2 | ONE MORE | MINIMINTER

FIFTEEN

FIFTEEN

Dallas grinned as soon as they met eyes, pushing under James' arm to escape and pull Simon into an extremely tight embrace. Her face buried into his neck and, immediately, she breathed in his smell of cologne that she liked to think he'd worn especially for her. It was more than a hello, it was a reassurance.

"I'm glad you came," She said, her voice mumbled against him. It vibrated through him. He almost missed it when she pulled away. "Do you want to come in?" Her hand lingered on his forearm and the smile on her lips reminded him of the time she'd surprised him at his football match.

So, he smiled, ignoring the glare from James who was retreating down the corridor, and said, "Of course."

"Great," Dallas replied, already turning away.

She lead him into her apartment. It was all fresh, white and expensive; he hadn't expected anything less from Dallas Edlen, the daughter of a millionaire investor. Everything was spotless too: looked as if it had never even been lived in. Maybe she'd cleaned it especially for him, maybe she was just a clean person.

Maybe he was overthinking things.

"Tea or coffee?" She asked, already in the kitchen with the kettle open at the sink. "Oh, take a seat on the sofa, if you want."

"Coffee, thanks," He responded, kicking his shoes off at the door and walking towards the sofa. When he sat back in it, he hadn't expected to sink right into it. It was plush, inviting and undoubtedly difficult to leave.

He looked around the room. Most of the walls were blank except for one where a large photograph print was framed. It was a photo of Dallas, her dad, her mum and her brother Adam with matching grins and gleaming eyes. They looked happy. He wondered how old she was when it was taken, and how long after it everything crumbled down to her feet.

"I remember that day like it was only yesterday," Dallas said from behind him. She was looking at the photograph, too. Her lips were pressed thinly into a smile that didn't even come close to the one in the picture and her fingers clutched the tray tightly. "Things change though, huh?"

"Yeah. It's crazy how things can change so suddenly," He agreed as she lowered the tray onto the table. Dallas picked up the remote and flicked on the TV to a random show: A cooking show, but maybe it was just background noise to fill the silences that kept falling between them.

"I miss him a lot still," Dallas said, standing there with the remote clutched in both hands gazing at the photograph. "Sometimes I forget that he's really gone." She sat back into the sofa, sighing. "With the whole James thing out there," She said, gesturing to the door. "It wasn't what it looked like. He just turned up. I didn't invite him here or anything."

"Are you, um... Are you going to get back with him now that you're back?" Simon couldn't help but ask. It had been on his mind even before he'd seen them together.

But he knew it was stupid as soon as Dallas grinned and said, "There's only one person that I want to get back with and you already know who that is, Simon." She looked at him, her head resting on the cushion and her hair in her eyes, but he could see the way they glinted with a reignited light that didn't dare flicker or fade. Never again.

Dallas wiped the smile from her face and sat up, crossing her legs and taking the coffee mug into her lap, holding it between both of her hands. "Look, there's a lot of reasons why I'm back, but I don't regret coming back."

"Don't you miss it? Don't you miss your dad?" Simon asked.

"Oh, I miss him everyday," She replied, glancing down into her coffee. "But he's moving on with a new wife and, probably, new children. So, maybe it's time I finally flew the nest and made a name for myself."

"He's not going to replace you. He raised you, he loves you and he would do anything for you."

"You don't know that," She snapped. As soon as she'd said it she looked away from him, tears burning in her eyes. "Sorry," She mumbled.

"It's ok," Simon replied.

"No, it's not, but thanks." She sipped her coffee. It was hot against her lips, swelling against her tongue and burning down her throat, but the pain distracted her from the tears in her eyes and the thought of her father and she forced a smile onto her lips as she asked, "Simon?"

His name was sweet like honey on her tongue.

"Yeah?"

"You're not seeing anyone right now, are you? Like, you're not in a relationship, are you? Because, if you are, then I need to know before I make an absolute twat out of myself."

He sighed, leaning forward to take her mug from her hand and place both of their coffees on the table. Maybe it would be easier when he said this that she didn't have a boiling hot beverage in her hands, just in case.

She didn't like the look on his face.

Simon sat up in front of her and slipped his hand onto her hand, which she relished in. The touch was one she'd missed. The way his warm fingers slid across the back of her hand, along her knuckles and over the backs of her fingers sent tingles rocketing through her entire body. She had to fight to keep her eyes locked on his. Looking down at them would make the feeling worse.

"Dal," He began. He swallowed, she saw it bounce in his throat. "I wouldn't be here if I was seeing someone else." She smiled. "But that doesn't mean I want to get right back with you again. You haven't been back long and I don't want to rush into things because I don't know how I'd cope if it all blew up in my face again."

Although her smile faded into a much more delicate upturning, she said, "That's ok, Simon. All I want is another chance." She turned her hand over beneath his, interlocking their fingers. "I want you to know that I want this to work more than anything else in my life right now." Her voice was quiet, low and the appeal was unending.

The way he leant towards her was painfully slow, but she didn't dare move. This was what she'd been craving for far too long. She'd missed the way his lips felt on hers and now here they were again, back to where they were all that time ago when they were just kids with eyes bigger than their stomachs.

As he leant towards her, his eyes flickered between her eyes and her lips. It was as if he was expecting her to push him off, but all she wanted to do was grab a hold of him and kiss him like she was going to die tomorrow, like her life depended on it.

When she gently squeezed his hand, he let out a simple, breathy laugh that fanned against her lips before her pushed his mouth against hers. She tasted like coffee as she kissed him back, smiling all the while, wrapping her arms around his neck. Dallas even swore she felt a blush rise to her cheeks as he kissed her harder, his hand holding her waist whilst the other clutched her hand tighter.

God, she'd missed him, and now the little taste was more than enough to confirm that he was exactly what she wanted. No one could compare.

When he drew back, she caught herself from lurching forwards to reattach her lips to his and to push him back onto the sofa, to take it all the way and more because this was the man she'd fallen in love with and never fallen out of love with.

But, instead she smiled and rested her forehead against his.

"Wow," Was all she said, but her heart was racing and her stomach flipping all from a simple kiss.

The effect he had on her was immense, but she didn't care.

-

1373 words
i love them so much. you don't understand how badly i want them to be together omgg