Page 66 of Long Time Coming

“Promise?” She waggles her brows.

“Swear on my life.”

CHAPTER 23

Christine

Manifesting works.

I want Tagger Grange to fall in love with me.

“I think I already am.”

I hadn’t realized my whispers could be heard. My gaze darts to the right of me, where he’s been sleeping or so I thought. Seeing him rub his eyes and look over at me with nothing but adoration has me feeling mushy inside. “You are?” Sure, he told me he was earlier, but a part of me just wondered if it was the appetizer before dinner started, wistful words before having sex.

“Yes, Pris.” Taking hold of my hand between our bodies, he says, “I’m not sure after sex is the best time to discuss these things.”

“True.” He’s right. My emotions are all over the place and spiraling from the activities. “We had sex.” I smile. “Really good sex.”

“Great sex.” His warm hand glides over my stomach, and he rests it in the middle.

“The greatest.”

“This isn’t a competition, is it? Because if that’s the case, it was spectacular sex. God’s honest truth.”

I cuddle to his side. “You win.”

He rubs his hand over my hip. “I usually do.” Redirecting his gaze upward, he asks, “What are your thoughts on long-distance relationships?”

“They’re not great for most.”

He turns to look at me again, and worry wrinkles his forehead. “What about us?”

I don’t rush to answer, knowing this is a sensitive topic that can cause unnecessary concerns. Thinking about how this will work seems to be the biggest obstacle. “How will it work? For us, specifically?” I hate answering a question with another, but I’m curious how he sees this playing out.

“I come back here for visits,” he says as if this is obvious. I feel like this needs to be stated, loud and clear. For me, at least, so it’s good to hear. “You come to New York when you can.”

“So traveling back and forth? Calls. Emails. Texts?”

An ember glows in the pupil of his eyes. “Video for when we want to get off.” I love how hopeful he sounds.

“Okay.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes.” Rolling half on top of him, I kiss his chin. “I want to try this with you.”

I feel his breathing stop as if he’s holding his breath. His eyes study the ceiling, and then he looks at me again. “Do you hear that?”

Confused about what I’m supposed to be listening for, I ask, “Me saying I’ll do a long-distance relationship with you?”

“No, though I love to hear it. No rain.”

I stop to listen. He’s right. “It’s stopped. I didn’t even notice when.”

“We were preoccupied.”

Sitting up, I’m both happy and disappointed at the same time. I look back at him still lying next to me. “I guess we should get dressed.”

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