~ Chapter 34 ~
I woke up slow.
Not because I was tired.
Not because I wanted to sleep in.
Because I didn't want to move.
Eva was sprawled half on top of me, one bare thigh slung over my leg, her cheek pressed to my chest, her arm tucked under my side like she'd claimed me in her sleep.
My t-shirt was gone.
Her hoodie was gone.
She was wearing one of my shirts.
Not intentionally.
Not styled.
Just thrown on sometime in the dark.
It hung off one shoulder.
Bare skin.
Warm skin.
My skin.
My brain short-circuited.
Last night came back in pieces.
Her breath hitching.
Her whispering my name.
Her eyes when she said she loved me.
The way she held onto me like she wasn't going anywhere.
I didn't think I'd ever felt this... full.
Not in a cocky way.
Not in an ego way.
In a quiet, bone-deep way.
Like something in me had finally settled.
Eva shifted.
Nuzzled closer.
Let out a tiny sleepy sound that shouldn't be allowed to exist.
I physically had to bite my tongue.
My hand slid up her back without me consciously deciding to do it.
Slow.
Careful.
Protective.
She sighed into my chest.
Still asleep.
Still trusting.
I could feel the weight of her.
Not heavy.
Not burdensome.
Grounding.
Real.
She belonged here.
Not as possession.
Not as obligation.
As choice.
As mutual gravity.
I kissed the top of her head.
Soft.
Barely there.
Her lashes fluttered.
She blinked up at me, eyes still cloudy with sleep.
"Hi," she murmured.
My chest tightened.
"Hey," I said.
She stared at me for a second like she was rebooting.
Then her cheeks turned pink.
"Oh."
I smiled.
"Good morning."
She hid her face in my chest.
"I forgot you were real for a second."
I laughed quietly.
Actually laughed.
"You good?"
She nodded against me.
"Yeah. Just... processing."
"Regret?" I asked gently.
Her head snapped up.
"No."
Immediate.
Firm.
She looked almost offended.
"Zero regret."
Something warm bloomed behind my ribs.
"Good."
She relaxed again.
Curled closer.
"Did we...?" she started.
"Yeah," I said softly.
She went quiet.
Then: "Okay."
Not scared.
Not panicked.
Just acknowledging.
I brushed my thumb along her arm.
"You were perfect."
She peeked up at me.
"I don't know what I'm doing."
"I know," I said. "You were still perfect."
Her lips twitched.
She studied my face like she was memorizing it.
"You're very pretty in the morning."
I snorted.
"Absolutely not."
She smiled.
"I love you."
The simplicity of it almost knocked me out.
"I love you."
She shifted like she was about to say something else.
And then—
"Eva?"
Sandra's voice.
From the hallway.
Eva froze.
I froze.
Parker's voice followed.
"We can smell coffee. If you're alive, blink twice."
Eva slowly buried her face into my chest again.
"I'm going to pass away."
I laughed.
Couldn't help it.
The door cracked open.
Sandra peeked in.
Took in the scene.
Bare chest.
Eva wrapped around me.
My shirt on her.
Her hair a mess.
Sandra's eyes widened.
Then she grinned like a demon.
"Oh my god."
Parker appeared behind her.
Brows raised.
A soft smile tugged at her mouth.
"Well. This is... cute."
Eva groaned.
"I hate you both."
Sandra stepped fully inside.
"So. Just to confirm. You two f—"
"Sandra," Parker warned.
Sandra shrugged.
"I'm just saying. We were all rooting for you."
Eva's face was on fire.
I lifted a hand.
"She's good," I said calmly.
Sandra squinted at me.
"You're... weirdly respectful."
"Yeah," Parker agreed. "We like him."
Eva peeked up at me.
"You passed the vibe check."
"Thank god," I said.
Sandra clapped her hands.
"Cool. We're ordering breakfast. Reed, you're invited because you're basically family now."
Eva stared at her.
"Already?"
Sandra nodded. "Yes."
Parker smiled at me.
"Waffles or pancakes?"
I blinked.
"Uh... waffles?"
"Correct answer," Parker said.
They disappeared.
Eva exhaled dramatically.
"I want to live under your ribcage forever."
I kissed her forehead.
"You can."
She smiled.
We laid there another ten minutes.
Not talking.
Just touching.
Not sexually.
Intimately.
My hand tracing her arm.
Her fingers drawing slow lines on my chest.
I didn't want to leave.
I had to.
Real life existed.
Eventually.
I walked out of Eva's apartment an hour later wearing yesterday's jeans, wrinkled t-shirt, and the dumbest smile of my life.
Back at my place, the second I opened the door, I was assaulted.
Ryan pointed at me.
"You smell like sex and happiness."
Felix squinted.
"You're glowing. I hate it."
Vinod leaned back on the couch.
"So you and Eva, huh?"
I dropped my keys.
"Yeah."
Ryan blinked.
"Like... yeah yeah?"
"Yeah yeah."
Felix whistled.
"Damn. Our boy got laid and fell in love in the same semester."
"I was already in love," I said.
The room went quiet.
Ryan slowly smiled.
"Holy shit."
Vinod nodded.
"Yeah. You're gone."
Felix clutched his chest.
"We lost him, boys."
Ryan slapped my shoulder.
"You treat her right."
"I am," I said.
"No," Ryan corrected. "You keep treating her right."
I met his eyes.
"I will."
I went to my room.
Sat on my bed.
Stared at the ceiling.
Thought about Eva's sleepy voice.
Her laugh.
The way she curled into me.
The way she trusted me with her body.
With her heart.
I wasn't scared.
I wasn't hesitant.
I wasn't second guessing.
I knew exactly what I wanted.
Her.
For as long as she'd let me.
And I was going to earn that every single day.