Borrowed Time

Chapter Seventy Two

Esme was a really safe driver... Most of the time. But after driving with her for longer than an hour more than once now, she was not the best at not speeding when she got going... Juliette only thought they were going to fly into potholes a couple of times while they were driving, and most of the time, it wasn't even Esme's fault... Sometimes it was, but not every time...

They made it to the Syracuse Airport in one piece, that was all that mattered, right? Plus, speeding wasn't that illegal, and they hadn't been pulled over. It was a win in her book.

"Thanks for the ride, baby." Juliette said, pressing a series of soft kisses to her cheek. She deserved a million.

"Of course." Esme glanced in the rearview mirror and sighed. "Wake Shelby up." Ah. Right. She'd fallen asleep pretty much the second that they'd gotten into the van.

"Okay..." Juliette reached back, smacking Shelby's calf hard before she turned to look at her. "Hey. Up." Shelby opened one eye with a sigh, and the look she gave her was fucking scathing... Okay. Fun.

"I will kill your entire family if you ever wake me up like that again." Shelby warned, and Juliette chuckled... Good luck with that, I've only got a couple left... No, she couldn't say that, that was too dark.

"You're so dramatic. We're here." She said, and that made her perk up a bit, even bringing a smile to her face. Good.

"Oh! Nice, that was quick." She leaned up, giving Esme a hug around the back of the seat before she pulled back. Cute. "Thanks for the ride, Panchek." Esme nodded, giving her a smile in the rearview mirror as she did.

"Mhm." She turned to Juliette, taking her hand for a moment. "Hey, do you have a ride back when you fly home?" Uh... No. There was no way she was making Esme drive all the fucking way out here again just to pick her up, Shelby's parents were willing to drive her back and she was going to take it.

"Yeah, I can just hitch one with Shelby's family." Juliette said, and Esme nodded... Okay, cool. For a moment she was worried that Esme might take that as her not wanting to be with Esme for a drive, but that wasn't the case. She was just trying to respect her time.

"Cool, I just wanted to make sure." Esme kissed her deeply, cupping her face as she did... God, her lover... "I love you so much." She mumbled once they broke apart. She loved her too... She loved more than she could possibly say.

"I love you too." Juliette slid out of the car and walked around to the side to grab her bag. Esme grabbed her arm when she walked by the drivers window, pulling her close for a moment.

"Keep me updated. And send me lots of pictures." She smiled and nodded. Yeah, that'd been the plan.

"I will." Juliette brought a hand up, lightly cupping Esme's cheek, loving the way that she pressed into the touch. So pretty. "I'll miss you." It was weird to think about how true that statement really was... She was going to miss Esme in a way that she'd never missed anyone before.

"God, I'll miss you too...." THey were kissing again, slower this time, and the world was falling away. Juliette let herself exist in this bubble for a moment, just enjoying Esme's touch, her kiss... And then Shelby ruined it by letting out the most ungodly fake gag in the entire world. Horrifying.

"Okay, disgusting." Juliette gave her a look over her shoulder, but Shelby only shrugged and stretched up. Juliette reached out and held down the hem of her shirt so it didn't come up to expose her lower stomach... She knew Shelby didn't really care, it was just instinctual. "She's going to Miami for four days, it's not like she's shipping off to war." Shut up... Romantic gestures were a sign of being in love, Shelby had to know that by now, right? Esme cleared her throat, and Juliette glanced back at her in time to see her wink.