I looked at him.
"I'm here," I said. "Right here."
"Good." He kissed me—slow and thorough. "Stay with me."
"I'm not going anywhere."
He started moving again, deeper. "Neither am I."
The words hit something in my chest that cracked open and wouldn't close.
Then, my brain went white, all thoughts gone—and the only word left was his name—Adrian.
He followed me over the edge, just seconds behind, burying his face against my throat, his whole body shuddering as he came. I held onto him through it—hands on his back, feeling the muscles tense and release.
Neither of us moved. We panted for breath, existing in the wreckage of what we'd done to each other.
Eventually, Adrian shifted, pulling out carefully. He dealt with the condom. Then he was back, collapsing onto the mattress beside me, one arm draped across my stomach.
My brain was very broken. Pleasantly destroyed. The best kind of destruction.
After, I lay there trying to remember how my lungs worked.
"Holy shit," I managed.
Adrian laughed. "Yeah."
"I can't feel my legs. Again. This is becoming a pattern."
"You have very fragile legs."
"My legs are weapons." I tried to move them. They didn't cooperate. "My legs have betrayed me."
Adrian rolled onto his side and pulled me against him.
I tucked myself into the space between his body and the bed like I'd been designed to fit there. His arm wrapped around my waist, and his chin rested on top of my head.
Safe. I felt safe.
"I talk too much after sex," I said. "You can tell me to shut up."
"I like it when you talk."
"Give it twenty minutes. I'll start explaining why octopuses have three hearts, and you'll regret that comment."
"Octopuses have three hearts?"
"Yes! It's wildly excessive. One heart causes me enough problems. I wonder what happens if they disagree about who to love."
"Pickle."
I looked up at him and relaxed. I wasn't Noah anymore.
Adrian's face was soft, serious, and a little bit scared.
"I'm not going to tell you to be less," he said quietly. "The rambling. The chaos. The way your brain never stops. I don't want you to shrink yourself for me."
I bit my lip.
