Page 41 of Chasing Forever

Her eyes flared. “It—It’s too much.”

“It’s not. I’m right here. I’ve got you. Just trust me.”

Her body locked tight beneath mine, and she splintered into a million pieces. Crying out my name as she came. I rode it out for as long as I possibly could until the squeeze of her pussy became too much, then I buried my face in her neck and followed her over that edge into the abyss.

As we came down, and a sated smile curved her lips, those three little words were on the tip of my tongue, and it took everything in me to keep from letting them spill out.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Merritt

“Something’s going on. You look all glow-y and happy,” Blythe stated, her narrowed gaze studying me from across the table in Evergreen Diner like she could find out all my secrets if she focused hard enough. When she called earlier and asked me to meet with her and a few of her friends for lunch, Tristan insisted he’d watch Levi while I went out, declaring they were going to have “guy time”. I had no idea what that entailed, but Levi had been thrilled about the idea, so I said yes.

I was pleasantly surprised when I got to the diner and saw the friends she was having lunch with included Ivy, Rae, and another one of Rhodes’s sisters, Holly. She made introductions, and within minutes, it felt like I’d been a part of this crew for years.

I’d met some really incredible women recently, and I looked forward to getting to know each of them better. Warren had been so successful at isolating me from most everyone I cared about that I’d forgotten what it felt like to have a group of people you could talk to, share all the ups and downs of your life with, and who could lend a shoulder when you needed someone to lean on. I’d been alone for so long, and it had taken some getting used to, but each new friendship I made took one of those jagged pieces of me that had been ripped away and slid it back into place.

“Well, Iamhappy,” I told her, a smile stretching across my face at the truth of that. Despite the nasty visit with my brother, a lot had happened recently that ensured my happiness. Warren had been served with divorce papers. Just like with Ozzy, I held out very little hope he would simply sign the papers and go about his life. But I’d prepared for him to do what he could to make it a pain. And that was exactly what he’d done. He hired an attorney of his own who immediately hit back, but Rochelle was a certified badass. She was handling the back and forth, and I trusted her to do right by me so I didn’t have to think too much about it. She’d also informed me she was taking on my custody case, and she was going to bury my brother right alongside my soon-to-be ex-husband.

She might have intimidated the hell out of me, but she was officially my favorite person. Well, aside from Levi and Tristan.

“Things are going really good for me right now. I have a good job. Ivy reached out to squeeze my hand at that. “I’m making friends, my attorney has freaking ninja skills, and Levi seems to be doing really well. All of that makes me happy.”

Blythe hummed and tapped her chin. “I get all that, and I’m super excited for you, but none of that would explain why you’ve got that glow.”

My brows pinched together. “What glow?”

Rae leaned in and lowered her voice to answer. “The sex glow.”

I choked on my iced tea and Blythe pointed in Rae’s direction. “Yes, exactly. That’s what it is. You have the sex glow.”

My cheeks went up in flames, the blush giving me away.

Blythe smacked the table, her jaw hinging open. “Oh my God, you’ve had sex.”

“Shh!” I hissed, looking around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. Yes, I had sex. A lot of sex. And it had been incredible. But I didn’t want it broadcasted to the whole diner. Hope Valley’s grapevine was not to be taken lightly. All it took was for one person to overhear, and the entire town would know by morning.

I’d learned that after the scene on the sidewalk with Warren and Blythe. That spread through town like wildfire. The restraining order certainly hadn’t helped. Word had gotten out that there were pictures of the bruises he’d inflicted, and people were starting to question whether or not he really was the charming, generous man they all thought him to be. That shiny reputation of his was being tarnished, and I would have been lying if I said I didn’t get a tiny thrill out of witnessing his fall from grace.

Blythe clasped her hands beneath her chin and shot me a pleading look. “Please tell me you and Tristan are together. That would make me so happy.”

“We...” We hadn’t exactly put a label on what we were doing, but it was the most real thing I’d ever felt. Sure, I had a couple boyfriends in high school, but those had been about childhood infatuation and puppy love. My longest relationship was with Warren, but I never once felt for him what I felt for Tristan. Even when I thought we were good. “I guess you could say we’re... dating? Seeing each other? I’m not sure of the right term for it.”

“It’s hard to put a label on it this day and age with how the whole scene has changed,” Holly said with understanding. “My niece actually explained it to me not too long ago. Apparently when you’re first starting out, it’s consideredchatting.From there, you move ontotalking.”

Rae sipped her lemonade through her straw, her gaze full of curiosity as she asked, “And then you’re dating?”

Holly shook her head. “Nope. There’s one more level before dating, which isseeing. Like you’re seeing each other. It’s all very specific and completely ridiculous.”

I reached up to rub at my temples, trying to absorb everything Holly just said. “Well now I’m more confused than ever.”

“What all does it entail?” Ivy asked me, popping a grape into her mouth and caressing her belly.

“Obviously sex,” Rae specified.

I shot her a look. “Yes, okay. It includes that. It’s only been two days, so we haven’t had time to go on a date or anything, but there’s a lot of touching and kissing, even when sex isn’t involved. He cleaned out his closet and dresser and moved all my stuff from the guest room into his the other day. And he converted the garage into a space where I can work on restoring antique furniture because I off-handedly mentioned how much I missed it.”

“Oh wow.” Holly let out a breath. Rae and Ivy were looking at me with huge grins, and Blythe’s hands were clasped over her mouth as her eyes glistened.

---