“Look, fireflies,” Chase said, pointing in the distance.
They stopped at the edge of the water. Norah’s heart was beating so fast now she felt dizzy, the line of the horizon no longer entirely clear.
“Chase…”
Any and all words had vanished, flickering out like the fireflies. Norah knew what she wanted to say, but nothing was coming out.
She angled her body so she was facing Chase now, staring at her, wondering if she’d ever be able to speak again. When the words never came, Norah threw her arms around Chase’s neck and kissed her desperately, urgently, hoping this embrace could say more than she ever could.
At first Chase thought this might be just another kiss, like all the others. A kiss that said Norah loved her, but that was allthere was to it. She was happy even if that was all it was, but this was different. Any sense of reluctance Norah held in her lips was gone.
“I love you,” Norah said quickly, with the same sense of urgency the kiss had held.
“I love you too.” Chase held her at arm’s length, studying Norah’s face after Norah had broken the kiss, trying to decipher what was going through that brilliant mind of hers. Chase was usually so good at reading her. But not that night. She knew only that something was different about this moment.
“No. You don’t understand. I love you. I mean I really, really love you.”
Chase’s heart melted a little more at the declaration, and she reached up and softly tucked the free strands of hair behind Norah’s ear. Norah seemed to want to say more. Chase could see that much. And she just had to let her.
“I know,” Chase whispered.
Norah shook her head in obvious frustration.
“I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to lose this. Not when we go home. Not ever.”
This. This was everything Chase had been wanting to hear for months, years, maybe even her entire life. She wanted to freeze this moment in time and burn it into her mind so she could carry it with her to her grave. Life moved too quickly. She knew this. So Chase told herself to try to hold onto this feeling for as long as she could.
“That’s all I’ve ever wanted, Nor.”
Chase expected Norah to say more, but Norah just kissed her again, hands clasped tight around the back of Chase’s head like she wouldn’t dream of ever letting go.
“Take me home, Chase Durgin.”
Norah’s hands quickly moved to the hem of Chase’s T-shirt, pulling it up over her head the same way she’d done a million times before. Now that Chase finally had her breathing under control, she seemed to be losing all communication with her legs, and they were faltering so that if she didn’t find herself horizontal voluntarily, she’d end up on the floor of the tent.
As if reading her thoughts, which she very well may have been, Norah broke the kiss and gently took Chase’s hand, grasping only her fingertips and leading her to the cot. For someone who talked as much as Norah did, this silence was unfounded.
They’d been here so many times over the years, even during the last several months, in Norah’s bed, with Norah’s legs straddling her hips. But everything about this time felt new. Norah yanked off her own top, and Chase sucked in a breath. Every single time Chase saw her naked she was absolutely stunned by the shock of seeing her perfectly smooth skin and toned shoulders. She was so beautiful.
“I meant it,” Norah finally said, leaning over and kissing Chase’s neck and down her bare chest to the crest of her breasts that her bra still covered. Chase’s peripheral vision turned a smoky gray. “I want you, Chase. I want this. I want you in every single way I can have you. Indefinitely.”
Chase’s heart felt like it had stopped. She wanted to lock this moment away in a box to pull out whenever she wanted to remind herself that this amazing woman she thought she’d lost forever loved her back.
“I love you so damn much.” That was all Chase could say, and she knew it was nowhere near enough. “I promise you I will never—”
Norah kissed her again this time softly, with a reassurance Chase had felt from her many times before. When she finally pulled away, she buried her head in the nape of Chase’s neck, still covering Chase’s body with her own. Chase had stopped whatwas about to be her millionth apology to Norah, who had made it clear that “sorry” was no longer necessary.
They sat in the stillness for a while, Norah’s breath hot against Chase’s ear.
Chase’s chest grew so tight she thought she might burst open. “But everything that happened with us back then. Everything I did…”
“I don’t care.”
“You don’t?” Chase wanted to believe her more than she’d ever wanted to believe anything.
Norah sat more upright and cradled Chase’s face in her hands, looking her directly in the eyes.
“Listen to me. I. Don’t. Care.”
