AllFreeNovel
Share Us
ChapterSeventeen
Jesse
I have Nate to thank for ruining the moment, but honestly, after talking things out, both Mariam and I are so tired that we’re strangely okay with taking a break from sex for the night.
We settle into bed, and I smile contentedly as I listen to Mariam’s chatter.
She fits perfectly in the crook of my arm, with her head nestled into my chest. I could stay like this all night, every night. I laugh when her chatter turns to gibberish as she drifts off to sleep. She throws one leg over mine and stretches her arm across my middle.
Having her with me like this expands my heart with passion, concern, affection, and the deep primal need to protect her.
And care. I care about her so much that I can’t see myself with anyone else ever again.
Is this…love? Is that the word I’m dancing around?
Maybe?
I spend far too long lying awake, listening to Mariam’s even breathing, thinking. For hours, I think about what comes next.
I’ve never felt more settled and sure of what I want than when I’m with Mariam.
She’s so young, though. At 26, she may be an old soul, but that doesn’t necessarily diminish the twenty-three-year difference in our ages.
Is it wrong?
Am I all wrong for her?
If we have a family right away, I’ll be in my late 60s by the time our kids graduate high school. Early seventies when they graduate college. With luck and barring no catastrophes, I might get to meet my grandchildren.
Do I want to have more kids? Does she want kids at all?
These are all things we have to talk about if we’re going to move this relationship along.
Maybe I’m overthinking it. Perhaps I should let go and enjoy what we have at this moment.
Ultimately, I have to be satisfied with being with her now and take things as they come.
After some time, Mariam rolls off my chest and snores into the pillow. I fight the urge to spoon up behind her because I have something to do.
Groaning and hauling my ass out of bed, I head downstairs to grab my toolbox.
It’s the middle of the night, and I don’t have entirely new door locks. But I have enough hardware rattling around to install sliding latches on all the doors.
Nate might be traumatized enough at walking in on Mariam and me that he won’t be waltzing into my house unannounced ever again. But that’s not the point.
I want Mariam to know that I care about her safety and am willing to take steps.
It’s the one thing I can do right now.
ChapterEighteen
Mariam
Something warm and wet moving between my legs wakes me up on Sunday morning.
At first, the sensation is incorporated into my dream. When I wake and look down, a head-shaped lump is under the blanket, bobbing up and down.
Jesse is there when I lift the blanket, tasting my core with a broad, languid tongue.
