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Yet here he is, the unapologetic man, apologizing. To me.
Before I say anything, I scoot closer to him on his king-size bed. My palms flatten on his naked, rippling chest.
Even lying down, our height difference is noticeable. In a cute way. Like he can encapsulate me, hug me, embrace me, and I won’t be crushed.
I tilt my head up while he angles down until we meet in the middle. A sated smile rises lazily on my lips. The harsh line of Theo’s lips smooths over, his version of happy.
I’m limbless at his side, but it doesn’t block my senses from feeling the invisible ropes tying us together. The remnants of the explosive sex we had, besides the soreness in my pussy and ass.
I suck in a long, labored breath, searching for my place in this madness. Trying to figure out who I am when I’m near Theo.
I’m myself. More open and uninhibited, yet I’m undoubtedly me.
What we have brings me, the real me, joy.
But my goals don’t end with mindless happiness. I can’t fall for just anyone.
I’m not desperate, not needy. I’m worthy of love from someone who offers me his heart and his honesty. There’s no doubt in my mind the man I’m falling for holds a treasure of secrets, locked tight and buried away. I’m not sure what they are.
One of them I’ve already been made aware of. He follows me.
He used the wordstalk.
I should be wary of him.
I’m not. I’m flattered. I’m grateful.
His actions saved me. My dad turned out to be a miserable excuse for not just a father, but a human in general as well. And Theo was there to catch me, then teach him a violent lesson.
Honestly, though, I would’ve been okay with it regardless. I’m too far gone to be mad, to throw accusations or resent him for watching over me. At the end of the day, it’s what I want—a relationship with him. With someone who’s equally crazy about me as I am about him.
So, that’s one secret down.
How many others are there?
Instead of being too forward, instead of assuming, I opt for being an adult and allowing him the space to express himself.
I simply ask him, “What about the last two days?”
Rough knuckles of a gentle hand run across my temple to my cheek, over dried tears, and traces of spit. Theo’s thumb drags across my lips, reverent and cherishing.
“For canceling our lunch breaks.” His hoarse voice, his bedroom voice, sends chills down my spine. I shiver all over. “I’ve missed you. I’ve missed this. Us.”
My lips twitch. The doubts, self-recrimination. The not being good enough for him. All of it has been for nothing.
I refuse to cry. Bottling my bodily reaction and just scratching his wall of a chest. “I’ve missed you too.”
“I’m sorry about that.” He leans in, feathering kisses on one corner of my mouth, then the other.
“You have to understand.” When he returns to look at me, his eyes smolder. “I had to do it the right way. Tell you why I left San Francisco. About my past. What might come back to haunt me. It wasn’t fair to start a relationship…”
The word, the tiny four-syllable word, knocks the air out of me.
I pinch my lips, knead my eyebrows together, whatever I can to mask the shock and hope. A relationship can mean a lot of things. Friendly, casual, neighborly…
Although I’m hoping, truly hoping, Theo means it’s what I want it to be.
A serious one.
