Reality

Chapter 26

"Oh, yeah," she says, slightly surprised, and her cheeks tint a light shade of pink. "It was a mid-mid-life crisis thing, I guess."

"I like it. It's very Joslyn," I comment with a grin, still tracing the black outlines. Whenever I trace over a particular part of the stem, I notice her skin twitch beneath my fingers. "Is someone ticklish?" I tease.

"No," she shoots back defensively.

"I think you are." I grin devilishly, purposefully lightly dragging the pad of my finger over that particular spot, making her shudder.

"Alex," she warns before letting out a shriek as I dig my fingers into her skin, tickling her sides. "Stop!" she laughs, trying to take hold of my relentless hands.

"What was that? I can't hear you," I torment, loving the sound of her laugh.

She manages to roll on top of me, straddling my torso. Eventually, I give in and let her pin my hands to the pillow on each side of my head as she struggles to regain her breath. "I hate you," she mutters between pants.

"No you don't," I retort confidently with a smirk, leaning up to quickly peck her lips before flopping back down onto the mattress.

She stares down at me for a moment, her eyes growing soft and tender, looking at me adoringly.

"What?" I whisper, and a small, heartfelt smile touches her lips.

She reaches up to cup my cheek in her hand, the pad of her thumb stroking under my eye. "You look different. A good different. Your eyes... they're bluer. I don't know, they seem to have a bit of a sparkle back in them."

"Yeah?"

She nods, causing some more of her dark, slightly teased hair to spill over her shoulders.

"Because I'm happy," I state, causing a joyous grin to spread across her face. I release my other hand from her grip, running both hands up and down her thighs. "So, anymore tattoos I should know about?"

She rolls her eyes, trying to hold back a smile. "I think you would have found them by now."

"Hmm," I muse, sliding my hands up to grip her hips. "Never hurts to double check." In one fluid motion, I manage to flip us, her back pressing into the mattress while I settle between her legs, resting most of my weight in my arms. "Now, where should I start?"

An hour later, Joslyn is back fast asleep in my arms, her back pressed to my front as I play with a strand of her hair. I can't help but stare at her beautiful, sweet, peaceful face, not believing I have her back in my arms. Something I thought I'd never have happen again.

In this moment it feels like I know what love is all over again, and any lingering resentment I once held for her has dissipated. Last night was a breakthrough for us, and while I still may not fully understand what happened all those years ago, I know I trust her and that I can't ever let her go again.

I realize I never wanted anything more in my life than I wanted Joslyn. Sure, I had the money and the fame to get whatever materialistic things I wanted or catch anyone's attention, but she's the one thing I needed.

In a life full of strict structure amidst chaos, she became my anchor. Even when she started out as my assistant, helping aid in the structure of my life, I could tell she was something special. She was a normal girl that happened to walk into my life and treat me like a normal human being. She wasn't a yes man or someone afraid to talk to me, because she saw me as a person and not as some job or a celebrity. She taught me that I'm not a robot or some show pony that has to be locked up twenty-four-seven and afraid to experience life like a normal person. Deep down I know she actually cared about me, and not just because I was some celebrity or because she was my assistant, being paid to help me out. She cared about me wholeheartedly and completely when no one else seemed to. And that's why it crushed me when she left.