Lingering Kiss

Chapter 21

Days turned into months and the day drew closer. Miles apart, yet still so close; memories of each other taunted them, not just at night but during the day as well. Work was a welcoming break to the long hours of gut-wrenching pain; pain that seemed to have become a resident in both their hearts. It was no longer a discomfort, just a daily reminder that there was someone out there with the power to either destroy them completely or make them the happiest they could be. But the choice had been taken away when she left. Mia wasn't ready to take that risk and she didn't regret leaving.

A new country, a job she loved and the emotional support from her family and best friends was enough. But every time she remembered him; she couldn't help but wonder if all she had was truly enough. Since he moved back to Seattle, she felt like she was walking on eggshells and every time she stayed over at Josie's, she couldn't help but imagine running into him and how that conversation or lack thereof would go.

Fred glanced at his phone when it rang and answered it when he saw who it was.
"I will be there tomorrow." He said before Andre could say anything.

"You better be. I need my best man here helping out. And I already booked an appointment for our fitting which is your job but just this once Freddy."

Fred grimaced; Andre knew he hated when he called him that.
"How's Iz?"

"She's better now that Josie and Mia are here."

Fred's pulse quickened at the mention of her name.
"I spoke to Josie yesterday; she didn't say anything about heading up there."

"Probably because she was coming out with Mia and she figured you would have offered to fly them out here."

"So, Mia was in Seattle." Fred asked and a part of him wondered why that was the only thing he got out of what Andre has said.

"Mia's in Seattle with Josie most of the weekends." Andre said seeing no harm in letting out the truth since they were going to be seeing a lot of each other.

"Josie never said..."

"Dude, Josie loves you but it was Mia's wish not to let you know where she was."

"I would have handled it well if she had told me. I'm not out of control."

Andre was quiet for a moment.
"Are you telling me if Josie had told you Mia was staying over for the weekend, you wouldn't have marched to her apartment and gone macho on Mia?"

Fred thought about that for a second and remained quiet.

"I thought so." Andre said. "Anyway, get yourself over here. Wedding's in two weeks."

"Bachelor's party?"

"Nah. Let's just stay in and relax."

"Your last night as a bachelor, you want to stay in and relax?"

"Pretty much. I'm looking forward to tying the knot with my future wife."

"Same here, future husband." Fred heard Izzy say before he heard a smack of someone's lips.

"Alright. I'm going to hang up now."

"Bye Fred." Izzy said and before he got the chance to reply the line went dead.

"Bye." He said in the silence of his office before placing his phone on his desk.

He needed to be on the jet out tonight so he could get there early. He had his luggage packed and he was heading to the airport after he was done at the office. Vincent had been briefed on everything that needed taking care of till the day before the wedding when everyone would have to fly out to Leicester to attend Andre's wedding.

His thought shifted to who he would be seeing in less than twenty-four hours and his blood became hot at the thought of seeing her.

Mia.

He lifted his hand and hooked his thumb under his chin, his forefinger unconsciously playing against his lips as the memory of their kiss played in his head.

"Fuck, Mia." He said breathlessly, eyes clenched shut. "Are you trying to punish me for something?"

"I'm not." She shook her head, eyes closed with the tears brimming at the surface.

"Then why?"

"I...I can't." She forced out as she lifted her hands to his chest to stop her eyes snapping open just like his.

Fred gazed into her eyes and Mia felt like she was unable to breath at the intensity of his look. His hand left the wall and he caressed the side of her neck, his fingers sinking back into her hair.

"Fred." She said in a painful whisper.

Fred leaned down and for the first time, slowly met his lips to her slightly pink ones. In that one moment everything felt right again, her lips moving beneath his and he continued the slow movement. Her lips were the sweetest thing he had tasted, Fred concluded and he would be a happy man if he could drink from it for the rest of his life.

Mia was lost in the dream like state his torturous kiss had put her in. She tightened her grip on his collar forgetting everything in that moment. His tongue slipping between her lips and moving in sync with hers like they were meant for it; like the perfect tango. Fred's other hand slipped from the wall behind her to her waist and gripped her, pulling her even closer to him. That's when reality hit her like a ton of bricks.

Mia let go of his collar, splaying her hands on his chest, she pushed at him, taking a step back herself and coming up against the wall. She blinked up at him, Fred himself stunned at what had just transpired between them.

She swallowed before she stepped to the side and walked in the direction she had been going before he caught up to her.

"Mia." Fred called oh-so-sweetly as he made to go after her again.

"Don't!" She spun around, her heart racing but her mind set. "Don't follow me Fred. Just...don't."

She said her feelings for him had been a distraction hence her bar result. He felt like he had been sucker punched when he heard that. He had given her the space she had asked for to study and each day he didn't see her, he felt something ache inside him. He was so thrilled with the time they got to spend after her exams. But suddenly she pulled away and if not for Izzy, he wouldn't have gotten to see her before she left Leicester.

Every day, even though he tried not to, he thought about that day and how she had taken a part of him when she left him standing in the middle of the street. As much as he wanted to hate her for making him feel like it was all his fault, he couldn't. She was an essential part of him that he couldn't get let go of. If that isn't love, he didn't know what is.

Love.

He was in love with a woman who blamed him for not making her dreams come true. Now he had to do something to make things right with her. He had to get her back. He had to make her see the good in her feelings for him and not the bad. He needed her. He had been hiding behind the hurt, his work for too long. Now, when he was going to be seeing her after so long, everything decided to come to the surface.

Fred shut his laptop and rose from his seat picking up his phone and his laptop, he made the call.
"Have the jet ready, I'm on my way."

Fred walked out of his office. He couldn't wait to see her anymore. It had been far too long.