Page 159 of Colliding with Ten

She broke apart. Her body clenched around me in pulsing waves, and the cry was my name. She shook in my arms. My mouth pressed kisses to her temple, her forehead, both cheeks, her lips, and the corner of her jaw. Still trembling and pulsing around me, she pulled back for me to see her face. She was the most devastatingly beautiful woman alive.

“I love you too.” She smiled against my mouth. “Are we absolutely crazy?”

“Fuck yes.”

My rhythm was urgent and desperate. She held on, her arms around my neck, and her mouth against my ear. The sounds she was making were wrecking me.

She was building again, and I matched it, pelvis driving upward as my hands gripped her hips with a force that would leave marks I’d apologize for tomorrow. The pleasure coiled tight at the base of my spine. Every muscle in my body was fighting for one more stroke because she was close again. I circled her clit with my thumb to pull one last one from her.

“I’m coming,” she breathed into my ear.

The orgasm hit like a blindside. My body locked against hers, a guttural sound coming out of me only for her. She followed, her body convulsing around mine, her cry joining my groan, and dissolving into the rain still falling outside.

We stayed tangled, breathing hard, holding on. I buried my face in the crook of her neck, as her fingers drew slow circles on the back of my head. Our heartbeats synced at some point. I pressed my lips to the spot behind her ear. She smiled with her eyes closed.

“You’re here.”

She nodded against me.

“Stay,” I whispered. “After tonight. Stay.”

She pressed a palm to my chest, right over my heart. “You’re stuck with me, Monroe.”

I caught her hand and kissed it. We lay back on the couch together, her body fitting against mine. She lay her head on my chest and draped her leg across me. Her curls invaded my breathing space, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I pulled the blanket from the pile and covered us both.

The rain eased. How this night had turned from one of the worst to one of the best, I’d never know. But I was happy. Her breathing slowed as she lay on my chest. She’d said the words I’d been afraid to hope for, and she’d said them looking right at me. She was here, in my arms, in my house, in my life, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

I fell asleep listening to the rain and to her heartbeat, and I didn’t dream about anything at all. Everything I wanted was already here.

38

THE RETIRING STEP

AYLA

Lennox was up before me. He’d moved us from the couch to the bedroom during the night, but I still didn’t sleep well. The rain woke me. When I got up to use the bathroom, he had one arm over the pillow where my head should have been, a small curve on his lips as he slept. But just like how you could tell a storm was coming by the sky changing color, I had a bad feeling I was going to be the one to take that smile off his face. I wondered if I had made promises too soon.

By the time I wandered out of the bedroom, he’d already made me breakfast. The eggs were great, but the toast was too dark. It comforted me that he would never be perfect.

He had meetings and practice most of the day. Recently, their playoff position had become uncertain. Throughout the day, he texted while I entertained myself around his house. His updates were meant to distract me and keep me from getting overwhelmed by thoughts of my life.

Lennox

The film room smells like feet.

I laughed.

Lennox

Miss you already, baby

Around noon, my phone got a FaceTime request. Lennox’s face appeared for four seconds before Jace shoved into the frame and asked if I had ever seen Lennox cry, since there had been a debate in the film room. The two of them argued for eleven minutes while I laughed more than I had in weeks.

He came home a little after six, hyped up with a story about special teams I only half followed. We cooked dinner together in his huge kitchen but kept finding reasons to stand in each other’s way. We ate at the kitchen island because neither of us wanted to bother with the table. Later, we made love again, having quickly learned ways to pleasure each other, and we couldn’t get enough.

A week and a half passed. Most days looked the same. Except today, Lennox had an early meeting with the offense. The tightness around his eyes wasn’t there yesterday. Game day was close, and I think the team worried about losing first-seed position. He still made me breakfast and kissed my forehead before leaving. He said he’d be home with ingredients for a new recipe Jace recommended.

I spent the late morning in the heated pool overlooking LA, doing laps. My phone sat forgotten on a lounge chair, so I didn’t see my father’s call. I almost didn’t listen to the voicemail, and part of me still wished I hadn’t, wanting to stay in blissful ignorance. I sat on the end of the lounge chair and played it.