“Sobony,” he commented teasingly.
“I’llpack on a few more pounds,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“You’dstill be perfect,” he replied, his voice groggy with oncoming sleep.
Icaught Mama’s hand come up and press against her chest, and I tipped my head tolay against his.
Ihad spent a lifetime waiting for acceptance. From Chad. From my peers. From afather figure. And now, over the past few months, the whole internet had buzzedwith compliments and praise, and I had found a family within Devin O’Leary’sband. But nothing made me feel more accepted than when Chad showed hisaffection and said those words.
Ididn’t need the world to love me; I just needed him.
***
Chadneeded to do laundry and take care of things at home, but he also wanted tosleep and insisted he did that best with me. So, after our parents had left us stuffedwith vegetarian quesadillas, grilled vegetables, and a chocolate cream pie, weheaded back to my place.
Insidethe apartment, we caught Morgan and Benny in the throes of a heated make-outsession. Morgan pulled away from Benny’s lip-lock with a jump off the couch, asthough we hadn’t caught them teetering close to R-rated territory in the livingroom.
“Please.Don’t let us interrupty’all,” Chad teased, carryingmy suitcases into my room.
“Youdidn’t tell me she was coming home today,” an embarrassed Benny muttered atMorgan. He laid his hands over his face as she swallowed her own humiliation.
“Hey!I didn’t know you were coming home soearly,”Morgan said, rushing toward me.
Ipulled her in for a hug. “We weregonnaspend moretime with our parents, but we’rekindaexhausted,” Iexplained, sighing against her.
“Ibet,” she sympathized. She squeezed me tightly before letting go. “But pleasetell me you’re not too tired to do yoga tomorrow.”
Astroke of sadness brushed over me. I was going to miss The Tour Wives, Kylieand Tess, and our routine of yoga every morning. Even more than that, I wasgoing to miss the addition of Sebastian and Greyson. We’d become quite theeclectic bunch over the past few months, and I’d loved every second of my time spentwith them. It was hard to now accept that I couldn’t just step outside the doorand find them waiting for me, and I wasn’t sure how Chad had managed all theseyears.
“Yeah,”I nodded against her shoulder, “absolutely.”
“Countme in!” Chad called from the bedroom, and I laughed when Morgan pushed away andraised an eyebrow to me.
“Yourboyfriend does yoga?”
Inodded. “He does.”
“Yourealize that’s crazy hot, right?”
“Oh,trust me,” I laughed. “I’m aware. And he’s pretty good, too.”
Morgancocked a hip and tipped her head. “Better thanme, though?” Then, before I could reply, she muttered, “You knowwhat? Don’t answer that.”
***
Myfingernails left their marks against his chest, imprinting half-circles thatpierced through inked murals. They dragged to the waistband of his boxers, andmy fingers curled to tug them off.
“Ithought we were exhausted,” he reminded me, lifting a suggestive eyebrow.
“MaybeI got a second wind,” I teased and used my tongue to further prove my point.
Agroan passed through Chad’s lips as I drew him into my mouth. He tried towatch, tried to keep his eyes on me, but my focus was his pleasure and it wastoo much. His head tipped back, cutting me from his view, and another groan,deep and primal, wracked through his chest and throat and mouth.
At the momentwhenhis fingers threaded into my hair and tugged, I felt the encouragement to movedeeper, faster, harder, but Chad had other ideas.
“Getup here,” he commanded, more persistent in the pull of my hair, and he directedmy mouth to his lips.
Hekissed me with deliberate passion as his hands moved to my underwear, slidingthem from my hips and off my legs. Then, I straddled his waist to bask in theconnection I only felt with him inside me. His fingers dug into my hips toguide my movements, both forceful and determined, and his eyes hooded withnothing short of adoration. They said everything I was thinking and was unableto say, as my moans slipped off my tongue and my breath tripped through mythroat:I want this. I want him. I needthis. I need him. I love this. I love him.
