Opening my eyes, I found both Nolen and Derek staring intently at me. I jerked back, not expecting the intensity of their full attention.
“What?” I demanded.
“You feeling okay?” Nolen checked.
“Yeah,” I shrugged, feeling a tad silly. “Just needed to take it all in.”
“I can understand that,” Derek agreed, taking in the forest. “I hadn’t realized how much I missed this world until now.”
“Right?” I said, looking up at the clear blue sky.
“With you both feeling okay after travelling, we should be able to visit as often as you’d like,” Nolen offered.
“Really?” Derek and I said simultaneously, both of us clearly excited about it.
“Sure,” Nolen shrugged, like he hadn’t just offered us the world. “We could buy a house here, too, likely close to your dads for easier visits.”
“Gods, I love you,” I whispered, then threw myself into his arms and kissed him.
He groaned low in his throat, deepening the kiss. I melted in his arms, and somehow found myself lifted off the ground, my legs wrapping around his waist.
Before we got too into it, I slid down his body and stepped back to calm my body back down again.
Derek was in Nolen’s arms in seconds, making it that much harder for Nolen to walk back out of the forest now, but it’s his own fault for being so damn perfect and irresistible.
With all of us now horny with red swollen lips, we walked the hour’s trek out of the forest, eager to get to a hotel room to take care of our needs, but as soon as we’d reached town in one of the shared cars, we were hungry and no longer in dire need of release. So, instead we ate at a restaurant and booked our plane tickets so we could finally see my dads.
“What about our bio mom?” I asked Derek after taking a sip of my soda.
He shrugged. “Don’t really want to see her again, if I’m honest.”
“You don’t have to,” Nolen assured him. “And this won’t be the last time we visit if you change your mind on it.”
Derek smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “This time, I just want to meet Dad and Daddio.”
I grinned. “They can’t wait to meet you both.”
And they truly couldn’t. We’d had to come up with an excuse for why it would take us several months to meet them, but when I explained how weak I still was, they accepted it and only demanded video calls once a week, which I always made sure to do.
After we’d eaten, Nolen decided we should go see a movie, something we’d talked about doing for a long time since it was such a common date thing to do. We’ve seen a lot of movies and shows on TV at home, but never in cinemas.
After cuddling and stealing all of Nolen’s popcorn, we headed back to the hotel, all of us tired after seeing such a long movie.
“I loved the effects,” Nolen said, continuing to gush about the movie. “The lightning strike looked so realistic, too!”
Derek chuckled. “Who knew you were so into action movies?”
“Not me,” Nolen admitted. “I usually prefer the more realistic movies with a meaningful plot. Something that teaches you a life lesson that stays with you forever.”
“And we went and saw an action movie that was all about blowing stuff up,” I laughed.
“It was perfect! I could enjoy you both without missing anything crucial in the movie,” Nolen shrugged.
“Action movies make the best date movie, that I would’ve never guessed,” Derek said, sitting down on the hotel bed and unlacing his sneakers.
“It actually makes great sense,” I said. “Romantic ones will be too much pressure for new couples and often show what they have waiting for them with arguments, future babies, and marriage. With action movies, or maybe comedy, they can just enjoy the movie without getting stressed over the future.”
“I never thought about that,” Derek said, looking deep in thought.
