Exchange
Chris worked from home over the next week, knowing that being in the same building with you would be too difficult for him. He would be too tempted to just go see you. And as desperate as he was to see you, he didn't wanna screw anything up by not respecting your wishes. He just hoped and prayed with everything he had that you'd come see him before he left.
The day before Chris was to leave you hadn't shown or contacted him. He was beginning to lose hope. He was all packed and everything was in order. Sam and Maria were also caming over that afternoon for him to go over everything at the house that needed taking care of while he would be gone.
When Sam and Maria arrived, Chris answered the door and greeted them. Just before he was going to invite them in, he saw the top of a head just over the brick wall of the porch, coming from the driveway to the pathway. He furrowed his brows and tilted his head as Sam and Maria paused and started smiling. When you came into full view and started up the stairs, smiling, Sam and Maria stepped aside. Chris's face lit up like the sun and his heart skipped a beat. "Oh my God.", he said softly, chuckling.
Sam grinned, "We brought you something."
Chris walked to you, meeting you at the top of the steps. "Hey.", he murmured, his brows were pulled together in relief and delight, an affectionate smile across his lips.
"Hey.", you smiled softly. He lifted you off your feet and hugged you so tight that he popped your back. You grunted and chortled, "Ugh. Thank you."
He put you down and released you, hands resting on your arms, "Geez, I'm sorry.", he chuckled. "You okay?"
You laughed softly, "Yeah. It actually felt good."
He wrapped his arms around you, your arms went around his ribs and your head on his chest. It was so good to actually smell him instead of just his shirt that he packed for you. He kissed your head and rested his cheek on it, his voice was quiet, rumbling in his chest, "God, I missed you. I was so afraid I wouldn't see you before I left."
"I missed you too, Chris. And I'm really gonna miss you when you go.", you felt the tightening in your throat that signaled crying wasn't far behind.
"Me too, sweetie. But, it's gonna help us both, okay? I really believe that."
"Me too."
Sam clapped, "Okay, kids! We gotta get all this house stuff and anything else Chris needs to do done. Tony and Pep are throwing a farewell get together for Chris with the inner circle. Let's go!" He waved everyone into the house.
Chris had actually cleaned the whole house over the week and just had to go over stuff with Sam and Maria. There really wasn't anything that needed to be done that day, so Sam and Maria said their goodbyes and that they would see you both at Tony's.
Once they were gone, Chris took your hand, "Come on." He led you back into his room and opened one of the long drawers on the second row in his dresser, "The shirts are here..." He shut it and lightly touched the other drawer on the same row, "And here. And this,", he picked up a bottle of cologne from the dresser top, "is for you." He handed it to you, one side of his mouth hitched in a half smile.
You gave him a big, closed lipped smile and hugged him around his middle. He embraced you in return. You noticed that he was taking a deep breath with his face against your head. You guessed that he was smelling your hair and it gave you an idea. You stepped back and gave him a smile, scrunching your nose.
"Good Lord, you're so cute. I've missed that this week.", he beamed at your adorable expression. Then he frowned, "And I've got at least three months ahead without it. Boo."
You chuckled, "Hey, you aren't the only one who's gonna suffer." You took his hand, leading him into your room. You had many bottles of perfume and body sprays on your dresser and gestured to them, "Which one's your favorite?"
He chuckled, "I don't know. I don't know which smell belongs to which bottle."
"So,", you squinted an eye at him in playful suspicion, "does that mean you do have a favorite?"
He nodded, smiling just a little, his face was soft, "Yeah." He blinked slowly at you, "my favorite is the one you wear every day."
His demeanor and words were giving you butterflies. You nodded with a soft smile and looked over the bottles, guiding a finger around the top of them to find it. You plucked up a cylindrical, tall, slender, dimpled glass bottle filled with an amber liquid and donning a brown cap. You removed the cap, spritzed a small bit on the inside of your wrist and rubbed it against you other wrist a few times to warm it and strengthen the smell as he watched you.
You held your wrist up to him and he looked in your eyes for a beat and then leaned over, the tip of his nose barely touching your wrist. Your heart skipped a beat as he took in a soft breath through his nose and closed his eyes at the familiar scent. He pulled back slowly and opened his eyes. As he gazed at you, he nodded and licked his lips, biting the bottom one for a beat. His voice was low, "Yeah. That's the one."
Okay, that got intense quickly. It was making you feel a little uncomfortable that the way he was acting was causing your body to react in ways you weren't ready for. You smiled, light-heartedly, trying to change the mood in the room, "Perfect." You replaced the cap and put it in his hand, "Go pack it and get your shower." You started trying to shove him to the doorway and he let you, grinning, as you continued, "We got places to be, big guy."