He crawls back up my body, shedding the rest of his clothes along the way, and when he settles between my thighs, the press of him against me makes us both groan.
He pushes in slowly, so slowly, watching my face the entire time. And when he's fully seated, when we're as close as two people can be, he goes still.
"I love you so much," he groans. "This is what I wanted. This is what I was too scared to let myself have."
I pull his mouth down to mine. We move together, finding our rhythm, the one that is just ours. Full of eye contact and whispered words and the kind of intimacy that only exists when there's nothing left to hide.
He tells me he loves me when he speeds up. He tells me he loves me when I wrap my legs around him. He tells me he loves me when I start to shake apart, when my nails dig into his back, when I cry out his name like it's the only word I know.
And when he follows me over, burying his face in myneck, my name on his lips like a prayer, I hold onto him and think: This. This is what forever feels like.
After, we lie tangled together in sheets that will definitely need washing, his fingers tracing lazy patterns on my back.
"So," I say. "Chicago."
"Chicago," he agrees.
"You, me, and your dad."
"And a workshop with southern exposure."
I press my face into his skin. "He's really coming?"
"He's really coming." Callahan's chest rises and falls under my cheek. "He's already researching neighborhoods. He sent me three links this morning."
I prop myself up on his chest. His hair is undone, his eyes are sleepy and satisfied, and there's a mark on his neck that I definitely put there and definitely don't regret.
"I'm going to be the best doctor," I tell him.
"I know."
"And you're going to be the best firefighter Chicago's ever seen."
"I'm going to set fires just so I can put them out. Keep my skills sharp and create job opportunity."
"That's arson," I giggle.
"That's dedication." He grins up at me, that rare full grin that changes his whole face. "For you, I'm willing to commit crimes."
"That's very romantic."
"I'm a very romantic person, I think."
"Like when you told me you wanted to put your tongue in my pussy loud enough for Mabel to hear last week?"
"I didn't know she was there! And that's romantic for us."
We stay like that for a while, just existing in the same space without any urgency.
"Hey," he says eventually.
"Yeah?"
"I'm really glad you're not everyone."
I smile into his skin. "I'm really glad you couldn't stay away."
"I never had a chance." He presses a kiss to the top of my head. "From the very first moment, I never had a chance."
