The Way We Were (A Jeffrey Dean Morgan Story)

Chapter 39

"Alright, I can't handle it anymore. I've had enough," I said as I sat back in my chair and pushed my plate away from me. Jeffrey had taken us to a quiet italian restaurant near the water. We were sitting out on a balcony over looking the water. Candles were lit all around us. We were the only ones here.

I didn't even want to know how much all of this was costing him. Jeffrey grabbed the last few bites of my pasta and ate them himself. He placed all of our dirty dishes to the side of the table and reached for my hand. We had been here for a couple hours now and there was a small part of me wondering how Charlie was doing.

"She's fine," Jeffrey whispered as his hand wrapped around mine. "How'd you know?" I asked him with a smile as I turned my attention to him. His smiled in return. "It's written all over your face," he said. I sighed as I squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry, I'm just not used to her staying with people that isn't you, Brittany, or me," I said.

"It's not like you don't know Hannah," he said. I shrugged. "I know, trust me, I loved Hannah like she was my own niece at one point. It's not that I don't trust her. It's just gonna take some getting used too," I said. Jeffrey stood up and gently pulled on my hand. I stood up and he walked around to my side of the table.

"Come on, let's go for a walk," he said as he brought me to a set of stairs that lead to the water and sand. As soon as we hit the bottom step I stopped Jeffrey and used him as support to take off my shoes, not wanting to get sand in them. Jeffrey laced his fingers with mine and pulled me gently towards the water.

There was a gentle breeze in the air and the smell of salt water was all around. We made it to the edge of the water. I sucked in a sharp breath as the cold water touched my feet. Jeffrey chuckled and took his shoes off as well. He placed his shoes in one hand and grabbed my hand with the other.

The sun was setting out across the water. There was one small sail boat out on the water. At least I thought it was small. It was really far out there but it seemed on the smaller side. I shuttered just as the wind picked up a little bit. "Cold?" Jeffrey asked me but before I could answer he was already taking off his jacket and placing it over my shoulders.

It smelled like him and I was instantly comforted by it. Jeffrey wrapped an arm around me and I leaned into his side."Did you have a good dinner?" Jeffrey asked me. I nodded into his side and looked up at him. "I did, it was really good," I said. Jeffrey smiled and kissed my forehead. "Good, I'm glad," he said while turning his attention to the water.

It fell silent between us. The sun was just barely peaking over the water and I knew that it was going to get dark soon but I was letting Jeffrey lead the way to whatever he was wanting to do tonight. Jeffrey's hand slowly ran up and down my jacket covered arm. Jeffrey slowly came to a stop and then faced me.

His arms wrapped around my waist and he pulled me close to him. "Hi," he whispered. I barely heard him as the water was making its way closer to the us as the night started to come in quicker. "Hi," I whispered back while wrapping my arms around his neck. "Hi," he whispered again while pulling me closer.

I chuckled. I felt like I couldn't get any closer but Jeffrey was making sure of it. "Hi," I whispered just as his forehead rested against mine. Jeffrey cracked a small smile. "I'm going to kiss you now," he said as I felt his warm breath against my face. I felt my heart beat speed up. I felt like it was going to pound out of my chest.

"Okay," I whispered. I felt like I swallowed the word because Jeffrey's lips were quickly on mine. His arms squeezed me around my waist and I started running my hands through his hair. Jeffrey groaned as his tongue slipped into my mouth. I gladly welcomed it. Jeffrey's fingers imprinted themselves into my hips.

Our shoes had been dropped in the sand but they were long forgotten. I wouldn't be surprised if they hadn't already drifted out to sea. Jeffrey pulled back and I felt my head going towards his not wanting the kiss to be over. Jeffrey's hands made there way to my cheeks and I slowly opened my eyes to look up at him.

"I love you," he said. I could feel my eyes widen. Did he really just say that? I felt my cheeks go hot under his hands and I looked away from his eyes. "Hey," he said while dipping down to my level so that he could look at me. His head followed mine until our eyes connected again. "I love you," he said more firmly.

I bit my lip as I felt tears well up in my eyes. "Hey hey, don't cry," he said as he started wiping the tears away that quickly fell. "I can't help it," I said softly. Jeffrey smiled. "Saying I love you is a good thing," he said. I chuckled. "I know it is, I just thought I would never hear you say it again," I said.

Jeffrey leaned forward and connected our lips again in a sweet kiss. "I love you," he said as he pulled back. A huge grin was plastered on his face. I didnt't know what to say to him. It's like it was sitting on the tip of my tongue but I couldn't bring myself to say it back to him. I sighed and took a step back.

"Oh no, I know that sigh," he said as he tucked his hands into his pockets. "No no, you don't know that sigh," I said. Jeffrey chuckled. "But I do. It's the upset sigh," he said. "No, it's not that. I'm not upset at all," I said. Jeffrey's eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "Then what is it?" he asked me.

"I want to say it back, but I can't bring myself to say it," I said as I looked down at my feet. I wiggled my toes in the sand like a child feeling the sadness come over me. "Hey," Jeffrey said as his hand came to my chin. He tilted it upwards until I had locked eyes with him. "What?" I asked him quietly.

He pulled me into him and gave me a long, strong hug. "It's okay, you don't have to say it back. It doesn't make me look at you any differently. Just know that it's how I feel and I haven't stopped feeling that way in a long time. Having you back in my life makes me realize how much I missed our time together," he said.

I nodded as he pulled back and grabbed my hand. "Come on, let's keep walking," he said as he pulled me gently. We turned around and started walking back towards the restaurant. I knew that Jeffrey's car was sitting in the parking lot. Was our night coming to the end? Did I ruin everything?

Jeffrey squeezed my hand and I looked up at him. "Stop thinking, everything is fine," he said we started walking back up the stairs of the restaurant. Jeffrey laid a handful of cash on the table that we were sitting at. I'm assuming it was a tip for our waiter. He pulled me around the building until we were at the car.

He held the door for me as I climbed in his car before shutting it gently behind me. I watched as Jeffrey made his way around to the driver's side and slid in behind the wheel. "Are we heading home?" I asked him as he started his car and headed out of the parking lot. Jeffrey shook his head and turned the radio on to play softly in the background.

"No, we have one more place I want to take you," he said. I looked over at him. "Oh yeah? Where's that?" I asked him while looking out the window. He adjusted in his seat before hitting his turn signal. "That would ruin the surprise, wouldn't it?" he said as he stopped at a stop sign. I cracked a smile and sat back in my seat letting him take control.