Page 41 of Ginjuh

Chapter 9

“Read it when you get home,” Austin said meekly as he sat next to me in my car, his fingers playing with my hair rhythmically and gently. “Read it like a ‘goodnight’ story.”

“You want to be the last thing on my mind before I drift off?” I smiled at him, enjoying the feeling of his fingers through my hair, the sensation making memories of all the things we’d done earlier flash through my mind. “Because you would have been anyway.”

Austin blushed and looked down quickly before meeting my eyes again.

“Are you…you’re okay, right?” He asked.

“You can’t be serious.” I sighed, closing my eyes as he played with my hair, moving my head towards his hand. “I’ve never been okayer.”

He chuckled and leaned forward to kiss me.

“I’m more than okay, too.” He sighed.

“Was I okay at it?” I asked softly, my eyes still closed.

“While I have nothing to compare it to,” he answered, “I hope I never have to compare it to anything else.”

I chuckled, my eyes lazily opening again. I never wanted his fingers to leave my hair. If I could have decided that that would be my life—sitting there with Austin, him playing with my hair—I would have chosen it without hesitation. I never wanted to not have him touching me in some way.

“I feel the same,” I responded.

We sat there for a few more minutes, him playing with my hair, his fingers tickling my scalp as we stole kisses every few moments. If that was what love felt like, I wasn’t sure how I had ever survived without it before. I was so happy and the only thing that would have squelched that was if Austin told me that he wasn’t as happy as me.

“Are you happy?” I asked, desperate to know.

“Oh.” Austin sighed. “I haven’t been this happy in a long time, Zach. You make me very happy.”

“I love you,” I whispered, then realized that I needed to say it louder. “I love you, Austin.”

“I love you, too.” He leaned into me for a kiss.

“Can we just stay like this forever?” I asked dreamily. “I don’t want to go home because you’re not there.”

“Well,” he sighed happily, “just one sleep and we’ll see each other again, right? Unless you got what you wanted?”

I opened my eyes quickly to see him grinning impishly at me.

“You shithead.” I laughed when I saw his face.

“Just making sure.” He kissed me again.

“Do you want it again?”

“Again and again and again.” He punctuated each ‘again’ with a kiss. “Right now if we could. But it’s late and we need sleep. And I need you healthy and strong so again is possible.”

“Hey, I could go again right now.” I kissed him. “Give me credit.”

“Tonight.” He laid his hand on the folded paper between us on the console. “Read it when you go to bed. Please.”

“I will.” I nodded.

“Okay.” He nodded back. “I’m really getting out of the car now.”

“I really believe you.” I waggled my head as I bit at my bottom lip.

He laughed. “Don’t do that or I’ll never be able to leave this car.”