Chasing Wishes (36 page)

"You remembered the cocoa... you've got to be kidding me," Irene whispers in awe, and the moment we're safely nestled against the chimney, she pulls me in close and kisses me passionately.

Her kiss is soft and inviting, and I snuggle up against her and enjoy the warmth of the chimney as our lips play together. I couldn't ask for a better anniversary night than this. Cuddling beneath a quilt, sharing our love as we wait for the first shooting star of the night... it's everything I could hope for and absolutely perfect.

"So... would it make me a bad person if I cheated and got you a present anyway?" she whispers playfully is playfun my ear once we finally break free from our kiss.

"Wait, what happened to that whole soup kitchen thing you—"

"Oh shut up," she interrupts, elbowing me in the ribs. She suddenly looks ashamed of herself, and I can't help but laugh as she leans in and kisses me on the cheek as if she feels bad about elbowing me.

She pulls out a small green tin from beneath the blanket, and with a shy, excited smile, she places it on my lap. Where the hell was she hiding that thing during the climb up here? The lid resists my efforts, but after a few yanks on each side, I finally manage to pop it open. The smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies immediately hits my nose, tantalizing me with their sugary goodness.

"Do you remember bringing me cookies during lunch back at Woodbridge?" she asks softly, and a wide, delighted smile stretches across my face as I nod in reply.

"Holy shit... I did. I totally forgot about that!" I answer breathlessly as I stare down at the tin full of deliciousness on my lap. "You seriously remembered that after all these years? It was nothing, Irene."

"Nothing to you, maybe," she whispers. "To me, it was everything."

I split one cookie between the two of us and close the tin before the rest get cold. It's soft and chewy with just the slightest hint of cinnamon, and it tastes so good I could just die. It totally blows my mother's old stuff out of the water. Irene dips her half in my cocoa and winks at me before eating it, and then when we're both done, we snuggle up against the chimney again and wait for the show to start.

"Should be any minute now," I whisper, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her close. "Happy anniversary, babe."

"Babe? Really?" she exclaims with an incredulous laugh, and she shakes her head at me. "Happy anniversary to you too, you big old hunk of man-meat, you."

"Okay, point taken! Sorry," I apologize with a grin.

"Forgiven as always," she whispers, and she kisses me on the cheek again. "Happy anniversary, Terrence."

"You too, Irene."

She lays her head on my shoulder, and I have the sudden urge to hold her tightly against the cold wind, to kiss her and run my hands through her hair...

...so I do exactly that. Why let a magical night like this go to waste?

I lift her chin to look at me and then brush my lips softly against hers, kissing her first gently and them firmer and with greater urgency. Her lips slowly part, granting me entry, and I find her tongue with mine as the kiss runs deeper and deeper. She shivers uncontrollably as my fingertips delicately explore from the nape of her neck upward through her long hair, and that one little shiver turns me on instantly. It's all I can do to control myself now—it's far too cold and dangerous to make love to her up here on the roof, but damned if I don't want to try now. We'd probably never find our clothes again if we started, either.

When we finally break free from our heavenly kiss, Irene is glowing so warmly that she puts the chimney to shame. I have no idea what I did to deserve having her in my life, but if I ever find out... well, call me a jerk, but I'm going to keep it a secret so I can have her all for myself. When it comes to my beautiful Irene,
hell no
I don't share.

"Look, there it is!"

A meteor streaks across the sky and Irene py and Iroints up at it as it flies past. It looks like a little white square to me—a limitation of my artificial retinas, unfortunately—but Marcus and I have already fixed the implant's resolution for future patients. Version two of our design is currently undergoing clinical trials, and we're holding our breath for good results. The implant will likely never match up to the complexity of the human eye, but it's way better than being blind.

Another star falls to earth, then a third and a fourth in close succession. Irene's smile is wide and stunningly gorgeous as she looks up at the stars, and I find myself watching her more than the meteor shower. Her eyelids flutter shut and she takes a deep breath as she leans back against the warm chimney. She looks so relaxed and serene that I have to stop myself from yawning.

"So, if we didn't make a wish on the first star of the night," she asks, opening her eyes and beaming in delight as meteors put on a dazzling display in the sky overhead, "can we make a wish on any of the others?"

"I don't know... do you still trust wishes after what happened last time?"

"Hey, everything came true, didn't it?" she says with a soft smile.

She's right... it all did. We're together, she found her future, and while there was nothing in my wish about going blind... well, after losing Irene and finding her again, I love her to death in a way I never thought possible. Every last one of our wishes came true—we just had to chase them for a while.

A shooting star so large and bright that it reminds me of a firework shoots across the horizon. If that's not a sign, nothing is.

"Remember, don't tell me what it is or it won't come true," I whisper, and then I close my eyes and clasp my hand tightly around hers.

I wish that Happily Ever After was only the beginning.

Irene and I have a whole lifetime ahead of us. This was just our first chapter, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

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Chasing Wishes
, and I hope you like what's coming next!

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-Nadia