Charmed Life

2 months later

It’s nice waking up in the same bed as James. He’s always so warm and protective. It makes it hard to get up in the mornings and make it to class or work on time. We’ve fallen into a comfortable routine.

I go to class or work and he goes to practice. One or two nights, we’re both home in time to have dinner together, but most nights, he has games or I’m late getting out from work. Either way, after a long day, it’s nice to crawl into his arms and just pass out.

And he’s gotten so good at cooking.

“What’s this?” I poke uncertainly at the lump on my plate. James sits down across from me and smiles excitedly.

“Crab stuffed flounder,” he says proudly. I can’t help but smile at his boyish grin. I take a huge bite, not wanting to upset him. His last experiment wasn’t too great. He’d tried to make pad thai, but thought spaghetti noodles would be the same as rice noodles.

They are not.

“Delicious,” I tell him honestly, my mouth still full. His smile widens, and we both dig in. After dinner, we snuggle on the couch in the living room, where months ago, he tackled me to the ground in nothing but a towel.

It’s funny to think how far we’ve come since then.

“Remember the first time you were in here?” James asks, reading my mind and pulling me closer into him.

I roll my eyes.

“All too well. Did you really have to tackle me to the ground?” I rest my head against his chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat.

“Best thing I ever did.”

And it really was the best thing. Me breaking in here and him catching me in the act. If I doubted any of that before, well, yesterday was all the proof I needed.

Some mornings, when I didn’t have work, I’d go watch the guys practice, and then after, they’d all pile in two or three cars and head on back to the house with James and I, where Paul and I would cook a massive breakfast for everyone.

Yesterday, we all converged into the dining and living room as I headed into the kitchen with Paul, whose eggs were preferable to mine, according to an unofficial survey taken by James. My bacon cooking skills, however, was by far superior.

Paul opened up the fridge, whistling slowly as he did so.

“You keep this thing stocked. I’ve never seen this much food in a single fridge before.”

“Because you’re a guy,” I reply. Opening up the oven and putting in the tray of muffins I’d prepare last night. “Although, props to you being able to cook for yourself. God forbid James learns how to make an omelet. It always comes out scrambled.”

Paul chuckles as he grabs two whole cartons or eggs and heads over to the stove. As he starts to crack the eggs into a factory-sized skillet, I start on the bacon.

Half an hour later, Paul sets down the last plate of food on the kitchen counter.

“Fooooooooood!” He calls into the general direction of the living room. Soon, everyone is gathered in the kitchen, plates in hand, dishing eggs and bacon and toast and sausages onto their plates buffet style.

“Best bacon ever,” Pascal says through a full mouth, pointing his fork at me. “I’d take the bacon over the eggs any day.” His bright eyes crinkle in amusement at his own joke as he looks at Paul.

“She’s a keeper,” Marc-Andre jokes in his accent. The other guys murmur through full mouths in agreement as they head towards their scattered seats all over the living room.

James catches my eye from the across the kitchen and smiles. I smile back, not taking Marc-Andre too seriously, but feeling content at his words and James' smile.

.....

Now, as we're snuggled on the couch, I pick my head up to roll my eyes at him, but instead, he leans down and kisses me softly. He pulls away, but I quickly bring my lips to his, kissing him deeply. Sitting up, I wrap my legs around him, fingers intertwining into his hair. I take him in, and feel him against me in every way possible.

His tongue slips in between my lips, and I can taste the wine on him.

"Hey, wait" he says in between kisses. "I want to say something first."

"What?" I ask, distracted and a little impatient. I just want to keep kissing him. I kiss his cheek, leaving his lips free to say what he wants to say.

I can feel his smile, and my lips move back to his ear, kissing my way lightly down the side of his neck.

"Alayna..." he breathes.

"Hmm?" I suck on his neck gently, running my tongue along the little piece of collarbone exposed through the v neck of his shirt. I toy with the hem of his tee shirt, pulling and tugging, letting my fingers brush against his toned stomach. Finally, I lift his shirt up and over his head, discarding it on the carpeted floor where I was once tackled.

James gasps as my lips trail down his chest. Hands on his shoulders, i push him back against the couch, opening up his chest and expanding my playing field.

"Alayna..." he whispers softly.

"Shh... one second."

I take my own shirt off as he watches silently. Reaching behind me, I unclasp my bra and toss it behind me onto the floor. I rise to my knees and position my chest at his eye level. I lace my hands in his hair and pull him against me. He gets the idea, parting his lips I place my nipple inside his mouth. He sucks on my breast, his tongue grazing over my nipple, sending shivers to ripple all over me.

His hands find my hips, gripping them hard and pulling me close. His lips roam down, kissing my stomach and slowly inching his way down. I arch my back and moan, pulling hard on his hair.

"Wait, wait," I gasp. "Didn't you have something to say?"

James stops mid kiss, looking up at me with shining eyes. He just stares, like he's trying hard to remember. Suddenly, i'm being swung back, and i find myself lying down on the couch, James towering over me.

"You are impossible to deal with."

"I know," I tease, placing both hands on his ass, pulling him down so that he's pressed against me. He's ready, and so am I.

I spread my legs, using my feet to kick his shorts off. Naked, he sits back, and I lift my hips to help him slip my shorts off. After that, it's nothing but movement and moaning and me uttering his name over and over as he moves over me.

We fall into a blissful sleep, and whatever James has to say is just going to have to wait til morning. But I'm not worried, because we have all the time in the world.

.....

I'm awaken suddenly when I hear my phone's trilling ringtone. Untangling myself from James while trying not to wake him, I run upstairs, not appreciating now cold it is without any clothes on.

I answer the phone, and my world collapses.

I don’t go back downstairs. Instead, I get dressed and I start packing.

Ten minutes later, James enters my room, fully clothed, to find me hysterically throwing clothes into my backpack, tears streaming down my face.

“Alayna!” He sinks to his knees next to me, pulling me into his arms. “What happened?!”

I break away, continuing to pack vicariously. “I need to go,” I sob. “I need to leave.”

“What? Why?” He frowns, and my heart breaks a little more than it already has.

“Gramps—” I choke on the single syllable. Oh God. Gramps. “Gramps is gone.”

I break down again, shattering into a billion pieces as my new reality sinks in. James tries to hold me again, but I’m angry and I don’t want him near me. I should have been down in Florida with them. I should have been near him.

He’s taken aback, but he gives me space. “I’m so sorry,” he says, his face full of sadness for me. But he doesn’t understand. He doesn’t get it.

I feel horrible. I feel like my insides are on fire, like my whole world just collapsed. But more than anything, I feel guilty for not being there, for saying goodbye, or telling him everyday how much I love him and how much he means to me.

I don’t know what I’ve packed, but my backpack is full so I zip it up. I get up, throwing on a sweatshirt and pulling my hair into a messy ponytail.

“Let me come with you, Alayna. Just –”

“No!” I wheel on him, “I don’t need you to come with me. Just let me go and leave me alone.”

“What the hell?” James is mad now, and stands between the door and me. “I know you’re stressed, but let me help.”

I slip my backpack on, and make my way to the door. Taking a deep breath, I look James straight in the eyes.

“James. For once, please, just let me go. I don’t need your help. There's nothing you can do for me.”

He just stares back at me, and we stand like that for what seems like forever.

“Are you coming back?” It’s barely above a whisper, and I can hardly hear him.

I pause, and let out a huge breath.

“I don’t know,” I tell him honestly.

Without a word, he steps aside.

I give him one last look, then step past him without turning back.