“I remember every time.”
“You were always there for me,” she says, propping herself up on one elbow to look down at me. “Even when you were with Skyler, even when I was with Grayson. It’s crazy, isn’t it? How we were always more than friends, but never more than friends.”
“At least, not until we both pulled our heads out of our asses.”
“Mostly you, though.”
“Yes,” I agree with a laugh. “Mostly me.”
Cassie chews her lip, drawing circles on my chest again with her eyes focused there. “I’m scared, Adam.”
A painful zing hits me right in the middle of my chest, and I roll us over until I’m on top of Cassie, pressing a kiss to her lips. “Don’t be. You and I have been through much worse than a little distance.”
“What if you find some hot girl who’s super cool and funny at one of these other universities?”
“She’d never hold a candle to you.”
“I’m serious,” Cassie insists. “You’re a graduate now. You’re about to go out in the real world.”
“And you’ll be right behind me. By the end of this year, we’ll both be out there. Together,” I remind her. “Don’t you know by now that you’re the only girl for me?”
She smiles at that. “And you’re the only boy for me.”
“Man,” I say, furrowing my brows and puffing my chest.
Cassie pokes my stomach, making me let out all my air in an oof.
“Just promise me we won’t mess everything up over this,” she pleads, holding my gaze. “We have to communicate. We have to see each other as much as we can. And we have to have patience and understanding, even on the hard days.”
“I promise,” I whisper, and then I hold out my pinky, waiting until she wraps hers around mine before I kiss my thumb and press it to hers to seal the deal.
Even so, I can tell Cassie is still worried, and I can’t blame her. We’ve seen our friends struggle through long-distance relationships — some of them successful, others not. I’m not naïve enough to think we won’t have some rough patches to overcome.
But I’m also not stupid enough to ever let this girl go, no matter what we face.
I lean down and capture her lips with mine, hoping she can feel it in the way I kiss her, in the way I cradle her face in my hands, in the way my breaths don’t begin until hers end. We’re in sync. We always have been.
And I’d never do anything to mess that up.
The longer we kiss, the more my desire burns for her, and I slip myself between her legs, widening her thighs with my hips. She moans, arching off the bed and into the touch, her head falling back to allow me access as I kiss down her neck.
I’m not rough with her tonight. I don’t toss her around or pin her arms or slam inside her with a wicked grin and a mission to make her come as fast as I can. I don’t talk dirty or fuck her mouth or twist her up in one of the many positions we’ve discovered since we’ve been together.
No, tonight isn’t about fucking.
It’s about sealing the promise between us.
It’s about reminding her that I put those letters around her neck with intent and purpose.
And that I meant every word I said.
As I strip her down and kiss every inch of her body, I take my time, touching and tasting, licking and sucking. I commit every moan to my memory, every touch, every curve and slope that makes up who she is.
I look longingly and deep into her eyes when I slide inside her, and I hold her gaze as we move together, breathing in tandem, our slick chests pressed together like a seam. When she comes, it’s softly and sweetly, and she digs her nails into my back with the release. I’m right behind her, and the moment we both finish, tears flood Cassie’s eyes until I roll over and tuck her into me, wrapping myself all around her so she feels safe.
“We’re going to be okay,” I whisper in her ear, kissing the sensitive skin right below it. “We’re going to get through this.”
Cassie nods, holding me tighter and wiping away the tears that have slipped free.
“Me and you forever,” she whispers.
I nod, kissing her shoulder as my eyes softly close. “And even longer after that.”
“I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE you never told me,” I tell Bear through speakerphone, shaking my head as I apply a thin layer of gloss over my lips. “I mean, she’s my Big, for Christ’s sake. And you’re my best friend. Like… how the hell did you keep me in the dark?”
Bear chuckles. “To be fair, it was a very messy situation, one that we just figured out ourselves.”
“I know that feeling well,” I mumble.