Matty's POV
91Please respect copyright.PENANAxrJv6ObiXH
Love is choosing somebody, over and over again no matter how hopeless you feel. Love is choosing them even when things aren't right. And, when things are far from perfect, love keeps us together. Love is unconditional, love stands the test of time. It doesn't care how long it takes for the stars to align and for her to say; yes, I love you back. Love doesn't care that she wears another man's ring, it insists that we are supposed to be. Love is surrendering your own wants and needs for the happiness of another. Love is Taylor and the way she looks up at me briefly as I'm driving her out for lunch, a small smile on her lips. Sunglasses on her head and hair flowing back in the wind.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAPK0HSRgy4E
"Do you think baby is a boy" she asks me and I move my hand from her thigh to her belly.
91Please respect copyright.PENANA9legNP4rXy
"Baby looks like a boy to me" I say softly looking at her.
91Please respect copyright.PENANA1SnItWUYao
"I thought so too" she smiles and shes places her hand on top of mine.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAkXcbVMbtuJ
Turning into the car park of a local diner on the way to the hospital I park, reversing into the space one hand on baby and one on the wheel. She chuckles and I feel her little boy kicking away inside of her womb.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAoCgSIuS40j
"Cheeky baby boy" I laugh and she chuckles along with me, an irresistible look on her face.
91Please respect copyright.PENANASSBsV7di4d
I grab the door for her and help her out of the car, she smiles slightly. We enter the small diner and I take her hand again as a young male waiter sets us up at a table. Passing us menus and saying he will be right back to take our orders.
91Please respect copyright.PENANA52pOvuyyhW
I take one glance at the menu and then set it down, I already know just what I will be ordering. Classic traditional breakfast and coffee, black of course. No sugar, no milk just pure caffeine. I watch Taylor glance at the menu, her eyes sweeping over the options as she bites her lip. I long to be biting her lip. She glances up at me and I remind myself to look into her eyes.
91Please respect copyright.PENANA6UWpJ6yd7f
"I kinda want pancakes but then" she smiles.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAKVnaPnaCch
"I also want toast and bacon and eggs" she smirks.
91Please respect copyright.PENANADegZVFJWrs
"Get both" I say to her.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAoROCFGwUru
"One for you and one for the baby" I add smirking at her.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAlAdJwEVWxo
Removing my leather jacket and placing it down on the booth next to me, I roll my sleeves up as the waiter arrives again to take our orders.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAZEpTudGUNZ
I order the pancakes for Taylor as she is far too embarrassed to order two items off of the menu.
Once the waiter has left to grab our drinks I lean forward and take her hands in my own. She smiles down at the gesture and watches my eyes.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAKmTY9AO5JD
Showering with her this morning was breaking a big rule. I think back to when we would have shared a shower every morning; and I don't feel bad at all. He took her from me, this is just me reclaiming what is always going to be mine. As I stroke her arm I remember her skin slick with water, my hands in her hair.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAwgvAcC32tL
"What are you thinking, Matthew?" She smirks and I pull myself back into the here and now.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAueAnkdiLOq
"Can't tell you that, sorry" I smirk teasing her.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAlXwMFad1vr
"What is it" she smirks unable to resist my charm. I still have something with her I just know it.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAVLaTuzIt9h
"Nothing at all, now be good and wait for your food" I laugh.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAv9T2uNlKst
She bites her lip again, and it pulls my eyes straight back to her lips. And in my head I'm back in the shower, her hair in my hands only this time I'm kissing her. Just like I used to for years.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAZgzpfEDmwX
"Tell me" she says breaking my concentration.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAgoKNmUBqdB
"I'm thinking Taylor, that I quite like showering with you" I tell her slowly watching her reaction.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAQ2AljyewCc
She clears her throat and I keep her hands in mine. Her eyes watching me, and she's thinking about it too. I just know it from the way that she looks at me, the heat behind her eyes.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAlDheyI3p4J
Just then the waiter breaks our moment, placing her smoothie and my coffee down on the table. We don't break each others eye contact, although I let go of her hands. It's important to me that she's hydrated. And coffee. I need coffee.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAyZumCLYX8i
"Sorry for the wait sir, food will be along in five" the waiter declares and I nod to him.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAeYJQASuojn
He saunters off to break somebody else's romantic moment and I take my time waking up with my coffee, staring into the only eyes I'll ever lose myself in.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAooe6ZozqPY
"So what's the plan?" She says finally.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAQli6BL28ip
"Plan?" I ask her smiling. The sun beats down through the window and colours her hair with golden hues. Like a halo, the sun marking her out to be an angel. I sigh.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAJ0hlmmIjnF
"Yes, we've been in the bed, in the shower together" she laughs nervously. She brushes her hair off of her shoulder and blushes.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAGK9IY8PBbo
"That's a lot of places isn't it. But we've also done all of those things many times before. And it wasn't a thing was it ?" I say cheekily.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAbHvS7TDeb6
"We have done a lot more" I whisper, and her cheeks redden.
91Please respect copyright.PENANA6M8WPDES25
"What do we do about this, we clearly can't be around each other alone" she whispers, I'm sure that was honest. Shes validating the way we feel for one another, yet it's forbidden. I watch as the sun shimmers down onto her skin, and wonder what she wants from me. She wants to have this conversation right now, clearly. Rather than avoid the subject. Before I would be able to placate her and she would hold off. Since Jay and their time together, she's become direct, more shrewd.
91Please respect copyright.PENANABen2HEpjH4
"We don't do a damn thing; we keep this for only us" I say wondering if I'm saying the right things. I would like to tell her to leave with me. I would like to drive her off right this minute into the sun where I can forever watch the way it makes her skin glow. I would like to forget reality with her yet I know none of it is possible.
91Please respect copyright.PENANA3ewS9cbvVZ
She nods. Just a simple nod. And its leaves me exasperated, dying to know what is going through her mind. Her silence bothers me and I have to stop myself from demanding a response from her, my impatience and desire swells inside of me. And I watch her, I can tell from the way she stares out of the window that she's conflicted. I damn Jay for coming into her life, and making me something to think about rather than something she wouldn't even question.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAWLfBBPt3VC
Our food arrives, the waiter sets the pancakes down in the middle of us giving Taylor a quick grin. He leaves quickly this time sensing the air of hostility between us.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAjiBDtYpzGw
"I don't want to lose you" I whisper, be soft Matthew I tell myself.
91Please respect copyright.PENANADpk9b7Qfw9
"So if you would rather, I rein it in" I say, sacrificing all of my wants and needs. Stop myself from touching you, whilst watching you play happy families with my best friend then I will. So long as you are happy, Taylor.
91Please respect copyright.PENANA7IXgPkfR8D
"Then so be it. So long as I still get you" I say instead softly. Softly does it, no arguments.
91Please respect copyright.PENANA6y6liLQznW
I eat waiting on her response. I will not add anything more in. If she doesn't want me to complicate her life, I will not. Simple as that.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAJbCoI0qfnT
Just as I'm placing toast in my mouth I look up, Tim McGraw blasting from the cafe radio, tears falling down her cheeks and food left untouched.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAFQ4Ps7Rod7
"Shit" I say annoyed at myself for ruining a perfectly wonderful morning.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAh7YuTS0A5c
"I didn't mean anything like that" I add and she wipes her eyes slowly.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAY8M7PtbCsR
"It's not you Matty. It's my fault. I shouldn't be instigating or even reacting. I'm sorry" she says and stands abruptly, walks over to the rest room.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAaiOXs2L5Dt
I curse at myself over and over. Stupid idiot I am. Thinking I could unravel the ties between us and braid them into something entirely new and our own.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAJlwbQilip8
I place my knife and fork down, and grab a damn pancake. Stuff it in my mouth and maybe that will stop my stupid mouth from saying what's going through my head.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAxBHVHUWE22
Taylor reappears and I must encourage her to eat rather than stress and cry over this. She quietly comes to sit back down in front of me.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAbVlqrD2EdC
There's an all consuming silence that neither of us fills up with words until she looks up at me and smiles.
91Please respect copyright.PENANArawv7nRJwz
"How's the pancakes" she asks and I snort. It's the single best thing about us. No matter the arguments, no matter the miscommunication, we can always get ourselves back to where we were. It's both a blessing and a curse; I never remain annoyed at her and nor her me.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAr72LsJcL71
“Delicious” I say softly and I hand her one.
91Please respect copyright.PENANASwp7MZMUXG
“I’m sorry, eat please” I say and I smile at her.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAmnlWdUoN7g
Once we've finished our food and left the conversation well and truly behind us, unresolved and not revisited. I grasp for my phone to pay, pulling it out of my leather jacket. A message from Jay has me stopping in my tracks. It's akin to the feeling you get when you're skipping home free but then suddenly there's a whole new obstacle in your way. A new challenge, a consideration. Something you have overlooked.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAOzOTdh2Ccm
I open up his message, no point in delaying the inevitable is there.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAxR71EMwDld
Back tomorrow, thanks again man. J
91Please respect copyright.PENANAikegCEuiKi
My heart plummets. Just one more night, one more night of sleeping and feeling secure next to her. I gaze up at her as she's looking down at her purse. Most likely about to check her own phone.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAeQFziXlJma
She grasps her phone and unlocks it, my head in my hands. I watch her eyes change as she reads something, perhaps a message from him, who knows? She grins from ear to ear and her hand rubs her tummy. I feel as though I'm watching her from a far, an intruder or a stranger that doesn't know her. Because she will leave me again and again for him, and she won't be the Taylor that's mine anymore.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAuKZGW11ffD
"Jay will be back tomorrow evening" she announces and I look down quickly hiding my eyes from her.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAAO8WOaRPAG
"I'm gonna go pay" I say and I move quickly away from her.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAYtDBZd1LVV
Love is impulsive; it guides me down these paths where I cannot think rationally. Love is obsessive and possessive. All consuming, filling my head with ideas of us. I push them out of my brain and pay the bill.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAJ9n1zm0SFq
I head back to the table grasping my leather jacket and slinging it on. Shoving my phone back into my pocket and grabbing the car keys.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAjs5dTfTNd4
"He was always coming back Matthew" she whispers. Standing before me she looks up into my eyes pulling her shirt back on, the one she wore earlier to the scan, it’s his.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAi8kgudQnjM
"Yes but not before I'd... not before I'd shown you... not before I'd made you realise that you should be with me" I say in a hushed tone, just ready to snap.
91Please respect copyright.PENANARVK6IuzZvU
I walk her out of the diner. We do not argue in diners. Gentlemen do not argue with women full stop. I pull my hair back and unlock the door of the car. Opening the door for her she climbs in and I tap away at the steering wheel instead of lighting up a cigarette.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAodU6GbGVLe
I start up the car, listen and focus on the normal hum of it. It steadies me and I turn to her. Music down low, just the sound of her breathing to guide me.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAaZbh1GgGci
"Taylor, what would you do if I were to just drive us off somewhere right now" I say, love is impulsive.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAUZshVNsh5Z
"There is nowhere for us Matthew" she says softly, and I don’t accept her answer.
91Please respect copyright.PENANA1oJ13n2r8p
"There's everywhere, but here Taylor" I explain, imploring her with my eyes.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAolZ856BOOU
"But I'm not yours" she says softly.
91Please respect copyright.PENANA9gWtOO0mLz
"Taylor you could be mine again" I whisper, love is possessive.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAkzsFV1C1tV
She looks at me evaluating. Reaches her hand to my cheek and strokes my face.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAMYV8UTtcJA
“This is not an ending” she whispers and I have no idea what she is alluding too.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAzMx5AX7VQ1
“That’s our main problem we never end things, or begin things we just sit in the middle of our decisions” I say and she gently pulls my face to hers.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAY9EikIJigK
Tears in my eyes I regard her face and lips, so close to mine. I can hear her breathing and smell her perfume. I tuck her hair behind her ear, she leans in closer to me.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAoXZ8jDVhkt
My lips find hers and it’s like no kiss we’ve ever shared before. It starts off tender. As I kiss her slowly, she pulls away lightly and I bite her lip. She gasps and then my hands are just around her. All of the tension dissipates and she pulls me closer her hands in my hair.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAU3tytmAimw
“Taylor” I whisper opening my eyes.
91Please respect copyright.PENANABGboVhWBb0
“Mmm” she responds her mouth leaving mine.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAar1MIcAYTW
“I can drive us right now” I say catching my breath.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAAvzQf8CzL0
“I can take us wherever you want in the world” I add.
91Please respect copyright.PENANA34yHxYLBlS
Through thick dark lashes she regards me, a bizarre expression on her face. And I kiss her lips lightly again.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAEiDU5KrMCP
“London, Paris, the Maldives for all I care just as long as we are back together” I laugh.
91Please respect copyright.PENANA8PpnSIY9Lw
“I’m married Matthew, and pregnant” she protests and I need her to forget about it all. I need her, I’m being possessive and irrational, I know it.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAvs32rvI0b9
“I will look after both of you” I say and I place my hand on bump.
91Please respect copyright.PENANAAhQe8Ficmk
After one more kiss, she looks at my wild eyes before I turn my attention to driving. Pulling out of the bay and heading back to the highway with Taylor by my side.
ns3.142.54.53da2