Page 59 of Begin Again
“I’m done with the vlogging life.” He pulls me back against him, our fingers threading together again. “It’s time I settle down.”
“Yeah?” I ask. I know he means with me, and for the first time, the thought doesn’t make me want to run. I want it too.
“Yeah. And I didn’t know you were in Colorado, but I was already planning on heading back out there until I figured things out. But now I’ll be there, with you.”
“I like the sound of that.” I reach up and touch his beard. He kisses me again and I melt into him.
At some point, we move from the couch to the bed because I'm so exhausted I can barely keep my eyes open.
“How are you still so awake?” I ask. “It’s like almost four in the morning in New York, doesn’t your body feel it?” I’m feeling it, it’s nearly two in the morning in Colorado.
I feel him press his lips against my hair. “Probably. But I’ve been wishing for this since I was seventeen, so I’m very awake.”
I give him a squeeze and curl into him more. “I’m so glad I’m your husband,” I say through a yawn. “I mean that you’re my husband.”
I feel his deep chuckle. “Well, wife, I think it’s time for you to get some sleep.”
He flips off the lamp and plunges us into darkness.
“And you’re sure this is okay?” I ask. Even before Mitch, it seemed like all any guy ever wanted was to get in my bed and have their way with me, which is another reason why I stayed away from dating.
“This is more than okay, sunshine. If I died tomorrow, I would die a happy man.”
“Please don’t die,” I say. I stop fighting to keep my eyes open.
“I’m not planning it,” he murmurs. “Not anytime soon.”
I lift myself up, which takes more effort than I realize it would because I’m so close to sleep, and I kiss his cheek.
“Goodnight, Sam.”
“Goodnight, sunshine.”
And then I fall asleep wrapped in my husband’s arms.
32
SAM
The next morning I wake up bleary eyed to someone banging on our door. At some point in the night, I made my way to my own pillow, but Annie followed and she’s still curled up against me. I could get used to waking up every morning like this, with her in my arms.
The banging on the door happens again, followed by a doorbell.
“Who in the world?” I groan into her hair.
“Maybe if we ignore them, they will just go away,” she murmurs, curling closer to me.
The knocking doesn’t stop. “Come on, open up!”
This time, Annie groans. It’s Noah.
I feel trapped. Maybe this is what Monica and Chandler felt like the morning of Ross’s wedding when they were together in Chandler’s room and Ross came in. Except this isn’tFriendsand Noah knows that I slept in here. But he doesn’t know that we spent the night cuddling, after kissing, before we fell asleep.
“He’s going to see the couch is still a couch,” I say as I untangle myself from Annie. She reaches for me.
“That’s okay,” she says, which surprises me because she is the one who originally requested we not tell Noah yet. “I mean, we can just tell him the couch bed was broken and that we had to share a bed. I still think we should wait until after his wedding to tell him about us.”
“I’m fine with that,” I say as Noah knocks on the door again.
