KISS ME
LAURA
The silence in Josh’s car was suffocating.
I sat with my hands clasped tightly in my lap, staring out the window as the streetlights blurred past. My heart was hammering, and I felt like I was sitting on the edge of a precipice, teetering dangerously close to falling.
Josh hadn’t said a word since we got in the car, but I could feel his tension. It radiated off him in waves, thickening the air until it was hard to breathe. I could hear his fingers drumming on the steering wheel, a staccato rhythm that matched the pounding of my heart.
Finally, he broke the silence. “We should talk about it.”
I flinched.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I said quickly, too quickly, my voice barely steady.
He let out a low, frustrated sound. “Laura, come on. You can’t just-”
“I said there’s nothing to talk about!” I snapped, turning to glare at him. But my voice cracked at the end, and I hated how weak I sounded.
Josh’s jaw tightened, and his grip on the steering wheel turned his knuckles white. “You’re unbelievable,” he muttered under his
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breath.
I turned back to the window, my pulse pounding in my ears. I didn’t want to do this. Not here. Not with him.
And then, without warning, the car jerked to the side of the road and came to a sudden stop.
“What the hell, Josh?” I exclaimed, whipping around to look at him.
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he unbuckled his seatbelt in one swift motion, turning toward me with a determination that made my stomach flip. Before I could even process what was happening, his hand was on my neck, his thumb brushing against the edge of my jaw.
“Josh-” I started, but the word died on my lips when his eyes met mine.
They were intense, burning, like they were stripping me bare. And then his mouth was on mine!
The world tilted.
His lips were firm, insistent, moving against mine in a way that stole the breath from my lungs. His hand slid up, tangling in my hair, tilting my head back so he could deepen the kiss.
I felt completely numb, frozen under the weight of his touch. But then, like a spark catching fire, the numbness shattered, replaced by a heat that seared through me.
My hands moved on their own, gripping the front of his shirt as if I needed to anchor myself. His other hand came up to cradle
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my face, his fingers splayed against my cheek, his thumb brushing the corner of my mouth,
Every nerve in my body was alive, electric, as his lips pressed against mine. He kissed me like it was the only thing keeping him from falling apart, like he couldn’t stop even if he wanted to.
And God help me, I didn’t want him to stop.
I felt like I was burning, consumed by the heat of him, the way he smelled, the way he tasted. The world outside the car faded away, leaving just us, tangled in this moment.
When he finally pulled back, we were both breathing hard. His forehead rested against mine, and I could feel the heat of his breath against my lips.
“Why do you do this to me?” he whispered, his voice rough and low.
I didn’t have an answer. I wasn’t sure I could even form words if I tried.
But as his thumb traced the line of my jaw, I knew one thing for certain.
I was already falling. And there was no stopping it.
***
****
JOSH – NOW
I woke with a jolt, my chest heaving as I gasped for air.
The dream still clung to me, vivid and sharp. Her lips, soft and warm, pressed against mine. Her fingers clutching the front of
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my shirt. The way she looked at me afterward, her cheeks flushed, her breath coming in soft, shallow gasps.
It wasn’t real.
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I blinked, staring at the unfamiliar shadows of the hospital room. My heart was still racing, my skin damp with sweat as I leaned forward, rubbing my hands over my face. The air was sterile, cold, and devoid of the warmth that filled the dream.
I turned to the bed beside me.
Laura.
She was still there, still hooked up to the machines that beeped and hummed, measuring every second of her fragile existence. Her face was pale, too pale, and her chest rose and fell in the shallow rhythm of the ventilator.
A lump formed in my throat as I leaned closer, my elbows resting on the edge of the bed. I studied her face, every delicate line, every curve I’d memorized a thousand times over. A tear slipped down my cheek, hot and unwelcome.
“You’ve got to wake up,” I whispered, my voice hoarse.
She didn’t move. She didn’t even twitch.
My fingers curled around her hand, careful not to disturb the IV taped to her skin. Her hand was so still, so limp in mine, and it scared the hell out of me.
“Jess has her,” I said softly, my eyes flicking to the door where Jess had just left, taking our baby girl to stretch her legs. “She’s perfect, Laura. Just like you.”
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The words broke something in me, and I clenched my jaw to keep from falling apart.
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“But we haven’t named her yet,” I continued, my voice trembling. “You were so insistent we wait, that it had to be perfect. So… I waited. I waited for you. Because I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, Laura. I can’t do this without you. I need you here.”
My thumb brushed over her knuckles, and I swallowed hard.
“She’s tiny, you know? So tiny. And she has your nose, I swear. But I can’t decide on a name without you. It’s not right. None of this is right.”
I leaned closer, pressing my forehead to the back of her hand, Hetting the silence stretch between us.
“Please,” I whispered. “Please, just open your eyes. Just give me something–anything. I’ll wait as long as it takes, Laura. I’m not going anywhere. But… I need you to fight. For me. For her. For us.”
The machines beeped steadily, unchanging.
I sat there, staring at her, willing her to wake up. My mind drifted back to the dream–the warmth, the life in her eyes. That was the Laura I knew. The Laura I needed.
I reached out, brushing a strand of hair away from her face, my fingers lingering for a moment longer than they should have.
“I love you,” I murmured, barely audible, the words spilling out before I could stop them.
I sat back, waiting for a sign, for some miracle.
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But the room remained still, silent, and heavy with the weight of
uncertainty.
