"Why are you looking at me like that?" Wyatt asked as he emerged from the hotel bathroom with a towel around his waist. 

"Like what?" I was laying on my stomach with my arms tucked under my chin—trying not to drool over the way the water dripped down his bare chest.

He stopped when he was in front of me. "Like you never want to leave this room." 

I got to my knees and wrapped my arms around his neck. I was still naked and he didn't seem to mind when chest pressed against his. "Maybe I don't want to leave this room." I looked deep into his eyes. "Is that a bad thing?" 

"No," he whispered. "It's a very good thing." 

He rested his hands on my waist and gave me a soft kiss. It didn't stay soft and slow for long. I moaned into his mouth, deepening the kiss as he brushed his tongue against mine. I could feel his erection under the towel pressing against my hip. What was crazy to me was—I went without sex for four years, and now, I couldn't get enough of it with Wyatt. No matter how many times we kissed, touched, or played...I would never get enough. 

"Want some breakfast?" he asked when he broke the kiss. 

I bit my bottom lip shyly. "Hmm. Pancakes? Waffles?"

"Whatever you want, Lia, you can have." He gave me a quick kiss. "Let's get dressed and we can make your wish come true."

I didn't say anything when he disappeared into the bathroom to change. I sat back on the bed—staring at the bathroom door that separated us. His words struck a cord inside me. Whatever I wanted...Well, that was simple. I wanted Wyatt. I've wanted him longer than the four years that we were apart. I couldn't keep doing this if he didn't feel the same way. I needed to know how he felt. I thought about our time together over the past few weeks; his words whispered through my mind. 

"Do you love me, Lia?" he asked again quietly. "Do you?"

I shook my head and backed away from him. "Wyatt, stop. I'm not having this conversation anymore."

He wasn't letting up. "Lia, do you love me?"

"Yes!" I answered on a choked sob. I felt the tears start to spill from my eyes. "Yes, I love you. I never stopped loving you, Wyatt. Does it make you happy to know that? Do you get some kind of satisfaction from knowing that?"

My chest ached at the memory. Then I thought about the times he expressed what he felt about me...

"I never told you I didn't have feelings for you, Lia." When he said that though, he didn't elaborate. 

Then what he said about me and Logan together..."I got sick the first time you told me. Then after, all I could think about was the two of you. I couldn't fucking sleep. I kept picturing him kissing you, touching you, making love you...I couldn't fucking handle it." 

"I was so fucking jealous. I wanted you-- God, I wanted you. But he had you."

When he said those things to me, I thought it was exactly what I wanted to hear. He wanted me. God, I've wanted to hear those words for as long as I could remember. Or at least...I thought those were the words. 

"Why do you call me that?"

He frowned and came to stand in front of me. "Call you what?"

My eyes met his. "Baby."

He blinked repeatedly, clearly surprised by my question. "I—does it bother you?"

I shook my head. I loved it, actually. "No, I'm just curious."

He reached out and tucked my hair behind my ear. "The first time it just...came out. I liked the way it sounded. I meant it. I care about you, Lia. More than anything."

The more I thought about it, the more I saw the truth. Wyatt has said repeatedly that he's cared about me—that he will always be there for me; and I believed that. I know he's telling the truth. When I thought about the way he touched me and made love to me...I felt like he really was in love with me. But what did his heart say? It was so easy for me to tell him I loved him. Why couldn't he say it? 

The bathroom door opened and he came out dressed in the clothes he wore to our date. 

"Hey, baby." He frowned when he saw I still wasn't dressed. "Did you change your mind?"

"No," I answered and slid off the bed. I wrapped my body with the sheet and grabbed my clothes. "I was just waiting until you were done." 

I walked towards the bathroom and gave him a kiss on the cheek as I passed. "I'll be out in a few minutes." 

"I'll be waiting for you," he whispered to me. 

I returned his smile with one of my own and closed the bathroom door. I sagged against the sink; using my arms to hold me up. I looked at my reflection. As my eyes roamed over my body, I shivered. I could still feel Wyatt's mouth gently sucking at the skin of my neck. I could feel the his teeth tugging on my bottom lip form the desperation of his kiss. Or his hands gripping my thighs as he drove into my core. 

I closed my eyes tight and that's when I knew. I needed to talk to him about how he felt.

Today.

Three Hours Later

"You've been quiet," Wyatt said from the driver's seat of his car. 

After we left the hotel, we went to get breakfast from a local café. We had a good time and continued to talk and laugh. The drive home however...I couldn't speak. I knew what was going to come out of my mouth if I did. Now, we were sitting in his car in the parking garage of my apartment. 

"What is it, Lia? You can tell me." 

"I don't know if I should or not," I admitted quietly and lowered my gaze. "I don't want to lose you again." 

He reached over to me and wrapped his hand around mine. "You won't ever lose me, Lia." 

I knew he meant that. I knew that he would always be there for me. But the other devastating truth was that I knew if he didn't love me, it wouldn't be the same between us. Ever. I don't think I would be able to be around him. Not for awhile at least. Not after everything that's happened.

"Talk to me," he begged quietly. 

"Do you love me?"

He sucked in a sharp breath and pulled his hand from mine. I felt the absence more than I should have. "What?" 

I met his stare and asked him the same thing he asked me that night we went for a walk. "Do you love me, Wyatt?" 

"I don't—Why are you asking me that, Lia?" 

I shrugged my shoulders. "Why do you think, Wyatt? I've told you I've loved you so many times. The first time was four years ago. The last time was when you made love to me less than twelve hours ago. I need to know." 

He looked away from me, clenching his hands tightly. "Lia, that's not an easy question."

I scoffed at that. That was bullshit and he knew it. "That didn't seem to matter when you forced it out of me that night Logan proposed to me."

His hands unfisted and he ran them over his pants. "Lia, why do we have to talk about this now? Here? We just had a great date and an amazing night." 

He couldn't say it. Either that, or he didn't feel it. It didn't matter which it was. I couldn't keep going like this. 

"I'm sorry, Wyatt. I can't do this." My voice was so low, I thought maybe he didn't hear me. 

"What did you just say?" 

Oh, he heard me alright. I felt the tears start to build up. "I told you I loved you four years ago and you lied to me. Then you left. Then you came back and told me you had feelings for me and that you cared about me. You begged me to tell you whether or not I loved you." 

The tears started to fall and I looked over at him anyways. "I feel like you love me. The way you touch me—the way you make me feel. But I also thought you loved me four years ago. I don't know if you're just scared or maybe you just 'aren't there yet'." 

I took a deep breath before I spoke again. "I can't keep waiting and wondering. I can't keep being afraid that you're going to push me away for another four years because you're afraid." My voice broke. "I can't live another four years like I did before. If you don't love me—let me go. For good. Because if you keep pulling at me...I'll keep coming back to you. Even if I'm with someone else." 

His gaze never left mine. I knew he saw the truth of what I was saying. It shamed me, but I couldn't lie to him—not about this. I knew I was going to love him forever; and if I was with someone else, and Wyatt was still in my life...I wouldn't be able to resist him.

"So, Wyatt, I need to know. Do you love me—or not?" 

I have no idea how long we sat there. I had no idea how long I waited. A deafening silence hung between us. 

I knew when I needed to accept defeat. I leaned forward and softly placed my lips against his. I leaned back and looked in his eyes as I brushed his hair out of his face. 

"Goodbye, Wyatt." 

I grabbed my clutch, got out of his car, and didn't look back.