"Since when do I do what you tell me?"
She pulls back to look at me, and despite the tears and the dark circles and the emotional wreckage of the last twelve hours, she's still the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
"You're infuriating."
"So I've been told."
"And bossy."
"Also true."
"And I'm probably going to push you away again at some point because that's what I do when I'm scared."
"And I'll hold on anyway. Because that's what I do."
Her smile is watery but real. "We're both disasters."
"Compatible disasters." I kiss her forehead. "Now cancel that cab. We have a brunch to attend and a family to face and a whole conversation about the future that I'm very much looking forward to having with you."
"The future." She tests the word. "That's a big word for two people who've known each other four days."
"Five days now. We crossed midnight."
"Oh, well. Five days. Practically a lifetime."
I kiss her properly then, deep and thorough and full of all the promises I'm not ready to put into words yet. She melts into me the way she always does, her body recognizing mine even when her mind is still catching up.
When we finally break apart, she's flushed and breathing hard.
"I'm going to screw this up," she warns. "Probably multiple times."
"So will I."
"And we'll fight. I'm not easy to be with."
"Neither am I."
"And the distance thing is still a real problem that we're going to have to figure out."
"We will."
"You sound very confident for someone who just watched me have a complete emotional breakdown."
"I am confident." I tuck a braid behind her ear. "Because I've spent eight years being careful and safe and alone, and infour days you've made me feel more alive than I have since my parents died. I'm not letting that go without a fight."
Her eyes well up again. "That's the most romantic thing anyone's ever said to me."
"I meant every word."
She takes a shaky breath. "Okay. Let's do this. Brunch with my family, terrifying conversation about the future, figuring out how to make an impossible situation work."
"That's the spirit."
"But first." She grabs the front of my shirt and pulls me down for another kiss. "I need you to take me upstairs and remind me why I'm choosing to stay."
"The brunch is in three hours."
"Then you better be efficient."
