"I've been waiting for this moment since the second you left," Justin whispers into my ear, finally breaking the silence.
"I've missed you," I whisper back, lifting my head from his shoulder to look him in the eyes.
I move my hand, reaching to stoke his check with it as I lean in to kiss him. I've missed this feeling. The love, the familiarity, the warmth that I feel only when I'm with Justin. We break apart much too soon as someone clears their throat behind us.
"Back away brother, I haven't seen my future sister in two years," Natalie grins, throwing Justin a wink.
Future sister? I cast my eyes back to Justin as I raise my eyebrows at him, giggling as his check turn a rosy shade of pink. I detach myself from Justin and embrace Natalie in a tight hug.
"You've grown so much. You're the same height as me now," I exclaim, taking in the appearance of the young woman in front of me.
She looks so different from the fourteen year old girl I met two summers ago. She's grow out of the awkward pre puberty stage and she now looks gorgeous. Justin's going to have a fun time scaring off all the boys that come near her. After talking with Justin's family and saying a quick hello to Julia and Jackson who are still living with Justin, we make our way next door to my house.
I smile as we walk through the gate to my backyard, Justin's arm flung loosely around my shoulder. I laugh as I hear my family bickering from outside the house.
"Keep it down guys, don't want the neighbours to complain," I smirk, walking through the door, Justin following close behind.
"MATILDA!" my mum shrieks, running to my side to hug me. "What are you doing here?"
"Tour is over, so here I am," I shrug, breaking away from her to hug the rest of my family.
Mum instantly puts on a pot of tea and we all gather in the lounge room to catch up. Just hearing my families voices, makes me realise how much I really did miss them whilst I was gone. Sure, I made some amazing friends on tour and I had a blast surfing the best waves in the world, but nothing can come close to the happiness I feel when I'm around Justin and my family.
As much as I want to stay and catch up on all that I've missed whilst I've been gone, the twenty two hour flight is starting to catch up to me. I can feel my concentration slip and my eyes begin to drop as I desperately try to pay attention to my mum's story. I nod my head, trying to make it look like I'm listening, but I'm not.
"Sorry to interrupt," Justin says, looking over at me. "I think Tilda and I are going to head back to mine for dinner," he says and I smile, climbing off the couch as making my way over to him.
"We'll see you tomorrow," I say, wrapping my arms around his waist. "Thank you for getting me out of that, I'm exhausted," I tell him and he nods, kissing the top of my head quickly.
"Pizza sound good?" he asks, as he carries my bags into his room and I nod.
Justin orders pizza as I unpack a few things as we wait for the delivery to arrive. The pizza finally arrives and we all eat on the balcony overlooking the ocean as we talk.
"Okay boys, it's past your bedtime," Justin says and they groan, causing me to laugh.
"Come on," I say, standing up and holding out my hands for them. "I'll help you get ready."
I lead them downstairs and they get ready for bed. They climb into their beds and I read them a story. They fall asleep instantly and I close the book. I walk over to them both and give them a soft kiss good night. I turn around to exit the room and jump in surprise as I see Justin leaning against the door frame.
"You scared me," I whisper, making my way over to him and he laughs quietly. He snakes his arms around my waist and pulls me towards his chest. I fling my arms around his neck and play with his hair that is undeniably the longest I've seen it.
"I like your longer hair, it suits you," I tell him as I watch his face. "I love you, I never stopped even though we didn't exactly talk," I say, not begin able to withhold it anymore.
"I love you too, Tilda, always have, always will," he tells me, leaning towards me to connect our lips. When he pulls away, I take his hand and attempt to pull him up stairs.
"What are you doing," he asks. "You should be going to bed."
"I'm not tired," I lie.
"Tilds, you just got off a flight from France of course you're tired," he says.
"Okay," I give in. "I'm unbelievably tired, but I want to spend some time with my boyfriend who I haven't seen in a year, is that okay with you?"
"Tilda," he groans.
"Justin," I whine back.
"Fine," he admits. "Come here."
He pulls me onto the couch with him and flicks the TV on. He puts on a movie and we talk as I snuggle into his warm chest. It doesn't take long for my eyes to grow tied. No matter how hard I attempt to fight it, I feel myself fall to sleep. I wake again as I feel arms wrap around me and lift me off the couch.
"I can walk, you know," I say quietly, opening my eyes slowly.
"Go back to sleep baby," Justin says and I nod my head, closing my eyes.
I feel him place me into bed and climb in beside me. I look up at him as he wraps his arms around me. I whisper a quick I love you, not being able to say it enough. I rest my head against his chest and listen to his constant breathing and the comforting sound of his heartbeat as I fall asleep in his arms for the first time of what I hope is forever.
Epilogue
Start from the beginning
