Being in love did that to people, I guess.

“How’re you?” I asked, trying to control the rapid kicking of my heart against my rib cage.

Micah folded his hands on his lip and stared at them, like he was taking serious thought into such a simple question. “Better. Ada got out of detox today. She’s going to rehab. Didn’t even need to be asked if she wanted to go. I spoke with my parents, and they agreed to help pay.”

I was weak with relief. I felt blessed to be sitting down. “I’m glad.”

The evening had reached my favorite time, where everything was colored in blue, like we’d been placed under a filter. It made Micah’s eyes stand out more, his raven hair even shinier. Even the fireflies of his tattoo looked like they were glowing.

Fuck, he was beautiful.

“For a long time, I chased the past instead of looking to the future. It put all my relationships into this horrific stasis, and I was running myself into the ground.” He gave me a sidelong look and smirked. “Then I met you, and as much as I tried to fight it, you held on to your convictions. And you were right. Ada will never be the person she used to be, and clinging to an idealized version of her isn’t going to stop her from hurting.”

I looked at Micah, breathless. What could I possibly say that could describe how he made me feel? I wasn’t good with words like Micah was, who made everything sound like poetry.

So, I did the next best thing I knew I could do. I kissed him.

Micah stiffened with surprise at first, but then he sighed and melted into it, resting his hand on my hip. I cupped his face and ran my fingers down the back of his neck. Micah tilted his head to the side and brushed his tongue along my bottom lip, and there was no way I wasn’t going to let him in, hungry for a taste of him.

I broke the kiss because I needed to say something to him, and if I didn’t get it out, I was certain I would suffocate. Pressing my forehead against his, I screwed my eyes shut and let my heart take the wheel. “Whatever happens, I want to be there with you, okay? And whatever happens to Ada, I’ll be with you. I love you too much to let you do this alone.”

Micah laughed and leaned back, his gaze dancing over my face. “Fuck you saying it first. But I love you too.”

We kissed again, letting it get a little further. It was sheer bliss having him here right now. Duncan’s birthday party could take a back seat.

“Wait,” I said, shaking my head to free my head of all the places I wanted to mark on Micah’s body with my mouth. “How the hell did you find out about Duncan’s birthday party?”

Micah let out a full belly laugh. “He called me and said you were going to be here. Basically, told me that we were too good for each other to let things go sideways. He was right.”

“Of course he was,” I said, looking over my shoulder toward the backyard. I’d chat with Duncan tomorrow about this. I turned back to Micah and leaned closer, dropping my voice to a murmur. “So, you can tell me I’m reading this all wrong, but I feel like we got something going on here, and I have nothing else to do. Wanna get out of here?”

Micah’s breath caught, his eyes growing heated. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

“My house isn’t far from here,” I said, running my finger down his chest, stopping right above the button of his shorts. “We could meet there.”

“Good deal,” Micah said, taking my hand as he stood and pulled me up with him. “I’ll see you, soon.”

MICAH

As I pulled into Nik’s driveway, I saw him waiting with the front door open, soft light wrapping a golden hue around his profile. He looked ethereal, as if he’d been spun of stars from the night. My pulse quickened as I got out of the car and drew closer to him, anticipation buzzing under my skin.

Nik stepped backward to let me inside the house. I didn’t turn around right away, listening for the door to snick shut. A shiver ran down my spine when Nik’s fingers brushed down my arm, hooking around my fingers.

For several beats we didn’t move. I waited until our breaths synchronized before I dared to reach up and touch him, running the pad of my finger along his temple, over his cheekbone, and down along his jaw. His heartbeat thumped against my hand as I cupped it around his neck and pulled him toward me.

Our chests pressed against each other, but our lips barely touched, our exhales twisting around each other, turning into one. I tucked my face into Nik’s neck as he gently laced his arms around my hips, taking in the familiar scent that stuck around my sheets for days, lulling me to sleep.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered, the palm of his hand running up my spine. “I never want to miss you like that ever again.”

His voice shook when he spoke. When he confessed his love for me his words held confidence and surety. Here, with no space between us, he trembled in my arms. I pressed my lips on his neck to feel his pulse, pulling a bit of skin between my teeth.

Nik’s breath hitched, his nails digging into my back while I nipped a trail up his neck. When I took a chance to deepen my bite, he groaned, and tipped back, trying to catch my lips. I pulled away before he could find them, sliding my hands to cup his face.

“When I left after Ada went to detox, I hadn’t realized that I’d been looking for you for a long time. I just hadn’t found you yet. And now that I have, I don’t want to miss you like that, ever again.”

Nik wrapped his hands around my wrists. “Lucky you for, I ain’t gonna let that happen.”

We leaned toward each other, my eyes falling shut at the familiar touch of his lips against mine. It wasn’t our usual frenetic hunger, prying out lips open, tongues demanding connection, hands ripping at our clothing. We took our time, pulling small pecks from each other, and ever touch of his lips made my body throb, little zings of pleasure zipping through my muscles.

Hunger bubbled in my belly. I put my hands on Nik’s waist as I rolled my hips forward. The contact tempered the sweetness we’d been sharing as the heat of demand rose between us, our fingernails digging into skin as we tugged off our shirts.

“C’mon,” Nik said, wrapping his arm around my waist and guiding me to his bedroom. His bed was encased in moonlight, still a mess from when he got out of it that morning. I waited while Nik turned on the lamp on his bedside table, the anticipation of tasting all my favorite parts of his skin making my pulse rise.

Watching Nik shed his clothes was a wonderful sight and it hiked my impatience to do the same. He sat on the edge of his bed, and lifted a hand in invitation, eyebrows flicking upward.

Nik’s gaze swept over me as I drew closer and he reached up to loosely fist my cock, running the tip of his tongue over his bottom lip before he took me in his mouth. I twisted my fingers through his soft hair, a low groan rumbling in my chest.

I turned myself over to feeling, the roll of Nik’s tongue along the underside of my cock, the wet heat of his mouth making my toes curl. He took me all the way down to the base, the tip of my cock touching the back of his throat. I pulled out quickly or risk this ending far too soon.

I wanted to take my time and draw out every inch of pleasure between us. Pushing him on his back, I followed Nik as he crawled up the bed, covering his body with my own as I leaned down and whispered in his ear, “I want you to fuck me.”

Nik’s mouth parted, his gaze searching my face. He rested his hand between my shoulders and nodded. “Okay,” he whispered, thigh brushing against my hip as he shifted under me.

We untangled from each other, Nik searching in the drawers of his bedside table. He looked over his shoulder briefly setting lube on the bed along with a condom.

“Anticipating something?” I asked, smirking at the high flush on his cheekbones.

“More like I was gonna ask you to fuck me, but you beat me to the punch,” Nik said, shuffling around until he was between my legs, pushing a knee toward my chest. He ghosted a finger over my entrance, and I bit my lip to muffle a groan. “But I’m down when we go for round two.”

Jesus, I hadn’t even considered that, gripping hard to the little bit of resolve I had. The idea of being inside of Nik was too tempting to pass, though.

“Sure,” I said, breathless. Impatience started running over, my thighs shaking and dick aching. Nik continued to circle his finger around my hole, his thumb pressing against the muscle above it, cracking a moan out of me.

He pulled more moans out of me as he pressed his finger inside of me, agonizingly slow. It lit a flame inside of me, breaking my skin out in a thin sheen of sweat. By the time he was reaching for the condom, his hands were shaking as hard as I was.

Nik continued to take his time as he pushed inside of me, distracting me from the discomfort with his mouth on my neck, sucking hard on the skin, where no doubt, tomorrow would reveal bruises.

“More,” I said between clenched teeth as Nik slowly rolled his hips. My patience had vanished, replaced with a rabid urge for my breath to be knocked out of me. I dug my nails into his sides, and Nik’s hips slammed forward faster, sinking into me to the hilt. “Fuck yeah, like that.”

Nik lifted himself up on his elbow, cradling my leg under his other hand, and pulling it up. “Like that? Yeah, you like that,” he said, as he began to fuck into me enough to make me move up on the mattress.

Sun-soaked pleasure rippled through me, nonsense spilling out of my mouth, insatiable demands knocking off the walls. Coherent thought had long evaporated, replaced with a never-ending river of love. Every hitch of breath, every moan, every sloppy kiss I absorbed. There would never be another chance at this precious first, and I wanted to bottle it forever.

“I need—I just need—” Nik said, his pace losing control. I knew it wouldn’t be long for either of us and I smacked at his side to allow me room to slip my hand between us. I’d barely got my hand around my cock before we’d reached the brink, falling into blinding ecstasy.

Nik managed to hold himself up as he slipped out of me, apologizing as he mistook my wince for pain. The truth was I’d missed the connection, but not enough to dull the hazy euphoria swirling in my head.