“You tell me.” She bit down on her sexy lip.

“Get over here.”

She walked towards me and took my hand. As I led her into the bathroom, she stopped me as I was about to climb into the bathtub.

“Stop.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“There’s no bubbles.”

“Really? Do we really need bubbles?”

“Yes, we do, Parker. It’s customary when you take a bath with someone, you do it in a bubble-filled tub.”

She reached for the bottle that was labeled “Lavender bubble bath” from the shelf and poured more than a capful into the water.

I sighed. “Now I’m going to smell like a girl.”

She patted my cheek. “Shut up and get in the tub.”

I chuckled as I climbed in the oversized tub with my back against it. With the help of my hand, Emerson climbed in and nestled her back tightly against my chest as my arms wrapped securely around her. We sat there in silence for a moment and I pressed my lips against her head and she ran her fingers up and down my arm.

“We had dated for over a year.”

Her eyes darted up to mine. “Huh? Who?”

“Bella and I. Or, as you call her, ‘frizzy curly-haired woman.’”

“Oops. Sorry about that.”

“Things were great with us, or at least I thought they were. We talked about a future together. Our jobs, buying a house, settling in.”

“What happened?”

“One day while we were having lunch, she got a call and a job offer from an advertising agency in New York. Hell, I didn’t even know she had applied for it.”

“She didn’t tell you?”

“Nope. She told me she was going to New York to visit her best friend.”

“Wow. She sucks.”

“We got into a huge fight about it when she told me she was accepting their offer. She told me that I was a very selfish man and that I couldn’t stand to see her make something of herself and that I never supported her decisions.”

“Was that true?”

“No. It was the fact that she didn’t tell me about it in the first place. She had lied to me and that’s something I don’t tolerate.”

“Why did she feel like she had to lie to you?”

“I asked that very question and she couldn’t answer me. Finally, after hours of arguing, she said that she wasn’t happy and she was leaving.”

“Just like that?” she asked as she looked up at me.

“Yep. Just like that. The next day, she was gone without so much as a goodbye.”

“I’m sorry, Alex. That must have been hard on you.”

“It was for a while.”

“Were you in love with her?”

“I thought I was, even though I never told her, but her leaving made me realize that I wasn’t. She used to tell me that she loved me and the only response I would give was “me too.”

She narrowed her eyes at me and, with a tilted head, she spoke, “That’s what I would always say. The only guy I ever said those three words to was asshole Christian. But it didn’t count because I was sixteen and sixteen-year-olds just spew out those words as if it means nothing. Actually, it doesn’t mean anything at that age because sixteen-year-olds don’t even know what love is.”

“But you thought you loved him.” I smiled.

“Thinking it and actually being in it are two different things. I can actually sit here and tell you that I have no idea what real love between a guy and a girl is.”

“Let’s look it up.” I smiled as I reached over from the tub and grabbed my phone from the small table that sat next to it. After I Googled the word “love,” I pulled the definition from the Urban Dictionary since she seemed so fond of that site. I held it up in front of her to read out loud.

Before reading it, she looked up at me. “Wow. That’s an awful long definition, but here I go. Love is the most spectacular, indescribable, deep, euphoric feeling for someone. Love is an incredibly powerful word. When you're in love, you always want to be together, and when you're not, you're thinking about being together because you need that person and, without them, your life is incomplete. This love is unconditional affection with no limits or conditions: completely loving someone. It's when you trust the other with your life and when you would do anything for each other. When you love someone, you want nothing more than for them to be truly happy no matter what it takes because that's how much you care about them and because their needs come before your own. You hide nothing of yourself and can tell the other anything because you know they accept you just the way you are and vice versa. It's when they're the last thing you think about before you go to sleep, and when they're the first thing you think of when you wake up, the feeling that warms your heart and leaves you overcome by a feeling of serenity. Love involves wanting to show your affection and/or devotion to each other. It's the smile on your face you get when you're thinking about them and miss them. Love can make you do anything and sacrifice for what will be better in the end. Love is intense and passionate. Everything seems brighter, happier, and more wonderful when you're in love. If you find it, don't let it go.”

“Nicely done,” I spoke as I set down my phone. “I can officially say that I have never been in love.” I chuckled.

She let out a light laugh. “Me neither. So why were you kissing her?”

“I wasn’t kissing her. You must have seen us when she kissed me. The minute her lips hit mine, I pushed her away. She told me that she regretted leaving me and she was hoping that maybe we could try again.”

“How long ago did the two of you break up?”

“Five years ago. It was right before my father passed away. After she left and I thought about all the time wasted with her, I made a vow never to attach myself to one person again.”

“I understand. So you went on a heart-breaking spree instead.”

“Look who’s talking.” I chuckled.

“I know. I guess we have more in common than we thought we did.” She smiled.

“It seems that way. Doesn’t it?”

“So after five years, she just thought you’d take her back?”

“I guess.”

“Must be that frizzy, curly hair.” She laughed.

I laughed with her as my grip around her tightened. “So now you know about Bella. Now who is Keith?”

She sighed. “A dogsled racer from Alaska.”

“What? You went to Alaska? Why?”

“Because Emily and I really wanted to see for ourselves if it stayed dark all day for long periods of time.”

“Well, that depends on where you are in Alaska. Doesn’t it?”

“Yes, and where I was, it stayed dark or dusk all day during the winter months. But it was beautiful there.”

“Why did you leave?”

“Never stay in one place too long, Parker. Plus, after two months of no sunlight, I couldn’t take it anymore.”

“And Keith?”

“Keith was a nice guy. I never slept with him or anything. We went out a few times and had some fun. Occasionally, he will call or text me just to find out how I’m doing.”

My hands roamed to her breasts and began massaging them lightly. I had held off long enough without touching her and my cock was ready to devour her. She closed her eyes and let out a low moan as my fingers played with her hardened nipples. My tongue explored her neck as she tilted her head to the side. My cock was semi-hard when she nestled against me, but now it was rapidly rising in excitement. She turned around and wrapped her legs around me as I slowly entered her. Her hands planted firmly on my shoulders as we stared into each other’s eyes while she slowly moved up and down. Our lips met with seduction and her pace was slow and steady. Moans escaped us in between kisses as the pressure was building. I reached my hand under the water and pressed my finger against her clit, heightening her pleasure as she circled her hips around my cock. She threw her head back as my tongue slid down her throat while she reached the peak of her orgasm, causing me to lose control and spill everything I had deep inside her. Our eyes locked and it was at that moment that I knew I was falling deep and hard for her and it scared the living fuck out of me.