Page 110 of The Truths We Find

He grins. That slow, teasing grin that makes my knees weak and my mind foggy.

“Because you asked so nicely.” Every word drips with intent as he pulls down his pants in a torturous, deliberate motion, exposing himself fully.

My breath catches. My heart pounding against my ribs, threatening to escape.

His cock is already hard, glistening and waiting for me. I can’t stop the shiver running down my spine.

I sit up, grabbing him by the shirt, pulling him closer, desperate to feel every inch of him against me. I line myself up with him, letting our bodies connect.

He thrusts inside me, and the fullness makes me gasp. I feel whole. As if every part of me has been waiting for this, for him, for us to finally come together.

His hips snap back, hard, then find a rhythm that makes me melt. I lift my hips instinctively, pressing against him so his movements rub me just right, and the fire ignites, sending sharp, electric shocks up my spine. My hands grip his arms, desperate to anchor myself as the sensations threaten to overwhelm me. Moans and gasps spill from me uncontrollably, each one matched by the growls escaping him.

“That’s it,” he pants. “God, you feel so good.”

He grabs my face, pulling me into a fierce kiss. Our tongues connect, driving us both to the edge again. The pleasure is blinding, sharp, and tender all at once, and I cling to him as if letting go isn’t an option. We come together, trembling and gasping.

For a moment, we just lay there. I can feel his heartbeat against mine. Gavin presses one last soft kiss to my lips.

“Okay, you. Time to get cleaned up. We have plans.”

Gavin parks his truck in the lot of our favorite beach with the Mexican food shack. It’s become a date tradition for us, and I love it.

“Burritos on the beach?” I turn to face him. “It’s like you know me,” I giggle.

“I aim to please.”

I get out of the cab and start to make my way over to order food, but Gavin stops me. “Actually, I already took care of it. Follow me.” He takes my hand and leads me to the beach.

We walk, fingers laced together, until I’m stopped by the sight in front of me.

A blanket is spread across the sand, weighed down at the corners with rocks, with two foil-wrapped burritos sitting on top. It’s just like our first official date, when we sat here and ate burritos watching the sunset, trying to pretend I wasn’t already halfway gone for him. We’ve done this dozens of times since then, but there’s something different this time. I turn to him, my heart catching somewhere between a laugh and something heavier.

He guides me over to the setup, and I squeeze his hand the closer we get.

“You okay?” Gavin asks, reading me like he always does.

I nod slowly, eyes shifting between the horizon and him as we sit. “Yeah. Just remembering how nervous I was the first time we came here together. I kept pretending to be cool while internally panicking about feelings and guacamole.”

He chuckles, unwrapping one of the burritos and handing it to me. “You still do that.”

I elbow him. “I do not. I’m as cool as a cucumber, thank you very much.”

Gavin’s smile reaches all the way across his face, and then he pulls something small from his jacket pocket.

A box.

My whole world stops. It’s like we’re the only two people left on this beach.

He doesn’t open it right away. Instead, he takes my hand in his. “Before I ask you anything, I need to go back to that first night we talked. In this very spot. When I asked you if you ever thought about coming after me.”

My heart feels like it’s about to beat out of my chest.

He takes a deep breath. “You said you did. Every day. But you didn’t want to be the only one fighting. You didn’t want to chase someone just to feel chosen.”

I remember every word. How much it hurt to say them. And how much more it meant that he actually heard them.

“I’ve thought about that every day since,” Gavin continues. “Because you were right. Back then, I wasn’t willing to fight because I was scared. I thought pulling away was protecting you. I thought letting you go was somehow the right thing to do. And it cost us time we can’t get back.”