“I refueled twice, but you didn’t wake up for it.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. You needed to sleep.”
“I bet you were lonely.”
I huff. “Yeah, but you were there with me, just sleeping. It’s fine. I binged a podcast.”
“I bet you’re exhausted, now.”
I groan an affirmative sound. “I’m beat.”
She rolls to her back, and now her arm is under my neck, cradling my shoulders, and my head is against her chest. I can hear her heartbeat thudding rhythmically. She’s soft, and warm. “How’s this?”
“Mmm. Best.”
Her lips touch my forehead. My temple. “I’ll hold you, now. Sleep.”
I’ve never been held like this, before. It’s weird, at first, mentally. But it feels…safe. Warm. Vulnerable. It makes my heart…open, like a flower in the dawn light.
I turn my face up, wriggle higher. Kiss her.
She murmurs a laugh. “I thought you were tired.”
“I am. But I’m never too tired to kiss you.”
Her lips are soft and warm, and I feel myself melting into her. Kissing, and kissing. Exhaustion tugs at me, but desire wins. Pushes me closer to her, prompts me to deepen the kiss.
She pulls away first, with a frustrated sigh. “I feel…impatient, Wes. Sexually. I want everything. I want more. I also want to just…enjoy the process of discovering this, of finding out what things feel like. But I also know that…I don’t have much time. And I want to feel everything with you while I still can.”
This is an abrupt transition from kissing, but I roll with it. Pull away from her and rest my head on her chest again. “It’s all on your time frame, Jo. It can all happen as slowly or as quickly as you want.”
“I want to…” She gazes down at me. “I want to make love with you, Wes.”
I trace her jawline, the shell of her ear. Searches her face. “I want that too. I want to make love to you, Jolene.”
“Now?”
I touch her lips with a thumb. “Would you trust me if I said I wanted to wait, and do something special for you? For us, I mean.” I trace her lips again.
“I trust you.”
“I want to make it special, Jo. It should be special. Magical.”
“Everything we do is special and magical.”
I laugh. “That’s the damn truth, baby. But I mean…I want to take you out on a proper date. Get you a fancy gown and shoes and rent a limo and…all that.”
“That sounds amazing.” She kisses my temple again, a soft, gentle, warm touch of her lips. Affectionate, and sweet, and it sends a lance of something deep and intense through me. “I don’t need all that, though.”
“You deserve it,” I say. “You deserve magic. Romance. You deserve to feel like the most beautiful and special woman in the world, because you are.”
“Well, I won’t lie—that does sound like the most incredible night ever.”
“I’ll make it happen, then.” I lift up, and my lips touch hers. “You deserve everything, Jo. Because youareeverything.”
“Wes, I…” She stops short. Looks away from me, blinking hard. “I can’t even begin to tell you how thankful I am that you showed up at my door.” She kisses me, then and I kiss her back, and then we’re lost in each other, and she rolls into me, hovers over me, and kisses me breathless.
