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“Don’t freak out,” he whispers.
His words are true to who Zane is and I love it. “I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. I can see it in your eyes.”
“I don’t want to be the cause of more family drama.”
“Mila, family drama will exist whether you’re in the picture or not.”
“But your relationship with Ryker, this could ruin everything.”
“You can’t ruin something that doesn’t exist.”
“I don’t want to come between the two of you.”
“Don’t look now, but you already are.”
“No...”
“You can walk away. We don’t have to do this. It’s your choice.” He pauses. “Just know... I want this.”
I squeeze his hand, unable to stop myself from a non-verbal response. There’s something about Zane that makes me happy, makes me feel alive. I can’t walk away. I want to find out where this will lead. I want to explore that magical ingredient he has that makes my heart race in weird ways.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
He nods, his eyes flashing. I wonder if anyone has ever stuck by him, other than his father.
He surprises me by scooting closer, so our hips and thighs are touching and our arms and hands are entwined in a way that feels intimate, like the time we danced on the makeshift dance floor in Chinatown.
Only this time, there’s nothing to stop us.
Artie looks up at us, then licks Zane’s arm. “Articus approves of us.”
Us, I think to myself. Zane and me are an us. I rest my head on his shoulder, testing how it feels to be close to him. I don’t have questions and I don’t have doubts. Oddly, it just feels right.
It always has. He makes me feel like I’m ready to dive into the deep end headfirst, like I’m ready to go for it, no reservations.
“Are you ready for this? For us?” Zane asks.
My insides quiver at the thought. “I am. This is exactly what I want.”
“I’ll try to move slow, but it won’t be easy.”
I close my eyes to calm the adrenaline racing through me. “I don’t want slow.”
He squeezes my hand. “Noted.” He kisses the top of my head, letting his lips remain for longer than necessary. “I think I can handle that request.”
I love the smile in his voice. I want to pour so much love on this man, so much that he won’t have room to receive it.
Zane rests his head on mine, and we simply sit there like that, snuggled up and entwined with each other. I wonder if he’ll kiss me, but he doesn’t, even though I announced I don’t want him to move slow. Instead, he seems content with simply holding me for the time being. I lose track of how long we sit there like that, not talking or feeling the need to fill the silence with useless chatter. We both allow the instant in time to be exactly what it is—our first moment together as an official couple. It’s an experiment in the feeling of just being us and I think we both want to prolong it, to make it last.
I love this. I feel close to him, like we’re one. I feel his strength and his confidence seep inside me and become a part of me.
When the sun lowers in the horizon, Zane says, “I guess we should head home.”
“Yeah, I guess we should.”
We take our time about it, leisurely walking to his Jeep, hand in hand. I breathe in deeply. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt so relaxed, so at ease.
