Lost Girl Ch. 17

The softness of his lips felt like heaven against her neck, mouth gentle and inviting as he lightly suckled the sensitive skin of her throat. But as the suction of his lips began to walk the line of pain, Claudia realized that he wasn't just kissing her neck, but actively working at giving her a hickey. And then, the unthinkable happened.

"Ow!" She jerked away from him, fingers stroking the place where he'd embedded his teeth. "You *bit* me."

"I nibbled."

"No, you *bit*."

"Sorry." His eyes softened, mouth turning downward with guilt.

"You don't just give someone a hickey, you ask first."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that," he said. "I just got carried away."

"Why would you mark me? We're not in a relationship anymore, so what was the point?"

"There was no point, it just sort of happened."

"Yeah, right." She openly stared at him for several moments before he finally caved in and confessed.

"Okay, so maybe it wasn't a mistake. Maybe I want you to think of me everytime you look in the mirror. Is that so bad?"

"No." Her features softened as she added, "But you didn't even ask, so I wasn't prepared for it."

"I really am sorry," he said. "I just got this sudden urge to do it, so I did."

"Marking me as your territory..." Claudia slowly shook her head before saying, "I mean what's the point, when it was *you* that broke up with me?"

"I know. Look, it was totally stupid of me, and I apologize, all right?"

Still touching the tender spot on her neck, Claudia nodded.

"So..." He cleared his throat. "I'm really gonna miss hanging out with you."

"Yeah, so will I."

"And I'll miss kissing you, too."

"Likewise."

"And I'll also miss doing the other stuff." His voice dropped an octave, becoming husky. "Especially that one thing..."

Lifting her brows, Claudia looked at him questioningly.

"You know...that *thing* that you're really good at."

A smile broke out across her face.

"So lets not be strangers, okay? Call me sometime. Let me know how you're doing."

"I'm sure we'll see each other around school," she said. "And the rez is so small, we'll probably bump into each now and again."

"Yeah." He lightly nodded before saying, "We will."

Perhaps sensing that the time to part ways had arrived, they disengaged from their embrace, and with Lucas leading the way, headed for the front door. Bright blue with white, puffy clouds, the sky stretched out above them as they stepped onto the porch. Enveloped by a gentle breeze, Claudia and Lucas just stood there, as if both were reluctant to say goodbye.

"Sorry I can't drive you home," Lucas said. "Parents say I can't use my truck until I'm seizure free for three months."

"That seems reasonable."

"Yeah, it's *totally* reasonable." A half scoff, half laugh escaped his mouth. "You can't do shit around here without a car. Anywhere worth hanging out is at least a half hour drive from here."

"You had a major seizure, Lucas." Claudia's chest tightened at the memory. "You almost *died*."

"But I'm on stronger medication now, and the doctor said it was probably induced by high doses of caffeine."

"Still better to be safe than sorry."

"Yeah, I guess." His shoulders pulled into a shrug.

"By the way," she said while looking deep into his eyes, "I'm really glad you're okay."

"Thanks, babe." He gave her a smile.

"When I say I'm really glad, it doesn't truly express how I feel, though." Her lip started to tremble, vision becoming blurred as she recalled that fateful night. "I was *so* scared, Lucas. I thought you were going to die right there in my house."

"But I didn't die. I'm right here with you, so everything is okay now, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Her voice wavered, mascara running as big, fat tears slid down her cheeks."

"Hey now, don't cry." Lucas pulled her against him, arms wrapping around her waist as he looked down in her eyes. "Come on, there's no need for tears. I'm all better now, you know that."

She nodded, but the tears only came faster, making a mess not only of her mascara, but the foundation she'd so carefully applied earlier that morning.

"I'm g-going to m-m-miss you."

"Oh babe, so will I." He hugged her tightly, and as she hugged back, he gave her a tender kiss on the top of the head.

By the time they pulled away, the tears had finally stopped flowing. But the tightness in her chest hadn't eased up, not even a bit.

"I still love you," he said. "A part of me always will."

"I feel the same way."

"Good. That makes me happy."

Slowly, and with a look of sadness in his eyes, he leaned down to kiss her. It wasn't the softness of his lips, or even the silkiness of his tongue, but the gentle tenderness he used that made her melt right beneath his touch. Rather than pull away after a few solid seconds, they deepened the kiss, and soon Claudia felt Lucas pressing himself greedily against her body.

Hot, wet, and long, the oral embrace felt *right*. So right, in fact, that Claudia began to wonder if they wouldn't end up back in his house. But they had to pull away sometime, and when their lips broke free to take in air, they were left standing there with sadness in their eyes.

"So are we supposed to say something official?" Her eyes implored him, as if hoping there was a magic word to erase the anguish that she felt.

"I think we've pretty much said all that we could." His palm lifted to cup her chin, pad of his thumb tenderly stroking the outline of her lips. "So this is goodbye."

"Goodbye sounds so final," she said. "How about we say, 'so long', instead?"

"Okay." A smile graced his lips as he gazed down at her. "So long, pretty girl."

"So long," she said through a lump in her throat.

He slowly backed away, giving her a small smile before turning on his heel. She heard the sound of the screen door creaking as he opened it, but by that time she was already walking away. *Don't look back*, a voice inside of her said, but of course she did so anyways, and on noticing that he was still standing on the porch watching her retreat, she swallowed a lump in her throat.

She didn't know if he planned to continue watching her until she was totally out of sight, but she couldn't look at him anymore. Seeing him stand there on the porch all alone while she walked off and left him behind was just too painful for her to bear. Her feet felt heavy, and with each step that she took, it felt as if she was actively struggling to continue on.

It wasn't until she was crossing the street and heading to the other side that she found the courage to look back one more time. But this time the door was closed, leaving no trace of Lucas at all.