~ Chapter 44 ~
Eva always liked this part best.
Not the rush.
Not the heat.
Not even the moment everything tipped over.
But the quiet after.
The part where the world felt slightly muted, like someone had turned the volume knob down just enough for her to breathe again.
She was lying on her back, legs tangled lazily with Reed's, skin still warm, sheets rumpled around them. One of his arms was draped over her stomach, heavy in a comforting way, his fingers absentmindedly tracing small shapes against her skin like he wasn't even aware he was doing it.
Her hair was a mess.
Her limbs felt loose.
Her brain felt fuzzy in the best possible way.
Reed was on his side beside her, head propped on his hand, watching her with that quiet, unreadable expression that always made her feel both safe and exposed at the same time.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Eva asked softly.
"Like what?"
"Like you're trying to solve me."
Reed's mouth tilted up slightly. "Maybe I am."
Eva rolled her eyes, but she couldn't stop the small smile that came with it.
"You're weird."
"You love me."
She turned her head toward him.
"I do."
The words didn't feel fragile anymore.
They didn't feel scary.
They felt... settled.
Like something solid she could rest her weight on.
Reed shifted closer, pressing a slow kiss to her shoulder, then her collarbone, then just below her ear. Nothing rushed. Nothing demanding. Just soft touches that felt like punctuation marks in a sentence neither of them were in a hurry to finish.
They lay there for a while, listening to the faint hum of traffic outside, someone laughing in the distance, the world continuing to exist even though Eva felt like she was floating slightly outside of it.
Reed's fingers slowed.
Then stopped.
Then started again.
Like his brain had drifted somewhere else.
Eva noticed.
She always noticed.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked quietly.
Reed hesitated.
Not in a bad way.
Not in a "don't ask" way.
Just... considering.
"My capstone project," he said eventually.
Eva blinked.
"That's... very post-sex of you."
Reed huffed out a quiet laugh and pressed his forehead to her shoulder.
"I know. I'm sorry. I don't know why my brain does that."
Eva smiled.
"I kind of love that your brain never turns off."
He lifted his head slightly.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
Silence stretched again, comfortable.
Reed spoke without really looking at her.
"I had a meeting with my advisor today."
Eva's chest tightened just a little.
"Oh?"
"Yeah. We were talking about next year. After graduation."
The word graduation landed heavier than Eva expected.
Not in a bad way.
Just... real.
"What about it?" she asked.
Reed shifted onto his back, staring at the ceiling now.
"There's this engineering firm in Austin I've been eyeing. They take interns from my program pretty regularly. It's not glamorous, but it's solid. Good projects. Good mentors."
Eva nodded slowly, even though he wasn't looking at her.
"That sounds really good."
Reed was quiet for a moment.
Then, like it was no big deal at all:
"If I take the internship in Austin, I'd probably look for a place big enough for two."
Eva's brain... stopped.
Not glitched.
Not panicked.
Stopped.
Two.
Not "me."
Not "my place."
Not "a roommate."
Two.
Her lungs forgot how to work for a second.
Reed was still staring at the ceiling, like he hadn't just casually rearranged the architecture of her entire heart.
Eva swallowed.
"Oh."
Reed finally turned his head toward her.
"Oh... good oh?"
Eva nodded slowly.
"Yeah. Good oh."
Reed studied her face, searching.
"You don't have to decide anything," he said quickly. "I wasn't trying to lock you into anything. I just— it crossed my mind. That's all."
Eva rolled onto her side to face him fully.
"You think about me when you think about your future?"
Reed didn't hesitate.
"Yeah."
The simplicity of it nearly took her out.
Eva felt something warm spread through her chest.
Not fireworks.
Not butterflies.
Something deeper.
Something steadier.
"You didn't say 'if we're still together,'" she murmured.
Reed's brows knit slightly.
"Why would I?"
Eva blinked.
"People usually say that."
Reed reached out and brushed his thumb under her eye, slow and gentle.
"I don't see you as temporary, Eva."
Her throat tightened.
"I don't either," she admitted.
They just looked at each other for a second.
No rush.
No pressure.
No big declarations.
Just two people quietly acknowledging that they were standing in something real.
Reed leaned in and kissed her.
Not hungry.
Not desperate.
Soft.
Intentional.
The kind of kiss that felt like a promise even though neither of them said the word.
Eva curled closer to him, resting her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
"You know what's kind of crazy?" she said quietly.
"What?"
"A year ago I was worried about surviving my algorithms class. Now I'm accidentally talking about moving states with my boyfriend."
Reed chuckled, his chest vibrating under her cheek.
"Life comes at you fast."
Eva smiled.
Not nervous.
Not scared.
Just... warm.
She wasn't clinging.
She wasn't spiraling.
She wasn't wondering if she was enough.
She felt chosen.
Not hypothetically.
Not someday.
Now.
Reed tightened his arm around her.
"Whatever happens," he said, voice low, "I'm building toward something. And I want you in it."
Eva closed her eyes.
"Okay."
It wasn't a grand vow.
It wasn't a contract.
It wasn't a forever promise carved in stone.
It was better.
It was honest.
It was present.
It was two people lying in messy sheets, talking about a future like it was allowed to exist.
And for Eva, that was everything.