The Stella I Remember

19| Unequivocally Beautiful

I've kissed Stella before. 

I've felt her lips brush against mine. 

I've felt her bury her hands in my hair. 

And I've even felt her tongue dance with mine. 

But when I kissed her now, twenty years later, it was like the first time all over again. 

"Why'd you stop?" she whispered when I pulled away from her.

I heard her question, but it took a second for me to process it. Stella's hands were resting on my shoulders, close to the base of my neck. Her body was extremely close to mine. A little too close, actually. We were definitely getting into some dangerous territory. 

"Because..." was all I said back to her. 

"'Because' isn't an answer, Elliot." 

I wet my lips with my tongue. "If I kiss you again—"

"If you kiss me again, what?"

She wrapped her arms around my neck and pushed her body flush against mine. My eyes slid shut, a groan slipping from my lips. 

Fuck, I wanted her. I've always wanted her. I've dreamt of this moment for the past two decades. I've wondered how she would feel in my arms again. I imagined what it would be like to hear her moan my name when she came for me. 

I looked deep into her eyes when I answered her honestly. 

"Stella, if I kiss you again...I won't be able to stop." 

The blue in her eyes turned heated and passion-filled. "What if I don't want you to stop?" 

I was hanging on by a thread—my willpower all but non-existent. "Stella, do you understand what you're saying to me right now? I need to know that you understand." 

If I was standing on dry land, the smile she flashed me would have brought me to my knees. It was the same smile she had when we agreed to meet at the airport all those years ago. 

It was the Stella I remembered. 

"Yes, Elliot," she replied. "I know exactly what I'm telling you." 

"Say it," I rasped. "Say it so I know for sure."

She didn't say it—not at first. Instead, she kissed me. She kissed me so deep that I was the one moaning against her mouth. 

"I want you, Elliot," she breathed. "I want you to take me back to your hotel room...and show me what I've been missing all this time." 

I didn't even hesitate. Before the last word passed her lips, I cupped her face and kissed the hell out of her. I traced the seam of her lips with my tongue and she eagerly parted her lips, letting me inside the warmth of her mouth to taste everything that was Stella. 

My god, she was amazing. More amazing than I remembered. I didn't know if it was because we were older or just because I've been dreaming of this kiss for two decades. 

I didn't care what the reason was. I just wanted more. 

And so did she. 

She wrapped her legs around my waist in the water. I groaned against her mouth when the softest part of her came into contact with a very hard part of me. She dug her hands into my hair, deepening the kiss until I felt like I couldn't breathe. 

Who the fuck needed lungs anyway? 

I tore my lips away from hers. "We can't do this here." 

She smiled and tightened her arms and legs around me. "Then what are you waiting for? Let's get the hell outta here."