He presses his body against mine and thrusts in and out of me at an even pace until a warm soothing sensation builds within me and eventually courses throughout my veins.

A few moments later, he moves in and out of me one last time before collapsing onto the bed entirely spent.

35

Nicholas

When I wake up…

We lie in each other’s arms for a long time that night first sleeping and then talking about everything and anything that we had missed during our time apart.

The one thing we do not talk about is the breakup. I hope we can pretend that it never happened, but I don’t dare bring it up.

When she tells me about Owen turning me in, I want to punch him.

But when I learn that he tried to attack her and even rape her, I want to kill him. People say that all the time without really meaning it, but I never have. So when I say I want him dead, that’s exactly what I mean.

In the morning, I make a breakfast of pancakes and eggs and we eat at the picnic table overlooking the lake. Birds fly over our heads and a few squirrels prance near the trees. I have been in many five-star hotels but I have never been anywhere this beautiful.

When I first found this spot, I thought that I had found paradise. But when she got here, I knew that this was heaven.

“So, what do we do now?” Olive asks, taking a bite of her pancake.

“We can go on a hike together. There’s a really beautiful spot about three miles out that I know you’ll love.”

“That sounds perfect,” she says, leaning over the table and giving me a wet, maple-syrup infused kiss.

“I love you, Olive,” I say when we finally pull away from each other.

“I love you, too,” she whispers back. “Why haven't we said that before?”

“Because we were stupid and immature?” I suggest and she laughs.

I’m only half joking though. Not everyone gets a second chance to right a wrong and I know that I am very lucky to be in that category.

Otherwise, I would’ve spent my whole life regretting never having told the woman I love that I love her.

“I have to tell you something,” she says, her face suddenly getting very serious.

“Tell me anything.”

She shakes her head as her cheeks get flushed from embarrassment.

“Remember the Monet you gave me?” she asks. I nod, but she doesn’t continue.

“It’s okay, whatever it is just tell me,” I push her.

“I’m so stupid,” Olive says, shaking her head. “I trusted Owen to put it in a safe place. That was before any of that happened. Before I knew who he really was.”