Lifeless (Sequel to Soulless - Justin Bieber Love Story / Fan Fiction)

SEVEN

get some by ghosted, kamille

My eyes couldn't help but devour the young man in front of me. Knowing that he was all mine once before had me kicking myself for letting him go. I knew exactly how his hair felt between my fingers, and how his hands felt against my body, but I was greedy and wanted to familiarize myself with them again. He was everything I had always wanted, and I realized it when it didn't matter.

Gulping, I looked towards the window beside us at the little twenty-four hour diner we decided on. My back pressed into the softness of the booth cushion as I tried to regather my thoughts and rid the ones of Justin that were making my hands sweat. With him, I almost turned back into who I was before I knew him, back when I was fragile and easily bound with nerves. I knew that when we went to the bar about a month prior, only this time, I didn't have alcohol to rid the feelings of lust. Had the alcohol not been there, I would have been twice the sweating mess I was in that moment.

"Did you just come from work?" I asked, making the assumption due to the white button down and dark red tie he wore.

He sipped his coffee. "Yeah, late night again. It happens, sometimes."

"How does that work with school? Aren't you busy almost all the time?" I questioned. Perhaps he was so busy and that was why he hadn't visited me in a month. Maybe work and school got in the way, or maybe he just didn't want to see me yet. Maybe he wasn't ready.

"Not really," he shook his head, his lips pursing in the process. His eyes shut before slowly meeting mine again; the subtlety of the gesture causing my breath to stagger. "It's my last semester, so I have one class every morning until 9:30, then I go to work. It's not that bad. I only have a few more weeks left before I graduate, anyways."

He doesn't even know he's turning me on, and that makes it all the better, my mind blatantly observed. I'm practically sweating right now, and he hasn't even done anything.

I nodded, taking a drink of the warm, bitter liquid. I looked down again, wishing I could relax and keep those thoughts clear of my mind. There was no chance that Justin and I would ever be anything again, and I needed to keep telling myself that before the tension nearly ripped through me.

"Sorry I kind of fell off the face of the earth," he noted, bringing my attention back up to his. "This past month has been a little bit, well, messy for me. I didn't want you to get involved."

Furrowing my eyebrows, I tipped my head to the side. "Messy how?"

"I told you that my girlfriend and I broke up, and so she spent the last few weeks getting her stuff out of my apartment and begging me to reconsider marriage and—" he paused, closing his eyes for a second. "—it was draining."

I laughed. "I can imagine. She didn't take it very well, I assume?"

"Not at all, which makes no sense considering it was a mutual decision!" he huffed. "Kayla— she's just— I don't know. She's stubborn in the worst kind of way."

"I was stubborn," I stifled a laugh, referring to our relationship, sipping my coffee. If I had a penny for every time Justin told me I was stubborn, I would have had enough money to last a lifetime.

Again, he shook his head, looking to the side. "That was different."

"How was that any different?" I raised an eyebrow, laughing.

"I actually loved you," he stated bluntly.

Oh.

My heart stopped, unable to understand the casual nature behind his statement. It nearly knocked me over. Hearing him say those words to me so confidently, yet so obviously, caused the confidence I was building back up in that moment to crash down.