I brush my mouth over her temple.
“You don’t have to know all at once.”
“And if I mess it up?”
I lean back enough to make her look at me.
“Then we mess it up and figure it out.”
That gets the faintest smile out of her.
Small.
Tired.
Beautiful.
“You make that sound easy.”
“It won’t be.”
At least she knows me well enough now not to expect lies.
“But I’m not going anywhere.”
She studies me like she’s weighing the truth of that.
Then slowly, carefully, she nods.
And something about that feels bigger than any kiss we’ve shared tonight.
A choice.
Not rushed.
Not born out of fear.
Real.
She shifts again, settling more comfortably against me, and I pull the throw blanket off the back of the couch and drape it over her. Over us.
Her eyes are heavy now.
The crash finally catching up.
“You should sleep,” I murmur.
“What about you?”
“I’ll be right here.”
That gets me another one of those searching looks.
“On the couch?”
“If that’s where you want me.”
She doesn’t hesitate this time.
