“Hmm, it was fine.”
“Laney Reynolds.” Connor tugged on my hair until I was forced to look at him. His eyes held that wild, desperate, lusty look again, and I couldn’t stop myself. I winked.
“Fuck me, you’re perfect.”
He kissed me, but I shoved him away. “Dude, morning breath. Come on.”
He yanked me back. “You think I give a shit about morning breath?”
“Uh, yes. Normal people do?” I covered my mouth with my hand, suddenly very, very awake. I was still sore, but in the best way ever. “Now that you rudely woke me up, I’m gonna brush my teeth.”
He closed his eyes and laughed. “I missed you so much. Never change, baby.”
I pinched his side, running to the bathroom before he could retaliate. He wasn’t lying when he said he hadn’t woken up with me in a long time. These soft moments, the playful barbs… they were what made usus, and without all that quality time together we had forgotten what made us work.
Soph had sent me an article about love languages after the first few days at my parents’ with the wordsI think yours changed, girl. I hadn’t read it, but I knew of the different ways we wanted and expressed love. They were more of a framework to help discuss what you needed, and for a while, I thought mine were acts of service.
Connor bought me flowers. Sent me lunch. Helped at events. They were thoughtful acts, but now I recognized that all I wanted from him was quality time.
Waking up together. Talking over dinner. Complainingabout our jobs over lunch. I didn’t want things or acts; I just wanted him.
My cheeks flushed at the realization, and I quickly brushed my teeth. But then a brief bout of dizziness came out of nowhere. I gripped the counter, my heart racing, before it settled. That was weird.
I used the mouthwash and didn’t even bother fixing my hair before joining Connor in bed again.
“You look thoughtful.” He opened his arms, and I crawled right into them. He felt like my home. That was the damn truth. I might not love living in the city anymore, but I wanted to be where he was. That I knew.
“I can’t kiss you when you have your I’m thinking face on.”
“What if I’m thinking about kissing you?”
“I’d know.” He kissed my forehead. “Your eyes change color when you’re turned on. It is by far the hottest part about your body. I can read you so well.”
“Huh, I didn’t realize that.”
“What’s on your mind?” he said with a nervous lilt to his tone, and he swallowed with an audible click. Like he was worried.
Even though I was the one who left and needed reassurance, he was still anxious about what I’d say. I wanted to assure my husband that we were okay. I played with his chest, dragging a finger along the smooth skin over his heart, and took a deep breath before saying, “I was thinking about love languages.”
“That… was not what I was expecting.”
“What were you expecting me to say?”
“That last night was too much. You’re sore. You want to leave. Basically, I was drowning in self-doubt for a few minutes there. If you’d put me out of my misery, that’d be great.”
“Connor.” I sat up and ran a hand through his hair and over his jaw as I smiled. “Last night was amazing, and yes, I am sore, but no, I don’t want to leave. That was the best sleep I’ve had in a damn year. I realized that my love language changed.”
A dent formed between his brows, but he was focused, taking in every word with the same determination I saw him use at his office.
“Okay, can you tell me more about what that means?”
“I love all the acts and gifts you’ve given me, I truly have, but I don’t need them. They felt like a way to buy my forgiveness, you know?”
His jaw flexed. “I don’t… I’m not sure I understand. Do you not like what I’ve given you?”
“No, I do. Your gifts are thoughtful.” I paused. This was harder than I had imagined in my head.
“I’m trying to explain that all I want or need from you is to spend quality time together. This? This is perfect. Waking up and snuggling with you. No gifts or acts required, just us being together.”
