“I assume you’re working at the store tomorrow?” I asked.
“Yes,” she confirmed.
“While you’re there, I’m going to hunt for some real estate,” I stated.
Shaking her head in disbelief, she said, “I’m sorry… real estate?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Grinning, I answered, “Because you’re here.”
Tillie’s brows shot up as her lips parted. After staring at me for several long moments, she pressed, “So, you’re going to move here because I’m here?”
“You said you want all of me,” I reminded her.
“Of course, I do. But I thought you’d just come to visit once a week or something,” she remarked.
I shook my head. “If I came here once a week, I wouldn’t leave, Tillie,” I began. “I want to be close to you. Two hours is not close enough. And I’ve spent enough time away from you in the last couple months. I’m not doing that anymore.”
Tillie let my words sink in before she asked, “What are you going to do once you get out here?”
“Spend time with you,” I told her. “And if you need my help with any of your stuff at the store, I’m happy to help. You know I’ve already cut back on the skateboarding. I’ve put my time in with that. I’ll do contests here and there, but I’m ready to start the next part of my life.”
When Tillie spoke again, she shocked me. “It’s completely up to you,” she started. “But if you’re going to move here so you can see me, it doesn’t make sense for you to get a separate place to live.”
I blinked at her, unsure if I was understanding her correctly. “Are you saying you want me to live here with you?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Do you want to live with me?” she countered.
“Tillie, I’d love nothing more than to be with you like that,” I started. “But I don’t want you to think that simply because I’m making this decision to follow you here that I want to take over your entire life. If you need your own space while you’re working things out in this new town, I can find a place that’s close and still give us time to ease into this.”
Tillie rolled her body toward mine and brought a hand up to cup the side of my face. She searched my face as her thumb stroked along my cheek. Her voice was soft and sweet when she said, “I’ve been in love with you for as long as I can remember, Zev. These last couple months without you have been extremely difficult. Having you back in my life at all right now makes me so happy. But having you in my space daily is honestly a dream come true. There’s nothing for me to ease into with you. I have no doubts about us.”
It meant a lot to know that she had such confidence in us being together. Coming to Sedona, I really had no idea what to expect when I saw her for the first time again. I would have been relieved just to have her forgiveness and friendship back. Knowing I got those and so much more made me realize that my dream came true, too.
Feeling overwhelmed, I found it difficult to speak. But I wanted to communicate to Tillie just how much her words meant. So, I brought my mouth to hers and kissed her. When I felt that I’d sufficiently conveyed precisely how her words had affected me, I disconnected and gave her a smile.
“Hit the light on your side,” I urged. “We’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”
Tillie rolled to her opposite side and turned off the light. I slipped my arm around her waist and curled the front of my body around the back of hers.
Silence had filled the room, and I thought Tillie had fallen asleep. A couple minutes later, she called, “Zev?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for coming back to me,” she rasped.
I closed my eyes as my arm tightened around her waist. After pressing a kiss to her bare shoulder, I responded, “Thank you for forgiving me and allowing me back.”
Tillie’s response was to scoot herself backward.
I stifled a groan at the feel of her ass moving in my lap and struggled against every urge in my body calling me to make love to her again. When I got it under control, I whispered, “Good night, Tillie. I love you.”
“I love you, too. Good night, Zev,” she replied.
Then, with my beautiful girl wrapped up in my arms for the first time in months, I found myself easily able to fall asleep.
“I have a question,” Tillie declared from the seat kitty-corner to mine at the breakfast table.
We’d gotten up about an hour ago, and it had been much different than the last time I woke up next to her. This time, I took the time to relish the experience. And in doing that, I found there wasn’t anything I didn’t like about it.
Waking up in the morning with Tillie’s warm, soft body pressed against mine was everything I always imagined it would be. No matter what I might have to face each day, I knew that if I woke up holding her in my arms that there wasn’t anything I couldn’t achieve.
Truthfully, it made me want to kick myself for having pushed her away the way that I did.
Not wanting to put a damper on my mood, I lifted a piece of bacon from the plate and responded, “Okay. What’s your question?”
After swallowing a forkful of her eggs, she said, “Well, when you were in the shower this morning and I was down here making breakfast, I started thinking. And I guess I’m just curious if you told me the truth.”
My brows pulled together. “The truth about what?” I asked.
“Your experience,” she answered.
“My experience?” I repeated.
Nodding, Tillie clarified, “Yes. How is it possible that you have the same amount of experience as I do in the bedroom?”
I didn’t understand where she was going with this, and I hated to think she didn’t believe me when I’d told her she was the only woman I’d ever taken to bed. Cautiously, I replied, “It’s the truth, Tillie. I’ve only ever been like that with you.”
“I believe you,” she assured me. Even though she said those words, her face twisted in a way that I knew she was still struggling with something.
I finished my last bite, pushed my plate back, and asked, “What’s the matter?”
Tillie’s eyes came to mine. She held them briefly before shaking her head and brushing it off. “Nothing,” she said. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing, babe. Tell me.”
I watched as Tillie nervously bit her lip. Her eyes moved over my torso as she swallowed hard. “I just… well,” she stammered. “How are you so good? How did you know what to do with your mouth? How did you know what I’d like?”
Hearing that, I wanted to throw a fist up in the air to celebrate, but I held back. Instead, I gave her an honest answer. “I didn’t know,” I admitted. “But then you told me.”
“What?”
“You told me with the sounds you made or the way your legs or hips would move,” I explained. “I just listened to you and paid attention.”
Her chin lifted slowly in acknowledgment. “Oh, okay.”
Something was still bothering her, so I pressed, “What is it, Tillie?”
“You’re incredible,” she admitted. “You made me feel really good last night. I just… I want to make sure I can give you something, even with my mouth, that you’ll like just as much. But I don’t know what I’m doing.”