Page 104 of Yours, For Now

What I heard was,let me keep taking care of you.

I smiled. "Okay. I'd love to stay."

He grinned, and surrounded the island to give me another kiss.

Ugh, he was a little too good to be true, but I'd started to be okay with that. More than that, I'd started to love it.

He gave me his phone with an app open. I'd never seen it, but it seemed like an online shopping store of a brand I'd never seen before. I bit my lip when the screen shone with no prices on the items. After I made a few selections, I gave him his phone back.

"You didn't get PJs?" His eyes lifted from the screen to study me.

"Can I use some of your clothes? Do you have a 2XL shirt, maybe?"

I eyed him, like I hadn't learnt by now the shape of him. I didn't think that was his size, but it didn't mean he didn't have a shirt like that.

"I'm pretty sure we can find something."

He casually added a five hundred dollar tip and closed the app. "Your things should be here in a couple of hours."

My family was fine, but notthatkind of fine. I raised my eyebrows.

"What app is that?"

"One of Javier's projects. My mom helps him run it. It hires people in vulnerable situations. They earn a flat fee for the service plus tip. All the items are new and bought with money donated to the organization. It's pretty neat."

"That sounds wonderful."

He frowned. "Do you want to watch something on the TV while I send a few emails? If it bothers you, I won't get on my computer, but there are a couple of things I should really look into."

"I don't want to work tonight, but I understand if you need to. I did promise my stuff wouldn't get in the way of what you have to do."

He pursed his lips and crossed his arms; we stood close enough that the gesture brought us to touch in a few places.

"I don't think we're the same people who made those promises," he said.

I bit the inside of my lip again. "Have things really changed? We're both still swamped with work and responsibilities."

"Is there a world where we could make it work, anyway?"

"Is this enough for you?" I placed a hand on his folded arms. "A few stolen moments and working together every evening?"

"It would only be like this for a few years."

We gazed at each other for a long moment. I conjured images of a future together, one where the things we did to pretend became the template for something real. I frowned, torn, my stomach tightening while my heart took flight. In just a few words, Gabe let me know he'd be in, if we could agree on the how.

Going for it meant having someone who saw me, held me, and cared for me. Someone kind, safe, and driven like me. Someone whose family showed me what we could build together, and how close that would be to my every dream. It also meant risking my future, if my dad took it as a sign that I was ready to get married and give him grandchildren.

Something must have shown on my face, because Gabe lifted a hand to my cheek. "Sorry. You're tired. We can talk about it sometime this weekend."

A scoff escaped me. "On the weekend we said we'd break up?"

He didn't respond except for a smirk curling his lips.

We went to sleep a little after we received the things Gabe had ordered for me. Wearing a shirt from his college years, I got into bed with him next to me. I went to sleep in the comfort of his warmth under the covers.

Light barely made it behind the blackout curtains when Gabe woke me up with tender kisses on my face. He brought me closer to him and wrapped me in his arms, both on our sides and face to face, and he never stopped the gentle pecks on every corner he could reach. The movement of our bodies started slow, undulations helping us rub against each other, waking our bodies up. Soon our breaths mingled together and our touch became more purposeful, reverent, and still sweet.

He brought one of my legs over his hip, aligning our centers. Small shudders traveled through his body when I touched him, and I pressed closer to him, seeking more.