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I just had no idea that my father would eventually come in and fuck up the entire chessboard.
The basement clings to me, but I squeeze my eyes shut, willing it to disappear for good. It’s not until I feel a warm hand on my cheek that I realize she’s standing before me in the entryway of my loft. My eyes open, and just like she promised, that’s all I had to do to see her light. The fire that always burns deep inside me cools to the gentle simmer I feel every time she looks at me.
Her lip tips up in a smile as her thumb brushes over my cheek and I swear it’s like she knows exactly where I just went. I exhale a shaky breath, letting the past fall away where it belongs and reach for her, my fingers wrapping around her hips.
I tug her body into me, and she giggles, her chest colliding with mine. “You okay?” she murmurs.
Unable to speak, I bend down and capture her surprised lips with my own. For the first time, I kiss the love of my life in my home. My safe place. The place I made for myself with my chosen family.
Eve sinks into me, her fingers tangling with my shirt, and everything feels right. Resisting the urge to shove her against the wall and fuck her here and now, I pull back, resting my forehead against hers.
“I am now,” I breathe, tightening my arms around her lower back.
Her eyes flutter closed, and she releases a soft sigh, tracing patterns on my chest as though she can see the tattoos beneath my shirt.
“Good,” she murmurs. “I missed you.”
And just like that, the mistake I made all those years ago hits me with shocking clarity.
“Please, Lord, all I see is the dark. I just want to see the light. Just once.”
Eve.
Eve is my light, and she was there when I needed her. I asked, I begged, and there she was.
She’s here.
And I’m never letting her go again.
“So,” I start, my voice raspy from laughing so hard at dinner. “This is my room.”
I awkwardly run my fingers through my hair as the door quietly closes behind her. Eve turns wide, blinking eyes up at me and for a moment, we just stare at each other.
Then, her head tips back with a deep belly laugh that has my frayed edges soothing.
“I know,” she chuckles, softly smacking my abs with the back of her hand as she passes me. I grunt, narrowing my eyes as her fine ass sways in her yoga pants. She drops down to my bed, looking beyond comfortable and too damn good in my space. “I’ve been staying here, remember?”
Right.
She’s been staying here.
In my home, my room, my bed.
The first night she’d shown up, Kon texted me. It was the only thing that kept me grounded when she disappeared. I knew I’d fucked up. Knew she needed space. She had every right to be upset, and as much as I wanted to call her, hear her voice and apologize, it’s not what she needed. And just like I promised at the lake, Eve comes first. Now. Always.
I bob my head, still rooted to the spot, unable to look away from her. A warm glow from a streetlight outside spills in from my window, illuminating her golden hair. She’s wearing my hoodie and no makeup, the tiny freckles dotting her cheeks on full display. There’s a soft look on her face as she watches me, her expression filled with humor and familiarity.
Not for the first time, the sight of her is like a sucker punch to my gut.
Fuck. She’s just so beautiful.
I swallow roughly, and though it kills me, I drag my gaze from her. I don’t know why I feel so weird right now. So off kilter. I almost feel like I’m the one imposing.
My eyes slide across my room, noticing small changes she’s made. My lips twitch when I realize she’s tidied up. It even smells fresher, like she’s kept the window open since I’ve been away.
It’s so like her, always needing to feel the air on her face, to have the sun warming her skin.
My golden girl.
