Page 120 of Sweet Heart

I lift the unmarked box in Carmen’s direction, and she frowns slightly. She has been meticulous with jotting down what goes where, so it comes as a bit of a surprise that this one doesn’t have any writing on it. As soon as she spots the all-white box, she blushes and yanks it from my hands.

“I’ll take that.”

My eyebrows shoot up, but Cat just smirks from the other side of the room.

“The sex toys, huh?”

Carmen blushes even harder and marches out of the room, the box pressed tightly against her chest. I laugh and shake my head at my girlfriend, who grins deviously at me.

“What?” she asks, quasi-nonchalant.

“You know what,” I murmur as I cross the room and wrap my arms around her waist.

She cups my cheek, trails her fingertips along the back of my neck, and then pulls me in for a deep, slow kiss.

“Do I now?”

“Mm-hmm,” I hum against her lips, and she lets out a huffed laugh.

“Yeah, I suppose I do…”

“Get a freaking room,” Carmen grumbles as she walks out of the bedroom, her face now set like thunder.

“Ay, Carmelita,” Cat coos, “don’t get shy on us now.”

I chuckle again and playfully shove her shoulder.

“Stop it, baby. She is stressed enough already.”

“Am not!”

Cat and I both turn back to Carmen, our faces pulled into amused grins.

“Not really,” she relents. “It’s just… it’s...”

“It’s a lot,” I finish for her, and she nods.

I let go of Cat and put my hand on Carmen’s shoulder. Her face crumbles, and she bites her bottom lip. She shakes her head, trying to blink away the tears that are now brimming in her eyes.

“I know it’s stupid. I want this, I am so happy, I am…” The words tumble out of her.

Cat grows quiet and steps closer, too. She puts her hand on Carmen’s other shoulder.

“Hermana, you can be happy and still be overwhelmed. You are here in a new apartment that you are going to share with your novia, and that’s also a new experience. Of course, it is a lot.”

“I just love her so much, Cat.”

“We know. That is why you are feeling so much right now. The stakes are high.”

“What if she gets tired of me? You know I am a lot. What if she hates that I’m so energetic in the morning—”

Cat lets out a soft groan, and Carmen rolls her eyes, instantly pulling away from us.

“Perdóname,” Cat says quickly and tightens her grip. “Listen, Car, there will be things you run into that you don’t like. Maybe she hangs the toilet paper the wrong way, or she clips her toenails in bed—”

“Ew,” Carmen and I gasp at the same time, and she chuckles.

“All I’m saying is that you will figure it out. You will talk about it, and you’ll find a rhythm that suits you both.”