Page 75 of Safety Net
"Celeste." I tilted my head to the side. "I came to that community every weekend for months. I called your dad a chill dude. He is not a chill dude; I ran out of material because I was panicking about talking to you. And I never panic. I could give a TED Talk in the nude and not blink an eye. But I couldn't breathe when I was in the same room as you. That's very serious. None of my friends know CPR—that's actually very concerning, considering I live in a household where no one knows a life-saving technique. We should fix that."
"Lincoln," she warned.
"Sorry, right, focus," I said, bringing myself to center. "I know it's taken longer for you. And I figured nothing strong enough to warrant a heart beside my name had happened before our kiss. Before the treehouse."
"That day…I don't know, something just unfolded,” she said. "It kept unfolding, and it felt like a pink heart, so…you got a pink heart."
I'll never forget everything about her in this moment. The soft way her brown hair curled around her shoulders. How her wide eyes search mine, no longer trying to read my thoughts but instead, trying to connect.
I closed the remaining distance between us, leaning down and letting her have her phone. Our noses brushed, and I closed my eyes, getting lost in her scent and warmth. Celeste tilted her head, hands holding my face, and she kissed me. Her hips were soft under my grip, shirt slightly ridden up so I felt the heat of her skin.
"Are you okay?" I asked, a little worried about how warm she was.
"I'm okay," she promised with her eyes still closed. "Just really thankful we got this creative excuse to be alone."
I chuckled and pulled her feet on top of mine because it was easier to kiss her that way. She smiled against my mouth.
"This is impressive," she whispered against my lips.
"You haven't seen anything yet," I teased, kissing her between every word. It was hard to stop once I started.
Celeste laughed between our kisses. "Yeah?"
I hummed, too turned on to verbally confirm.
"What else you got?" she asked.
For the first time, words didn't feel like enough to me. I kissed her until we're both heaving for breath. She wrapped her arms around my neck, holding on tight as I walked her backwards. As soon as we reached the back of the couch, I lifted her onto it. My hands were free to hold onto her face while I kissed her, thumbs rubbing circles on her jaw.
"What else do you want?" I pulled back enough to get a good look at her and let her have the chance to see me. "I'd give you anything. Everything."
"You. You're enough." She tugged on my shirt, gentle in how she pulled me back into her. Despite the tenderness in her grasp, her mouth sang a different tune. She was more comfortable with taking the lead. Celeste arched her back, pressing her chest firmly against my body. I was grateful the couch blocked her from feeling how hard she made me.
"Well, here I am," I told her. "Yours. For as long as you'll have me."
"Or as long as you'll have me," she said.
I shook my head. "There is no scenario in which I wouldn't have you, Celeste. It's the one thing I know for certain. It's written in the stars or etched in some stone on a remote island. It's all ancient and mystic and true."
"We're two college students who just decided what we want to be for the rest of our lives," she reminded me with a smile. "You really think this is ancient and mystic and true?"
"I know it, Celeste," I promised with a grin. "There's some painting about us on a cave wall somewhere. Or an oral story passed down through the ages. A ballad about a beautiful flute player and a head-empty goalie."
She tilted her head back when she laughed. I kissed her neck, my lips feeling the fast and steady drum of her pulse. Celeste's laughter faded into a small sigh. It was soaked in eroticism, and I was harder than ever—I didn't even think that'd be possible at this point. I found my way down to her collarbone and to the space between her breasts. She pressed herself into me, her breathing labored and as longing as I felt.
"Maybe one day you'll know it too," I said. "Feel all these connecting dots and overlapping strings. It's incredible to be so entangled with you."
"I feel them," she insisted. "All the dots and tangles...and now, I'm realizing something."
"What's that?" I lazily pulled myself up so I could meet her gaze. All this kissing and realizing was torturous, but to be honest, I could do it forever and never tire of it.
"I've never seen your room."
"My room?" I raised a brow, unsure why she'd brought that up now.
Celeste chewed on her bottom lip and nodded as she watched me. I waited for more. Some further explanation. It took me a bit longer than I'd like to admit to realize what she meant.
"Oh, damn, my room," I said. "You want to see my room."
