ELIZABETH. My eyes flutter open and I let out a quiet yawn before turning on my side to see James sleeping peacefully with one hand behind his head and the other draped over his stomach. I haven’t been to my room since our parents left yesterday. We joked around in the living room, played in the kitchen before we retired to his, then kissed each other like it’s the last thing we’ll do on this earth on his bed. We kissed till our lips were bruised and we couldn’t feel each other mouth anymore and our bodies tire out. Then I fell asleep in his arms. It’s just a night without our parents, but everything is already amazing. I smile and extend my hand, then press my face against it as I listen to the small, almost silent sounds that leave his mouth. My gaze darts to his lips and I extend my other hand to his mouth; my thumb caressing his lower lip. He must have felt the touch because his body jerks a bit, a grumble leaving his mouth before the rhythm of him sound asleep follows. I let
ELIZABETH. "I take it as you’re in a good mood if you’re smiling to yourself?" I shut my locker to reveal Louis leaning against the next, and I chuckle. "You can say I am." "Something good happened?" He asks and I shrug. "Not exactly. I just happen to be in a good spirit today." "Hm. If you say so, Elizabeth." He smirks, and I roll my eyes before I part my lips. "What are you doing here?" "Thought we’d walk to the next class together." He smiles as he waves his language notebook in my face and I hum, pushing mine to my chest as I click on the lock to my locker. "There’s a party tonight? Do you want to come with me?" Louis asks as he steps to my side while we stroll down the busy hallway. "No, I’ve got plans." One I’ll enjoy too much. "Oh. I guess it’s just me then." He lets out a short laugh. There’s a second silence before he speaks again. "Also, do you think you can tutor me in chem later? I’m having trouble with some topics." "Ask the teacher. Or just get a private tutor." I
ELIZABETH. I look down at my legs and I can feel the wetness against my panties. I drop my hand to my thigh, and my fingers itch to move further. To pleasure myself and take my relief, but I shake my head. No. Not my touch. Not my fingers. I want James. And I know I’ll have him and he’ll pleasure me in a way that’d leave me wanting more the second it ends. I move down the island after the clench of my thighs to return to the counter. ~ I managed to finish cooking without another distraction from James and now we’re both on the couch in the living room with my plate in hand and James’ eyes on the tv after finishing his meal minutes ago. "That tastes better than I thought it’d turn out," I mumble as I take the last spoon of the rice salad and place the empty plate next to James on the table. "You’re doing the dishes," I tell him and his head snaps to me. "Why me?" "Because I cooked." "I’m cooking tomorrow." "Then I’ll also do the dishes tomorrow," I argue, and he chuckles. "Let
JAMES."Hey," Janet smiles as she brushes her hair off her shoulder. "Can I come in?" She doesn’t let me respond before she walks herself in and I step to the side to give her room.I shut the door before I turn to her and she’s smiling at me. I swear she never stops smiling."I wanted to ask you something. Do you think we can go up to your room?" She asks and I look back at Elizabeth, who’s turned away from us."I–""It won’t take long," Janet promises, and I sigh before I nod. She just had to come at this time.I hear her greet Lizzie as I lead the way to my room and she shuts the door behind us as we stride inside. I stand in the middle with my arms crossed to my chest and Janet strolls closer to me."So what’s it?" I ask her, and she seems rather busy glancing around my room to answer my question."Whose clothes are those?" She questions and I follow her eyes to my bed. I meet her eyes. "Elizabeth’s. She must have forgotten them there. What did you want to ask me?""Oh, right," she
ELIZABETH.James’ hold on me tightens and I moan as I feel his erection poke my thighs now. Any second from now and he’d be fucking me against this wall.Fear grips me at the thought.Not because I don’t want that. Oh, I do want it badly. I’ve always wanted James, but the fear comes from what’d happen after that. After we have sex, will he break this off? Get bored of me? Toss me to the side like he did those girls? Probably get with Janet, since he’s taken everything he wants from me.My heart aches at the mere thought of it, and I find myself sliding off his hold.James holds a confused expression as he stares at me. "You okay?"I clear my throat, my body anything but relaxing. I want his hands back on me. "Yeah. Um– I’m getting kind of cold. I should change out of this." I refer to my soaked clothes, and he smirks as he steps forward. "Yeah? Why don’t we just shower together?"My eyes widen. "What?"He smiles as he hooks his hands around his shirt and pulls it over his head in one t
ELIZABETH. I wake up to James between my thighs. My eyes widen, shocked to see him down there with my legs on his shoulders, and his expression is that of mischief as he raises his head. "You’re awake? Perfect." He smirks and I watch his head disappears between my legs again. "James, what are you– Oh my God." I gasp when I feel his breath near my core. He doesn’t give me a response as he blows on my pussy a few times, then I feel the swipe of his tongue over my pussy lips. "James–" I moan as I begin to sit up on the bed, wanting to have a better view, but he yanks my leg, tugging me down again. I let out a shaky breath, my hands gripping the sheets as James sucks on my clit while his fingers work their way into my opening. "Fuck." I throw my head to the back, locking my legs on his shoulders around his neck, wanting to push him closer and deeper, and James chuckles against me; the sound vibrates against my core, sending shocks of pleasure across my body as I feel myself drip betw
JAMES. Elizabeth is drunk. And she has no idea what she’s saying. I remind myself of that as I stare at her in shock. "What?" I say and she beams as she lowers her head near my ear and I shiver a little when her mouth grazes my earlobe before she whispers, "I think I want your cock inside me, James." The said cock jolts in my pants at those words and I bite my lips as she pulls back. My eyes meet hers and she looks dead serious. No. No, James. She’s drunk. "I– Elizabeth." I sigh as I drop her on her feet and she frowns, sluggishly and unwillingly removing her hands from me. "What? You don’t want to?" Of course, I want to. Christ, I’ve been dreaming about it ever since I saw her in that shirt of mine. I’ve imagined what it’d feel like being inside of her and images of me actually fucking her have flashed in my mind more time than I’m willing to admit every time I’m beside her. Elizabeth turns me on. Her every action makes me horny in a way I’m starting to think it’s unnatural and
ELIZABETH. I wake up with a banging headache. "Fuck." I mumble as I press a hand to the side of my head. I glance around the familiar room and realize it’s James’ as I sit up on the bed. What the hell happened? My eyes dart to the side to see a chest naked sleeping James. His back to the bed, one hand on my thigh and the other on his stomach. I look down at my body, noticing I’m still in the party clothes from last night, and I cuss under my breath, remembering how I had more than I should have. I hope I wasn’t a trouble to James or did anything stupid. "You’re up." His deep voice resonates in the room and my head snaps at him. He smiles at me as he moves a hand to the back of his head. "Good morning." "Good morning. Did I get too drunk?" I ask him, removing my hand from my head, and he chuckles. "Definitely." "Did I do something stupid?" I lift a brow and he tilts his head, a smirk etched on his face as he stares at me without giving a response. "James?" "How much do you re
ELIZABETH.—TWO MONTHS LATER.Miley is saying something about organizing a party for my birthday, but I’m not paying attention as my gaze runs along the words on my screen, my left palm pressed to my cheek. As if she’s right here with me and knows I’m not listening, her voice booms through the speaker, "Elizabeth? You’re not listening to me, are you?"I gaze at the phone on the desk, and the screen reads for fifteen minutes. I think I stopped paying attention around five minutes, but I still lie and say, "Of course I am.""What were my last words?""You were saying…" I trail off and there’s silence on her side. "… something about Darcy and a party.""Elizabeth!" I can imagine the frown on her face as she calls my name and I chuckle, finally grabbing the phone as I lean back in my chair. "Sorry, I’m just busy with work. I really don’t want a party, Mile.""Are you leaving for James?"I purse my lips, a small wave of sadness hitting me and my voice is small when I answer, "No. He’s busy,
ELIZABETH.—FOUR YEARS LATER.I’m nervous.My harsh breathing fills the tiny space of the car and I rub my palms together before I look out the window with my heart racing in my chest.Everything goes past me in a blur. Houses, shops and restaurants. And the closer the car gets me to him, the faster my heart pounds; so loud that I can no longer hear the words the driver is uttering to me.I don’t know why I’m this nervous.Actually, I do. I haven’t seen him in almost a year. It shouldn’t be any big deal since we speak occasionally over the phone; video calls, voice calls, texts. We tried to remain close in every way possible and although I had tried hard to convince myself those were more than enough; I knew they couldn’t compare to seeing him with my naked eyes. Like I’m about to do very soon.I’ve been counting down the days until I’ll stand before James and now that it’s come, I can’t help the nervousness that spikes through me. Along with a tiny fear. I don’t want it to be there, b
Hello loves,First, I’d love to thank you all for being so patient with me on this book. Despite the long gap between the updates and my disappearance, you still waited patiently for James and Elizabeth’s story and no words can describe how thankful I am to have you all. I won’t lie; I wasn’t so sure I’d be able to find the excitement I felt when I first started this book again because I was away from the characters for so long. But I did. I found the spark I had from the beginning and I enjoyed the time I spent writing this book. Thank you all so much for pushing me and forcing me out—though some comments were harsh, I still appreciate them all haha.Now to my updating schedule.It’s been a mess, hasn’t it? I know there’s been too much gap between my updates and you might not believe me when I say this, but I hate missing frequent/daily updates just as much as y’all do. It makes me less disciplined and incompetent when I don’t write as much as I plan to and I especially hate disappoin
ELIZABETH.~A MONTH LATER.We stayed in San Francisco for a week and only left after Lily’s discharge. When we got back to Los Angeles, I could still tell everything that happened back there took a toll on James. Although he tried to hide it, tried to smile more; it was evident everything he learned from his parents had taken something from him and I was scared for a long time he’d never get that back.But he did… or at least he’s trying.His eyes are no longer as dull as they seemed when we first arrived, and I can see the spark in them. Each of the smiles he throws at me now is genuine and he spends less time trying to hide the pain he feels. He’s being himself again—he’s being my James, and he’s back to me.I haven’t felt as at ease as I did six nights ago when he woke me up in the middle of the night and just laid his head on my chest as he cried in my arms. He poured out his pain to me one last time and since then, he can speak about his mom without looking like it’s the last thin
ELIZABETH.James' brows crease at Gabriel’s words, and I squeeze my hand in his as my heart pounds in my chest."What? What are you talking about?" James asks and Gabriel shakes his head, a sad look in his eyes. "I’m sorry, son. She left.""What do you mean, she left?" James' voice raises higher and Gabriel swallows, "I was just—she was here when I arrived. She was asleep, and I just went to the reception to settle the bills and make some inquiries, but when I got back; she was gone. And your sister was crying. She said Zara left and said to not look for her."I feel my heart breaks in my chest for both of them and James' grip on my hand gets increasingly tighter till it starts to hurt but I don’t pull away. He remains silent and just stares at the man before us—who looks just as shaken by the revelation."I’m so sorry, I didn’t—""No." James voices out now and his tight grip starts to loosen. I hear him exhale before he says, "It’s good she left, and like you said; she doesn’t want t
JAMES."I thought you left," Elizabeth sighs in my arms, her grip around me growing tighter and I smile as I finally drop a hand on her back, pressing her closer to me. "And where would I go, love?"She pulls back by a bit so she can look into my eyes and her lips push out as she speaks. "I don’t know. I just thought—""Thought I’d run from you?" I finish for her and when she doesn’t respond, I lean down to take her lips. It’s meant to be just a soft reassuring peck, but Elizabeth moves her hands to my neck, deepening the kiss as her fingers play with the hair at the back of my head and I move a hand to her cheek, tilting her head back so I can plunge my tongue inside her mouth.She cups my neck with a palm, her fingers digging into the skin as she moans into the kiss and I move my free hand to the small of her back; I rest it on her ass as my tongue clashes against hers, heat spreading across my skin at the taste and feel of her.When I feel my pants tightening at the front, I start t
ELIZABETH.He doesn’t stop sobbing as he clings onto me as though he’s afraid he’d drift away if he doesn’t and with each loud cry that leaves his mouth, a piece of my heart breaks for him.I can feel the anguishing pain with each sound that leaves him, and his body shakes in my embrace. I let out a soft exhale as tears roll down my cheeks while I continue to slide a hand down his back, whispering soft promises I’ll do anything to keep. "You’ll be fine, baby. You’re alright. I’m here. I’m here with you."We stay in the position for what feels like long and after a while, his sobs quiet down, but he doesn’t move away from me, his breath hot on my neck and I swallow through the tightness of my throat. "I’m always here with you."The sound of our breathing echoes through the corners of the room and James starts to pull back. He removes his arms from around me but I keep the one hand on the back of his neck as I lift my gaze to stare at him. His eyes are red as he holds my gaze, and I giv
ELIZABETH.I run after him with my heart breaking for him, but he’s just too fast. He dashes through corners quickly before I can even catch up to him, but I don’t stop chasing after him, either.I know this must be too much for him, but I just want to be there for him. I want him to know someone hurts for him. But he doesn’t wait for me to do either of those things.When I rush out the entrance door and stop only a few steps away with my heart pounding in my chest and my eyes scanning the corners, I don’t see him.I don’t see James.The car is here, but he isn’t. He left. He ran without me.I push a hand through my hair before taking out my phone from the back pocket of the pants I have on—his pants. My pulse is racing as I press the phone to my ear after dialing his number, and it rings. It rings and my purse vibrates, reminding me that he left his phone with me on our way here.God, James. Please. Please, just be alright. Don’t do anything stupid and be fucking alright.Please.Drea
JAMES.Everything else shatters around me as I stare at her with disbelief coursing through my veins, wanting more than anything for her to take back those words—to tell me this is some kind of sick joke.She doesn’t.Instead, her tears fall even more as she proceeds to say, "I’m so sorry, Gabriel. I didn’t mean to—" a sob breaks out, and she shuts her eyes tightly. When she opens them again, they’re so red that it’s hard to act like she doesn’t know what she’s speaking about. She does. Oh God, she does."What are you saying, Zara?" Dad’s quiet voice comes, no doubt he’s as frightened as I am. "James is my son. He’s always been. He’s been from his birth, so why are you—""He isn’t." She insists, and I gulp down the bitterness that’s quickly rising in my throat. My hand shakes in hers and I quickly let go, fisting my hands in the fabric of my pants to try to stop the trembling. "I cheated. Years back. I was married to you, but I was in love with someone else.""Zara…""I’m sorry. I kno