I feel about you again. Never loving anyone like this again.”
I can’t take it anymore, and I pull her to me, cradling her head on my shoulder. I’ll keep it easy, nothing she won’t want. But I need her close, so I can feel her, smell her, know one more time what it’s like to hold her in my arms.
We’re quiet for a bit, then she says, “Are you saying you love me?”
I won’t hesitate on this. It’s my only shot. “I do.”
Nova pulls away. “Then why didn’t you tell anyone? Why did you lock yourself up in that condo on the beach?”
So, she looked for me. Found information on where I was. She cared enough to do that.
My heart hammers hard, like it maybe—just maybe—has something to beat for again.
“I didn’t know how to fix this. Fix us. I texted you. It was no good.”
She falls silent, looking down at her hands. “Should it be fixed?”
I pick up her hand and lift it to my lips. “I’ll do anything to fix it.”
Her eyes meet mine again. “Remind me why we were so good.”
I squeeze her hand. “Well, we always had things to talk about and—”
My head knocks sideways as she smacks me with a pillow. “Shut up and show me.”
She’s smiling. Nova is smiling at me and it’s like the world has broken open with light.
I don’t make her ask twice and pull her close to me. My mouth falls on hers, and every sappy love song I’ve ever heard fights to win dominance in my head. It’s birdsong and sunrise and birthday cake.
I feel like my heart will burst.
But I have work to do here. Nova needs to know what makes us work. The proof.
And I am the man for the job.
I run my hands through her hair and down her back. I find the bottom of the Pickle shirt and let my thumb run gently along the warm skin of her belly.
Her breath makes its first uptick in speed, and I have her. She’s mine now. I turn her so I can lift her up and move us to the center of the bed. I will worship every part of her, take my time.
And love every minute of it.
I spread her hair out across the pillows and slowly inch the shirt up over her ribs. I kiss every fresh reveal of skin as I go. When the shirt catches on her nipples, I slowly inch it over those taut buds.
Then they are mine, succumbing to my hands and mouth. Nova arches her back. I tug the shirt over her head to land across the room.
She’s bared to me, and I feast on her, lost in the sounds she makes, the warmth of her skin.
I push down the sweatpants, my fingers grazing her thigh, her knee, her smooth calf.
When she’s in nothing but panties, I lift away to look at her.
“This is the only vision I ever need,” I whisper and her brown eyes lock on mine.
I grasp the panties and ease them down, feathering kisses on her hips. I spread her knees wide and dip my tongue precisely on the bud of her clit.
Her body lifts to me, and I clutch her, diving deeply, revisiting all my favorite places. Her muscles tighten, her legs framing my face. I gaze up at her, those glorious breasts arched high, her hands clutching the pillow.
She’s mine, and I remind her how we work together as the pulsing in her body begins.
“Inside,” she says. “I want you. Inside.”
I shuck my clothes as fast as possible and crawl over her. “This?”
“Yes. I want to see you.”
I brace myself over her body, emotion flooding me. “Hey, Nova,” I say.
She stares up at me, my face above her. “Yeah?”
“I love you.”
She lifts her head to press a quick kiss on my forehead. “I know.”
I slam inside her, and she quickly tones her scream down into a gasp. “Your Grammy!” she says. “She’s next door.”
So that’s how Grammy knew Nova’s room.
But I don’t slow down, circling Nova’s clit with my thumb. Nova tries to keep it down, but as I lean down to take her nipple into my mouth, she lets loose, her cries rattling the lamp on the side table, her body writhing beneath me.
I let go inside her, and our bodies pulse in tandem. I’m on top of the world, having crested the highest mountain, the hard part behind me. I’ve reached the summit of everything.
Nova lets out a small sob, and I