"I thought that might shut you up."
"Guess again, bunk buddy. Wanna hear a fun fact?"
"I'm pretty sure the correct answer is hell no."
"Too bad. I value a well-rounded education. So did you know..."
"I'm already dreading this."
The ancient heater decides it’s the right time to knock and wheeze to life, drowning out my words.
Suuuuuurrrrreeeeee, take his side.
"As I was saying... did you know, if you were born naturally, the first vajay you had your mouth on was your mother's."
"Dammit, woman. You're going to cause a medical condition saying shit like that."
"A boner killer, am I right?"
"That would be the condition."
"Technically, this particular cause of ED would fall under psychological conditions."
"As does this conversation."
"Okay, mind scrub time. Do you think having your head at the foot of the bed is like picking tails in heads or tails?"
The laugh that bursts from him is pure sin wrapped in velvet—deep, rich, and completely unfair.
It vibrates through me like the raw, potent bass sounds at a Fall Out Boy concert, settling low in my belly and spreading outward until my skin tingles.
The kind of laugh that makes you want to catalog every possible way to hear it again, preferably while he's hovering over you, his breath hot against your neck...
The mattress shifts as he settles in with his head at the foot of the bed. Silence fills the darkness, and despite the mattress under us being old enough to have RSVP’d to Woodstock, my muscles relax. Something about my inability to make out his features makes me brave.
Or maybe just honest.
"What if I'm not enough?" The whispered words slip out before I can stop them. My heart pounds in my ears as the seconds tick by with no reply.
Maybe he's asleep.
He has to be asleep.
Because if he doesn't think I'm enough, I don't—I can't?—
Warm fingers find mine in the dark, his calloused hand sliding against my own.
The ache building in my chest slinks away like a coward in the face of this soldier's quiet strength.
"You see yourself with remarkable clarity, Holly." His voice is quiet but firm. "Don't start doubting that now. That's enough."
I swallow the massive lump parked in my throat.
The confidence in his voice has me blinking back the hot tears.
His thumb brushes over my knuckles. "And Holly?"
"Yeah?" Darkness be damned, my watery voice gives me away.
