Havana nights : together again

Will you?

Next morning, Katie woke up early to a knock on her door. Still groggy, she dragged herself out of bed and cracked the door open to the tantalizing aroma of coffee. Her foggy mind cleared just a little to see Javier's warm smile. Her heart skipped a beat and some of the heaviness from the night seemed to return with an added tinge of nervousness.

She breathed in the scent of coffee. "You're a saint," Katie said sheepishly.

"And you... my love, unfortunately, look horrible. Did something happen last night?"

She felt embarrassed and ran to the mirror and saw that her eyes were swollen from all the crying last night. She sighed.

Javier came behind her and hugged her. He lifted her chin to him, turned her toward him and kissed her gently on the lips. Katie felt his warmth and felt slightly more comforted. She wanted to stay in these arms forever. She knew.

"Go take a shower, then come have some coffee and breakfast. The shower should refresh and relax you some. You will feel a little better. Then when you are ready, we can talk. You can tell me what's on your mind. But not any sooner."

Katie left the room and headed for the bathroom. She felt better seeing Javier but her head was still filled with jumbled emotions. She felt the anxiety of the alarms still ringing in the back of her mind. Once in the bathroom, she got into the shower and turned on the hot water. She let the water slowly relax her body and release some the tension from her shoulders.

When she finally got out, she faced herself in the mirror. She was starting to look better. She straightened her back and lifted her chin. This was no time to feel defeated, she had to be strong and keep on moving forward. She wasn't alone in this. She was with Javier now and they wanted to be together. They both knew getting back together and staying together would not be easy and would require work and perseverance. They both felt the same and felt it with the same force, they will move together and work it out somehow.

Katie came back to find a nice breakfast spread out for her and Javier was sitting at the table looking out the window. He seemed tired too. He had worked a double shift and still came to see her early in the morning. When he heard her, he turned around, smiled and reached out his hand to her. She went to him and landed soften in his lap and they kissed.

Their kisses started gentle and comforting, but then deepened. Warmth emanated wherever he touched her. He held her close and tight. Neither of them wanted to let go. With everything going on, the emotional embers turned into flames. As if unable to contain his feeling any longer, Javier roughly picked her up without taking his mouth away from her and dropped her in the bed, falling with her and crushing her below him. He wanted her. She was pinned beneath him, but she welcomed his weight, feeling him in real in her arms. Katie accepted him all and she felt all her emotions overflow. They communicated their raw emotions for each other with their bodies.

After they were cuddled in bed exhausted. Javier stroked her hair. She took a breath and started to talk. She recapped all there that happened yesterday. Javier quietly and steadily listened to her as she told her story. Finally, when she was done, he closed his eyes and held her tight and close to his chest. She listened to his steady beating heart.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't here for you last night, love."

"I know. It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known."

"I wish I did."

"You know now."

"Yes. Katie, my love, you know, you are not alone. I will do anything to stay with you. Let's think about it and face this together. I love you so much. I can't imagine a life without you in it. Being apart and coming back together... You are what is most important to me now."

"Are you sure?"

"Do you doubt me?"

"No."

From his embrace, she peered up at him and looked him in the eyes.

"Then will you marry me?"

"Katie... Are you sure? I can't offer you anything. I don't even know how or what will happen next. Your family will probably not approve."

"Like you said we can't be separated again."

"This way we can stay together no matter what we decide and there will also be more options."

"Are you rushing marriage for these more options?"

"It doesn't matter. Still now, I still can't believe that I was given a second chance to come back to Cuba. Not only that, but I came back and found you. We were meant to be. We both know how it was being apart. All I know, is what I need is you. We will face the issues as they come. The idea of going back to a life without you is what is unbearable. Like you said, we can face the problems as they come. Together. I want to be by your side, wherever life takes us or puts in our way."

"I will not say no to you. Yes, of course, I will marry you. I love you more than words can ever describe. If you will have me as your husband, I am more than honored to have you as my beloved wife. This is my unspoken wish I was afraid to dream of. You are the love of my life. Whatever fate has in store for us, we will face it together."