Finding June (29 page)

Every part of my skin he touched or kissed became ignited with heat, the feeling shooting straight to my core. My head was swimming in his touch, his mouth on me. His hands moved down to my jeans and quickly they were taken off, along with his own pants. I moaned softly as I felt his mouth kiss me on my hip bone and felt his hands take off my panties. “Fuck. You taste so sweet. You’re perfect.” Reece’s voice drifted into my already heavy head like a soft lyric from a hymn.

I felt his mouth slowly kiss me tenderly down from my hip bone to my warm center. As soon as his tongue entered me my eyes opened and I arched my back off the bed. His tongue and very able hands were devouring me. He moved his mouth and pushed two fingers into me as his mouth made contact with my clit, sucking and swirling his tongue. Waves of passion rushed through me as I came, filling me with the sensation of pure joy pulsing through my veins. My breathing was erratic and I kept shuddering as I came down from the high, Reece moving up and trailing open-mouthed kisses down my neck. I reached down and lined my fingers around the top of his boxers. He was less patient than me, and reached down and to take them off. We were both finally bare to each other and I took a minute to take him in with my eyes. He was stunning. His body was like a finely tuned machine and I was more than appreciative of it. I ran my hands up his chest and back down to grab his thickness in my hand. I heard him moan into my neck and that sound encouraged me to slowly run my hand up and down him. I heard him softly mumble my name and there was never a sweeter sound.

He raised his head and looked into my eyes. Passion, lust, and love filled his face.

“Are you sure, June?” he asked.

“I have never been more sure of anything in my life,” I replied, looking him straight in the eye. He kissed me with all of the passion he was showing in his eyes, and I felt him reach into the side table for what I was assuming was a condom.

I felt him at my entrance and he looked up at me once again, silently asking again if I was sure. I answered by raising my hips and he pushed inside of me. I gasped at the fullness of him. He slowly moved inside of me, an exquisite torture. I pleaded with him to move faster, his rhythm increasing and the intense pleasure building. I was in a daze of euphoria, our bodies moving together, heat building up, looking for an escape. Finally I fell again, everything coming apart at the seams . Reece came after me, following me off the cliff we had built. His voice echoed in my ears, “My sweet June.”

As we both came down from the high we had created, Reece laid next to me and I cuddled up to him with my head on his chest. We were both breathing hard, and besides the words we had said in passion, we hadn’t said anything.

And the thing was, it was something I needed. With Reece, it wasn’t meaningless words telling me everything would be okay, it was his belief in me that made me feel like I could figure this out, everything really would be okay. Reece didn’t have to say anything, but he had given me everything I needed. His touch made me feel cherished and alive. His thoughtful eyes staring at me made me feel like I wasn’t a girl down on her luck but rather a person who amazed him. And I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel the same way. He really did leave me in awe most days. From the small things he did to the grand gestures, I couldn’t help but admit I had fallen for Reece Day.

As we laid there, our breathing returned to normal and the room became darker as the sun went down.

“Welcome home.” I kissed him on his chest, right above his heart.

He laughed and hugged me closer. “Feel free to welcome me home like that anytime.”

This time I bit him.

He laughed harder and kissed me on the forehead. Snuggling in closer, I traced circles on his firm chest, similar to what he did to me in our times together.

Reece looked down to me and swiped a piece of hair out of my eye, tucking it behind my ear. “I wanted to do this a bit differently. I wanted romance and hearts and flowers, but I guess I got carried away.”

This time it was my turn to show him my smile. “Thank God, because I don’t think I could have waited any longer.”

Reece looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “Excited were we?”

“If we would have waited for the perfect time to be together, for the hearts and flowers, it would have never happened. If you haven’t noticed, things never seem to go my way.”

“Yeah, that is true …” Reece said with a hint of joke in his voice. Shaking my head, I got up and tried to find my clothes.

“Are you excited for tomorrow night?” Reece asked me as I put away the dishes.

“You really are still going to celebrate my birthday? I thought after all that has happened you weren’t up for it.” We were cleaning up after making a simple dinner of chicken and vegetables.

“Of course we’re going to celebrate it. It’s a time for something new, a new year full of possibilities. The fact your place burned down right before your birthday is a sign that twenty-four will be the best year ever.”

“It fucking better be because twenty-three sucked the big one.”

“It wasn’t all too bad, was it?”

“Well, let’s see. I did finish college and got my degree so that was a plus. But I also couldn’t find a job, my boyfriend dumped me on the sandy beaches of Mexico, I ran away from my friends and family in shame, I came back bitchy and resentful, oh … and then I lost all my shit in flames due to a cat named Miss Sprinkles. So, not too bad at all,” I replied, more choked up than I thought. Expressing out loud everything that had transpired in the last year made it seem so real and fresh. I grasped the edge of the counter as the realization of what had happened caused a tightness in my chest, and slowly the tears started to fall. I thought I couldn’t cry another tear after everything happened, but once again I was proven wrong.

“June?” Reece asked. He couldn’t see my face, but his arms came around me anyway. He knew. He always knew what was going through my mind. I turned into his arms and my quiet tears became more pronounce. I clutched his shirt and cried into it as his grasp became stronger. He didn’t say meaningless words; he knew I didn’t need them. Reece simply stroked his hand over my hair, soothing me without words. I cried over the crap life had thrown at me in the last year. I cried over losing myself, the hope I had thought was a guarantee. I was starting to realize nothing was a guarantee.

As the tears started to calm down, I felt Reece place his hand under my chin and lift my head up. He swiped his thumb over my cheek, wiping away the tears that still lingered.

“Tomorrow is a new day, June. Not only is it a new day, it is a new year for you. Every day you get to wake up and start fresh. Let each day being something magical. When I get to see you each new day, I know my day will be brighter. I hope I do the same for you?” he asked timidly.

“In the shit that is my life, you, Reece Day, are the shiny nickel that sticks out of said pile of shit.”

“A nickel? Really? I can’t at least be a quarter?”

“No, because quarters are easy to find. A nickel, though, is smaller and isn’t as easy to see.”

He softly laughed. “You never cease to amaze me with your wit. I just … I …” And he stopped. I was almost positive I knew what he was going to say.

“Say it,” I urged him on. “Say it because then maybe this year won’t be lost after all.” His arms were around me and I had put my hands on his shoulders, an embrace of lovers.

His eyes wandered across my face, taking me in. “June, I heard stories about you while you were away during the summer. The stories don’t even compare to the woman you are. You are a bundle of strength, humor, passion, and love. When you ran into me at work and swore at me, I felt like I had been hit with a ton of bricks. Mostly because you ran into me pretty hard.”

I laughed and kissed him.

He broke the kiss way too soon. “Before you attack me, I’m not done. You came into my life and I haven’t been the same since.” He paused as his eyes swept over me. His look spoke the words he was trying to say.

“I love you. I love you in the quiet times, I love you in the rain, and I love you in the frantic pace of your life.”

It was my turn for me to gaze into his eyes, to tell him I felt the same.

I kissed him on his nose and said softly, “I love your tiny kisses and the constant reassurance. I love how you put up with my craziness, but mostly, I love you.”

And we kissed. We kissed with love and passion, a kiss that was made for movies.

Reece broke the embrace and said, “That moment when you fell asleep on the way back from the winery. The sun lit up your golden hair and you looked so peaceful. It was at that moment I knew I had come home. I had found my home. It doesn’t matter where we are or what is going on in this life, you’re my home. So don’t think because I slept with you I felt like I needed to say this, because you won me over a long time ago.”

I took in his words as we held each other. “Are we crazy?” I barely whispered. “Because we have known each other for a little over two months. Is this crazy?”

Reece kissed me on the forehead, moving his lips down to the spot right below my ear that drove me crazy. “Looking on the outside in, yes it would seem we are crazy. But here … now, holding you, it feels like the most natural thing in the world. I can’t imagine loving anyone else, June.” I kissed him again, my hands finding his.

“Did you know I saw you on your last day?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I was walking in for my first day of work and you bumped into me, but you never looked up. You never saw who you ran into. I turned around and saw your hair light up in the sun. It took me a while to figure you and that girl were the same, but when you were standing on the mountain and the last of the sun shone before it was hidden behind the clouds, I saw the same golden light. I knew it was the same girl. The feeling I had when I saw you that day in May, the feeling like I shouldn’t let you walk out that door because it felt so wrong, made sense. You were never meant to walk out of my life.”

This time there was no need for words. As I wrapped my arms around him and met his mouth with mine, I let him be my home. We laid on the floor of the kitchen and made love, exploring each other’s body with thought and care. There was no rush, just time to show each other the love we had professed.

Afterwards, as we crawled into bed, I threw over the down comforter as it began to get even colder at night. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost midnight. It was almost my birthday and this year was almost over.

While I had cried over all of the things that went wrong, I forgot to rejoice in the things that went right. Reece was definitely something that went right this year. I didn’t want to be in a relationship when I moved home, but Reece crept in and made himself comfortable before I even realized what was going on. I was never so happy to be blindsided before. This was the part where I counted my blessings, the fact I had a roof over my head … well, not mine, but a roof nonetheless. A job, not one in my degree, but a job and that was more than many in the country could say. I had food and clothes … okay, some clothes, but I was warm and not homeless. And I circled around back to the man next to me.

I saw the clock turn midnight and thought about the new day. I turned around and felt Reece put his arm around me, pulling me closer to cuddle. I heard him whisper in my ear, “Happy Birthday, June.”