Chapter 57 Reed
REED
Imust’ve only been out an hour or two, but I woke up the second I felt her.
Warm. Soft. Straddling my hips.
My hands instinctively gripped her thighs as I blinked into the low light. The living room was still bathed in moonlight spilling through the cracks of blinds that covered the large window, casting her in this silvery glow that made her look almost ethereal.
“Wren,” I rasped, voice rough with sleep.
She leaned down, hair falling around us like a curtain. Her lips brushed mine, slow, teasing. “Hi.”
I swallowed hard, pulse already picking up. “It’s the middle of the night, baby. I’m exhausted.”
She smiled. “I missed you.”
My hands slid up her thighs to her waist, gripping tight. “Wren…”
She rolled her hips once, slow and deliberate. I hissed through my teeth.
“Yeah,” she whispered, kissing along my jaw. “You missed me, too.”
There was no use denying it. She could feel it—pressed hard against her through the thin fabric between us. My body always reacted to hers before my brain could catch up.
“Are you sure?” I asked, rubbing small circles on her hips. “You’re not still tipsy?”
“I was never drunk, remember?” she murmured against my skin. “I’m good, Reed. I want you.”
That was all I needed. I sat up, mouth on hers, hands roaming like I needed to memorize every inch of her all over again. She gasped when I pulled her tighter to me, deepening the kiss until it felt like we were going to burn right there on the couch.
She ground down again, and I groaned, forehead pressed to hers. “You’re gonna kill me.”
“Not before I make you beg,” she breathed.
I laughed—hoarse and helpless—and then kissed her again, all teeth and tongue and need.
She rolled her hips again over my hardness, and it caused me to throw my head back.
“Fuck,” I moaned.
She quickly covered my mouth with her hand, “Reed, you have to be quiet. We are in the living room with a house full of people. Be quiet.”
I looked back at her, eyes wide, and laughed. “Yeah, there is like a three percent chance I am letting you be the dominant one right now.”
I grabbed her hips and moved us so she was lying on her back on the couch. I crawled over her, one hand on each side of her head, and kissed her.
“I love you, Wren.”
“And I love you.”
We continued kissing, my hand trailing up and down her lazily. We were both very tired, so I changed the pace.
I leaned back, then reached for her hands, gently pulling her up into a sitting position. Her brows furrowed, a flicker of confusion in her eyes.
“I have a better idea,” I murmured. “Go get your shoes on.”
She bit her bottom lip, searching my face for a beat, then nodded. As she stood, I gave her a playful tap on her ass. I followed her to the door, grabbing my shoes as she slipped into hers. A moment later, we stepped out into the warm night, hand in hand.
The walk to Pine Harbor, our old high school, was short but unhurried. The sky stretched endlessly above us, scattered with stars. We talked about constellations, the bonfire, anything and everything—but I knew what I was waiting for.
Then, just as we reached the fence line of the baseball field, she asked the question I knew was coming.
“Did Cam carry Harper inside?”
I burst out laughing, unable to hold it back. I glanced down at her, nodding my head with a grin.
“He did.”
She giggled, eyes dancing. “Good. Maybe that’ll finally wake him up.”
“One can only dream, Little Birdie.” I brought her hand to my lips and kissed her knuckles gently.
By the time we reached the bleachers, my nerves had caught up with me.
I kept rehearsing the words in my head, over and over again, trying to slow my racing heart.
We climbed up and sat close together, the wood still warm from the sun.
Before us, the baseball field stretched out in soft, golden silence—familiar, but changed.
We had changed too.
“Do you remember the night I found you here?” I asked quietly, almost afraid to break the moment.
She turned to me with a look so tender it nearly undid me. “How could I forget?”
“We both came here that night, needing answers. Trying to untangle the past, trying to find some kind of peace. But now,” I turned to face her fully, my voice rough, “when I’m here with you, all I think about is the future.”
Her eyes glistened, wide and still.
“For so long, I obsessed over what I could’ve done differently—what I should’ve said, or not said.
But if all of that pain, all the wrong turns, led me here, to you, then I’d live it all over again in a heartbeat.
I love you, Wren. Thank you for giving me something to look forward to. Will you be my girlfriend?”
She didn’t say anything—just let the tears fall, quiet and unashamed. As she nodded a silent yes, I reached up and brushed one from her cheek with the back of my hand.
I leaned in and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head, letting the silence speak for me.
Then I rose, still holding her hand like it was the most natural thing in the world.
When she stood, I pulled her gently into me, wrapping my arms around her like she was something fragile and precious.
And then I kissed her until the noise of the world faded, until it was just us. Me and Wren.
Nothing else existed.
When I finally pulled back, I rested my forehead against hers. Our breaths mingled in the quiet, her fingers still laced with mine.
“Come on, pretty girl,” I whispered, brushing my lips softly against hers once more. “Let’s go home.”
When we got back to the house, I shut the door softly behind us and locked it with a quiet click. The world felt still.
“I’m exhausted,” I whispered. “Let’s get some sleep.”
She nodded, flashing me that sleepy smile I loved so much. We crawled onto the couch, limbs folding into each other without a second thought, just like the night we’d fallen asleep in the back of my truck. Her head rested on my chest, our legs tangled together.
This… this felt like home.
She felt like home.
“I could sleep like this every night for the rest of my life,” I whispered, and kissed her head.
“So, let’s do it.” She sleepily replied, yawning.
She was tucked against me, her breath soft and even against my chest, like she finally felt safe.
I didn’t say anything. I didn’t need to.
I just held her closer, memorizing the shape of her in my arms, the way her fingers curled against my shirt like she belonged there.
Like she always had. Whatever came next, I knew we’d survive it together.
I let my eyes close, her warmth sinking into me, and for the first time in a long time, I let myself believe in forever. We both did.