Always There

Chapter Twenty-Three

She lets me cry against her shoulder as I hold her in my arms. She gently strokes my hair the entire time, peppering the occasional kisses against the side of my neck.

She feels so small and warm and I never want to let go of her.

"I love you. So much," she tells me all of a sudden.

"I love you too. So much," I respond without hesitation.

I feel her smile against my neck and I squeeze her tighter in response. She giggles, exclaiming, "Ouch, Bryce! You're too strong. You're going to crush me."

I can't help but to chuckle at that, and there's something about laughing that feels extremely damn freeing right now. How she always is able to lift my mood like this is a fucking miracle and I don't know what I've ever done to deserve a love like this.

On the other hand, I've done so many things that make it seem as if I deserve shit.

I know that I'm too fucking overprotective of her and also that I get way too damn jealous when another guy even glances in her direction. I just love her with my whole heart and want her to be treated like a princess, and I know that I'll be able to make her far happier than any other man could.

"You're really trying to feed my ego, aren't you?" I reply, finding her adorably dorky and random comments hilarious.

I slowly pull my face out from the crook of her neck, then looking her directly in the eye. Her eyes have begun to tear up as well, and I kiss away the first tear that slides down her cheek.

"Perhaps I am, Mr. Bradshaw," she replies smiling, and I grin at her as she leans in to kiss me on the tip of my nose.

"You have no clue how happy you make me feel, Blossom. I'll never be able to repay you for the joy that you've brought me. Even when you weren't by my side, the memories that I have with you have saved me from a dark fucking place," I whisper, watching as Blossom's eyes tear up even more.

"Oh, Bryce. You've saved me too. Without you, I would still have an awful relationship with my mom, and I would still probably be hurting myself. Our memories make me so unbelievably happy as well," Blossom responds and I grin at her.

"I can't believe you love the mess that I am. I literally just had a panic attack on the floor of a bathroom in your parents' house. I don't even know how to properly apologise for the mess that I've made," I say, to which Blossom giggles once again.

"A kiss would suffice," she replies slyly, a mischievous glint suddenly in her eye.

I give her a small smile before reaching for her face. I hold her in place by using one hand to cup her jaw, letting the fingers of my other hand slide back to tangle into her hair.

The door is wide open, and though I know that I should make a move to close it, I don't get a chance to before Blossom strains up and presses a kiss to my mouth.

Her lips are soft as always, and I love how eager she seems to be. I could feel how much she loves me even when she had only brushed her lips against mine; I could feel it through my whole body. Her love for me appears to be boundless, and I feel just the same about her.

I kiss her back, slowly at first. I want to savour every moment with her, cherishing every second as if it could be our last, and so I don't try and rush our kiss.

Instead, I work my mouth slowly against hers, taking her bottom lip between my teeth and gently tugging.

"You're a desperate little thing, aren't you?" I tease her as soon as I release her lip. Her response is a breathy moan, and I try to hide my surprise at how much she's managed to escalate things already.