It was over.
Spencer felt like she had to remind herself of that daily, and still it didn’t really feel like it was over. It had been almost exactly four months since Amberly attacked her and two and half since she accepted the plea bargain. Sometimes she just had to count the days to keep herself sane.
One day until Zac left for New York. Two weeks and three days until he returned.
It was too long, longer than he’d been gone to Jamaica, but this time Spencer didn’t have the option of spending his absence in Nashville with Abbey. At least her spring break had been the week before, so they had plenty of extra time together. But for the duration of the promo tour, she would be stuck in Tulsa, teaching classes and trying not to have panic attacks every time she stepped foot on campus.
Some days, she was certain she could handle it. But as she sat on the bed and watched Zac double check that he’d packed everything he needed for his early morning flight, she wasn’t so sure.
“Spence?” Zac asked, giving her a tiny smirk. “Do you think you’ll fit in my suitcase?”
She sighed. “I wish.”
Zac put his laptop bag down and sat next to Spencer. “What’s wrong?”
“Same old thing,” she replied, leaning against him. “You leaving. I feel so pathetic, but I just… it’s going to be tough, you know?”
He nodded. “I know, baby. The only thing keeping me going is the fact that I’ll barely have time to stop and think. Not that I won’t remember you, but I won’t have time to breath, let alone sit and dwell on how miserable I’ll be without you.”
“Like Jamaica?” Spencer asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’m sure you were absolutely miserable there.”
“Miserable, shitfaced… something like that.” He smirked.
Spencer threw her head back and laughed. “Unfortunately, I think the university would frown upon it if I showed up to class completely sauced for the next two weeks.”
“Can’t hurt to try,” Zac replied, giving Spencer a soft nudge. He glanced around the room at his piles of luggage, then back at Spencer. “Well, do you think I’m ready?”
Spencer huffed. “I’m more concerned about whether or not I’m ready to let you go.”
Zac gave a little laugh that turned into a sigh, and brushed back a piece of Spencer’s hair. He pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek, then said, “I know, baby. I know. But if I’m done packing, then it’s time for bed…”
He didn’t need to finish the sentence for Spencer to grasp his meaning; his tone of voice said it all. Something about the stalking had, strangely, lit a real fire in the bedroom for the two of them. Spencer supposed it was part of Zac’s need to protect her and her need to be protected by him. Whatever it was, she wasn’t complaining at all about how often they had sex. It wouldn’t make her forget that he was leaving for the promo tour, but it would get that off her mind for a while.
Spencer let Zac nudge her backward on the bed, his left hand sliding under her shirt as he did so. She was more than willing to let him take the lead, letting herself go nearly limp as he stripped her of her pajamas. Zac wasted no time taking off his own shirt and boxers, either, then dove back under the covers with Spencer. She giggled at the way he pulled the covers up over their heads. It felt good to be able to laugh again, even if laughing in bed was a little out of the ordinary.
Under the covers, Spencer could only feel where Zac was going, not see his progress. She felt him kiss a trail down her neck, then her chest, pausing briefly to lick and suck at each nipple. She giggled again when he planted a soft kiss against her navel. He nudged her legs apart with one of his own, then continued trailing kisses down her torso until he reached his ultimate destination. When he did, Spencer shoved the covers back so that she could watch him.
Before Spencer could get off, either on the sight or his actions, Zac crawled back up her body and slid into her. Their bodies moved together fluidly, six months together having given them plenty of time to perfect their moves between the sheets. They’d never been clumsy or awkward together, even those first few drunken times, but now they were as close to perfect as Spencer imagined was possible. If she ever doubted their relationship, Spencer had only to remember how perfectly their bodies fit together, like they were made for each other, and her worries were soothed.
To further prove her point, they came at the same time. Zac pressed his forehead against Spencer’s and stared into her eyes as he did, leaving her trembling beneath him. She wanted to stay underneath him forever, but she knew it just wasn’t possible.
Reluctantly, she slipped out from underneath him and gathered up her clothes as she walked to the bathroom. When she returned a few minutes later, her teeth brushed and her clothes back in place, Zac was once again digging through his suitcase and rearranging its contents.
“Have you ever been to New York?” He asked.
“Nope,” Spencer replied. “I was really excited to go there on a class trip, but then September 11 happened and… well, they canceled that trip pretty quickly.”
“We lived there for a few years,” Zac said. “After that. You should come with us the next time we go. It’ll be after your classes are over…”
Spencer sat down on the bed and sighed. “Maybe I will.”
Zac looked down at Spencer and took her hand in his. “She won’t be there. She won’t be anywhere where she can hurt you. And I won’t let anyone else.”
“I know,” Spencer replied, aware that she didn’t sound convincing at all.
Giving her hand a squeeze, Zac asked, “So, you want me to bring anything back for you?”
“Just you,” Spencer replied.
With a smile, Zac replied, “I think I can manage that.”