, makes me want to kiss him so bad my heart hurts.

I said I'd let him down slowly. That was the plan.

Who was I kidding?

"I'm willing to try." The words come out before I can stop them. "I want to try."

His face breaks into this huge smile. He pulls me into a hug right there at the table.

Oh boy. What about Haruto?

That thought floats through my mind. But then Marcus is hugging me and I'm hugging back and—

I kiss him.

Bold. Stupid. Amazing.

His lips meet mine. Soft at first. Then deeper. I'm in trouble today. Big trouble.

He kisses me back like he's been waiting forever. His hand cups my face. My fingers grip his shirt.

And suddenly I want more.

All of it. Right now.

— — —

MARCUS 

I kiss her and it's familiar. Her lips. The way she tilts her head. The little sound she makes in the back of her throat.

I want more. So much more.

But we're in a restaurant. So I pull back. Slowly. She looks at me with those dark eyes, a little dazed, a little drunk on the moment.

The rest of the date passes in a blur. We eat. We talk. We laugh. She tells me about her job. I tell her about taking over the company. It's easy. It's always been easy with her.

But I'm watching her. The way the wine makes her cheeks pink. The way she gestures when she talks. The way she looks at me like she used to.

Time to leave.

I help her up. She's steady but soft. Paige was never really good with wine. Not drunk. Just... loose. Relaxed. The tension she carries everywhere finally gone.

In the car, she leans her head back and sighs.

"I don't want to go home," she says.

I glance at her. "I should take you home."

"Sadie will be there. She'll ask questions. I don't want questions." She turns to me. "I want..."

She doesn't finish. Doesn't need to.

My phone rings. Sadie. I answer because she'll just keep calling.

"Marcus." Her voice is firm. "Take her to your place. She's stubborn and if you bring her here she won't leave the car. Trust me."

"She told you to call?"

"Paige texted. Just take care of her."

The line goes dead.

I look at Paige. She's watching me with a small smile.

"Sadie says I'm stubborn."

"Sadie's right."

I change direction. Toward Central Park. Toward my penthouse.

I'm happy. That's the thing. I got her back. She's here. In my car. Coming to my place. After a year of regretting every decision that led to losing her, she's here.

I pull into the garage. Help her out. Lead her to the elevator.

She follows. Quiet. Watching me.

The doors close. We're alone.

She kisses me. Not soft. Demanding. Her hands grab my jacket, pull me closer.

I kiss her back. Just as demanding. Just as desperate.

Her fingers find my tie. Tugging. Undoing. Buttons come next. She's not gentle and I don't want gentle.

My hand finds the zipper of her dress. Pulls it down. The fabric loosens around her.

The elevator dings. Our floor.

We don't make it to my door.

By the time the elevator stops, we're out of our clothes. Pieces on the floor. Dress. Shirt. Tie. Shoes.

Fuck.

I kiss her again. Her body is familiar. I remember every curve. Every sound. Every way she moves. And I'm losing myself in her. Finding myself too.

My hand finds her thigh. Lifts. She's light in my arms. Her legs wrap around my waist. Her hands grip my neck, bracing.

I press her against the elevator wall. Cold metal. Warm skin.

I'm hard. So hard. I want her so bad it hurts.

"I want you," she breathes.

"I know."

My dick finds her pussy. She's wet. Ready. I push in.

She's warm. Tight . Just like I remember. 

She forgets to breathe. I feel it. The way her body tenses, then relaxes. The way her pussy grips my dick inside.

God, I missed her.

She gasps. Moans. "Marcus..."

Hearing my name from her mouth makes me harder. I thrust into her. Over and over. The elevator shakes with us.

"Fuck..." She moans again. "Marcus..."

I bury my face in her neck. Kiss her skin. Taste her.

"Fuck... Paige."

"I missed you so much." The words are breathless. Broken. Perfect.

I kiss her. Swallow the sounds she makes.

"I missed you too."

I slam into her. Over and over. The only sounds are flesh and breath and the quiet hum of the elevator stuck on our floor.

Her body convulses against me. Her nails dig into my shoulders.

I welcome the pain.

"Mar... cus.

..!"

Her orgasm hits her. I feel her cum over my dick. I feel the way her pussy tightens. The way she shakes.

I follow her over the edge. Buried inside her. Cumming.

We stay there. Pressed against the wall. Breathing hard. Her forehead against mine.

I found her again.

And I'm never letting go.