A small smile curves her lips, but again, it doesn’t reach the rest of her face. She stays silent, her attention flickering somewhere just beyond my shoulder.
All at once, my ribcage feels like it’s been wrapped in a vise, squeezing tighter with every breath. I shift, turning onto my side so I can really see her—scrutinizing the soft curve of her cheek, the tiny furrow of her brow. “Is it the, um…love stuff? Because I meant every word. But we can go as fast or slow as you want.”
Ebony closes her eyes, and it’s like the air thickens, making it harder to breathe. I’m waiting for something. Anything.
Please don’t take it back.
“Do you regret it? This? Us?”Say I’menough.
“I’m just happy,” she whispers, and suddenly, the grip on my chest loosens just enough for me to take a real breath. “Being here with you… For the first time in a long time, I slept so comfortably.”
I tug her on top of me, needing the closeness as much as I need her to understand. “Look at me for a second, baby,” I say, my voice still a little raw. “That’s because webelongtogether, you know that? It was always supposed to be us.”
Ebony nods, her bright hazel eyes brimming with tears.
I lift my hand to her cheek, gently brushing them away. Slowly, I lean in, my mouth soft against her lips as her knees spill over my thighs. She rocks over me, her hips rotating and grinding, her body telling me what she needs. That she needsme.
“Let me grab a condom,” I say, but she halts my hand, keeping me from moving. She can’t seem to be apart from me for even a second. So, with her insistence that it’s “just this once,” I lift her slightly. Raw and aching, I glide inside her. “Fuck…”
DearLord, she takes every inch of me so well, I’m nearly undone before we’ve even started. I have to take my time. I could be like this with her forever. I’ve always known I loved Ebony. But to this extent?
I’m wrecked.
I’m utterly spoiled, because we’re connected, heart to heart, flesh to flesh, with no barriers between us. We kiss like this, no rush, just the quiet rhythm of our breaths as I move inside her with purpose. My arms are wrapped around her, holding her close so she feels nothing but safe and loved. And still, I feel the urge to ask if she’s happy. To squeeze her tighter, because…how can I be going through withdrawals, needing her nearer, when I’m still inside her?
As her orgasm swells, I sink into the warmth of her soft breaths on my neck, her hands on my skin like a balm to my heart. I tell her, “I love you.” Then I tell her over and over until we’re kissing and trembling together because she’s a woman who should be told as much and as often as possible, and by me.
Then we sleep again.
And when we rouse to refuel on order-in pizza, as we fall into an amazingeat-sex-repeatcycle for most of the night, I’ve never been happier. Every few hours, one of us kisses the other awake, starving and desperate for more as we rapidly go through her big box of condoms until the sun is high in the sky again, and we’re forced to get up before checkout.
We shower—gloriously, together—then throw on plain clothes and hiking boots, our swimwear tucked underneath. I make a quick call to the shop to check on the ETA of the chandelier crystals. It’ll be a few more hours, so I grab some waters and replenish our snacks, then we head out for a hot August morning on the trail.
A mix of nerves and excitement stirs in my stomach, and I hope she loves it.
As we drive up to the trail, Ebony gasps. “Amicalola Falls State Park,” she says, her eyes lighting up. “As inwaterfalls?”
My heart lurches. I love that my surprise is exactly what she needs. “I know how much you love them.”
She still looks at me, a bit puzzled. “Wait, what happened to the Lake Lanier Trail? The pool?”
I shrug, a grin spreading across my face. “It’s a little shorter than we planned, but there’s still a mile hike to the waterfall. Then we’ll drive over to the Amicalola River Trail to swim.Ifyou want…”
Without warning, she lunges over the console, squealing and wrapping her arms around me. “This. Is. Why. I. Love. You,” she says, punctuating each word with a kiss, and I know this is why I’m whipped.
It’s almost embarrassing how in love I am with this woman. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to make her smile.
Thirty minutes—spent nearly sprinting—later, we snap cutesy couple pictures together in front of the Amicalola Falls State Park sign, carve our initials into a tree, share a stolen kiss under its branches, and barely dodge a run-in with some curious wildlife. Then, finally, we reach the observation bridge.
For a moment, we stand here, mesmerized by the sight of this magnificent seven-hundred-foot wonder of nature. Glittering water cascades down layered drops, shrouded in trees and wildflowers in full bloom.
“It’s beautiful,” Ebony whispers.
“It sure is.”
She turns to me, catching me watching her with a soft smile, her eyes sparkling with love. She clasps her hands behind my neck, pulling me close. “Thank you for this. For just…being you. I love it. Iloveyou.”
I lean in, slanting my mouth over hers. The kiss is soft, tender, every brush of our lips a quiet promise that I would do anything for her.
