Don't Stop Now

“Norah… Norah… wake up…”

My eyes opened. As I turned to my other side, holding the blanket close to my body, I waited for my vision to clear to only see a beautiful boy sitting at the foot of my bed.

“Garrett,” I said, smiling. He got up and sat down closer to me. With his hand, he rested it lightly behind my ear and rubbed my cheek with his soft touch. Without saying a word, he leaned down and kissed me. His lips were just how I remembered them, soft, and his kiss was gently as always.

As he pulled away, he tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear and smiled. “I missed you.”

I quickly sat up and ran my hand through my messy hair. I looked at Garrett and bit down on my lip. I did that every time I was concerned, but whenever I was with him, I just did it because he liked it.

“Can I just apologize for acting like a total bitch?”

He laughed, “Why are you apologizing?”

“For the way I acted when you poured your heart to me the day you guys left. I shouldn’t have acted like that. It was stupid, immature and I just regret it.”

Garrett grabbed my hand and gently rubbed his thumb over mine. “Fuck regrets, Norah.”

“I know, but that day… the way I was acting… I felt horrible and sad and angry…”

The boy squeezed on my hand and lied down next to me. “You do not know how much I missed your run-on sentences.”

I laughed softly and rested my head on his shoulder. Garrett always forgave me, even if I did ridiculous things. No matter what, he managed to dig deep down into the situation and find the happiness and the positive side of it.

“I missed you, and I’m sorry again.” I said, kissing him lightly on the cheek.

He held up my hand and laced our fingers together before my eyes. I smiled and watched as our laced fingers played in the air. This setting was the most perfect setting yet: Garrett and I lying down together, fingers intertwined, missing each other, loving each other…

Outside in the living room, I heard the rest of the guys talking to each other and my parents. I really wanted to go see them, but I was too comfortable and everything I ever wanted was lying right next to me. I knew this was something I had to cherish.

“Gary…” I whispered.

He turned his to look at me and lifted his glasses up against his face. He didn’t have to say a word for me to know he was listening. Just the way his eyes connected with mine told he was giving me his full attention.

I started off slowly, “I love you too.”

Garrett’s lips curved upward before leaning in closer to me and placing a soft kiss on my lips. I closed my eyes and pulled him back in, wanting more. He didn’t argue with that since his arm quickly hooked around my waist and pulled me closer. Our faces so close, our lips touching, and our bodies pressed against each other; I felt him smirk against my lips as we pecked one last time before sitting up. Slowly, he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and rubbed my cheek before kissing me once more.

A second after we sat up, John and Kennedy came rushing into my room, with big smiles on their faces. “NORAH,” they both shouted before throwing themselves on my bed, pushing passed Garrett and wrapping their arms around my tiny frame.

“We fucking missed you,” John said. He held my shoulders and pulled away. “Don’t ever do that again. Don’t EVER fucking leave us again, got that babe?” I laughed as I nodded my head and then turned to Kennedy who gave me a hug. “Please don’t do that again, okay?” I smiled as I kissed him softly on the cheek.

“You don’t love me?” John asked, pulling off his baby face. I rolled my eyes and said, “Of course I love you John. I love all of you guys. You’re all my babies.” I leaned forward and kissed his nose. He grinned like child and stood up, playfully shoving Garrett’s shoulder. “You got a good girl, kid. Take care of her.”

I blushed as John left my room. Kennedy got up and kissed my forehead before telling Garrett something similar. “She’s something special, Gare.” As we watched him exit, I looked at Garrett and snuggled up against him. His arm, once again, went around my waist and his fingers played with the hem on my t-shirt.

“I think I should go say hi to Pat, Tim, and Jared.”

“Jared went to go see Tessa. He’s going to be back before tonight though. We’re all going to Moose’s house for drinks.” He said, kissing my neck softly.

I tilted my head back and rested it on his shoulder. With my eyes shut and a smile on my face, I said, “But you don’t even drink babe…”

Garrett chuckled. “I was thinking maybe you and I can do a little something while everyone gets drunk…”

“What do you mean?” I asked, picking my head up and turning to him.

He winked and leaned closer. “Come on Norah… you know.”

It came into my mind as soon as he said that. I raised my eyebrow and looked the other way. “You want to have sex with me?”

Garrett laughed softly and ran his hand underneath my shirt. He rubbed his thumb against my skin and went upward. I felt myself shiver, but I didn’t say anything to him. I thought about it. He looked at me, “I think it’s a perfect time.”

“Really?”

“Well, we’ve been friends for a long time. We know everything about each other. I love you, you love me. Besides we’ve seen each other naked before – ”

“I’ve never seen you naked!” I exclaimed, hitting Garrett with a pillow.

He laughed and set the pillow down. “Okay, okay… well I’ve seen you naked. And I have to say, you are fucking beautiful. And your ass… is…”

“Don’t. Please don’t.” I laughed, covering my face with my hands.

After that, it got quiet. Garrett was looking down at the pillow I hit him with. I was fiddling with my hands and slowly, my eyes locked with his.

“So what do you say?”

“Umm… I gotta go see Pat!!” I shouted, ignoring the subject and quickly jumping off my bed and towards my door. I left Garrett alone in my room as I ran out into the hallway. Pat and Tim were in the living room talking to our parents and John and Kennedy. When Tim saw me running towards him, he got up with a big smile on his face. I jumped into his arms and wrapped my legs around his waist.

“BROTHER! I missed you dearly,” I said into his shoulder. Tim squeezed me one final time before setting me on the ground. He kissed my forehead and said, “I missed you too. Ready for the final Warped date?” I nodded and hugged him again prior to hugging Pat.

Pat smiled as he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and mine went around his waist. “God, you do not know how much I missed you, little sister.”

“I missed you too Patty cakes.”

“We’re all going to Moose’s in a bit, but we’re waiting for Jared. You should get your bags into the bus now so you won’t forget.” Tim said, then continuing his conversation with mom and dad. Our parents were always excited to see Tim and Pat. They had stories that they wanted to tell and the guys had their own stories they wanted to share with our parents. I always tried to keep the parentals entertained when my brothers were gone. It wasn’t hard; they always worked and they promised to take me out to dinner, which they always did so I would tell them what the guys had texted me or told me that day. I did whatever it took to make sure they were okay with having their two sons gone for half a year.

After talking to my brothers, I casually walked back to my room only to see Garrett lying down with his hand on his stomach and his other arm across his face. I shut the door as soon as I walked in and crawled into bed next to him.

“I’m scared Garrett.”

He picked his head up off my pillows. ‘Why?”

“Never mind…” I shrugged.

“So is that a yes?” He asked, sitting up now and reaching out for me. I leaned in forward and wrapped my arms around his neck. I breathed heavily against his neck and said, “I want to do it.”

“You do?”

I nodded and kissed his neck. I was scared, but it was Garrett. I knew he was going to take good care of me.

Tonight