I woke up feeling well rested and went to stretch my body, only to realize there was a body curled in my arms, and I looked down with slightly widened eyes, only to smile when I realized it was Sharon, and I remembered last night.

This was a first for me. Usually, when she spent the night with me, she was up early getting ready to leave, or she woke me up, and we had a round of morning sex, then she left. But this was the first time I woke up first and seeing her snuggled up to me was adorable.

But I knew I had to move. I still had a few days at the retreat before I had to leave, but I was checking out early. My agent shouldn’t complain. I was feeling, and acting, way better. I didn’t know just what arrangements he’d made before having me go there, but surely, if there were a report to be given, he would just hear how much I’d improved.

The one thing I would regret was not getting to say goodbye to Tom and the others. But I had a few of their numbers and social media usernames, so I could always find them later.

Get up and get your shit in order first.

I growled at my brain for playing logic so early. Carefully so she wouldn’t wake up, I moved away from the bed, leaving her with a kiss on her forehead. My phone sat on a nightstand, and I reached for it. As I waited for her to wake up, I paced around the room and made various calls.

Then, I thought about breakfast. The hotel wasn’t so big that they served room service; I wondered if they served meals at all. We’d have to check out and look for a place to get a good meal; then we’d have to decide where to go from there.

I felt a slight pang in my chest when I thought Sharon would have to go back to the retreat while I went back to my apartment in the city.

The sound from the bed distracted me, and I looked to see Sharon waking up. She stretched out her limbs as her eyes fluttered open, only to close again. I glanced at the curtains I’d opened to let some light in and moved so I could block some of the harsh light from her eyes. Her hand patted the bed beside her, only to frown when she found nothing there. Her eyes opened again, squinting first before she opened her eyes wider. When she saw me, she smiled.

“Hey there,” she said lazily, voice rough from sleep. “What are you doing up so early?”

I sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned down to give her a good morning peck.

“I just woke up and didn’t feel like falling back to sleep.”

She hummed, sitting up slowly. The covers fell down her body, baring her breasts, and she didn’t try to cover herself up. With how much time we’d spent naked together, there was no reason for her to hide her body from me. I felt a frisson of interest go through me, but I could wipe it aside easily because I was so damn relaxed.

“How do you feel about breakfast?” I asked, leaning forward to run my hand through her hair. It stood up in some places, and I tried my best to smooth it down. “When you’re ready, we can leave and find some place to eat. And after…”

I let my voice trail off as I thought about after.

We hadn't been together long, but I knew I didn’t want what we had to just end like that. But there was no way to know whether she felt the same. While neither of us had used the three magic words yet, I was pretty sure she at least cared for me, as I did for her. I wanted it to be more.

Maybe if it were more, she’d want to be with me.

“‘After,’ what?” Sharon asked, tilting her head a little to the side. “What is it?”

I shrugged, acting nonchalant. “I was just thinking about what will happen after today. I have to get back eventually, especially since I won’t be going back to the retreat.”

She blinked at me. “Oh. That.”

My lips tightened. It wasn’t quite the reaction I wanted, though I wasn’t sure just what I expected from her. Did I want her to beg me to take her away? I knew she wasn’t that type of girl. She was as independent as I was, making her way out of our small town on her own and finding a life for herself. I went big, while she went for comfortable, but it wasn’t like she needed me.

I wanted to beg her to stay with me and not go back to the retreat, to a job she’d told me meant a lot to her. Instead, I took her face in my hands and pressed a kiss against her lips. After a short moment, I pulled back and met her eyes, clearer now that her mind was waking up.

“Sharon, why don’t you come with me?” I asked point blank.

I could have tried to lead her up to it, try to seduce her into the idea, like how I seduced her into my bed. I’d offered her something similar before; only I’d spoken differently about it, and thinking back now, I winced. I pretty much implied I would be paying her if she stayed with me and we had sex. I would apologize for it at some point, but I didn’t want to bring it up right then and risk her telling me no just because she was annoyed with me.

It took a moment for my words to sink in. She blinked her eyes a couple of times before they widened on my face. Her hands cupped my cheeks, and she pressed her forehead to mine.

“Do you mean that?” she whispered.

“More than anything,” I replied readily.

“ I have a confession to make,” she said softly, smiling. “Remember my old job? I kinda got fired.”

I blinked at her in surprise. “What? When? Why?”

She shrugged, looking so carefree for someone that had just lost their job. It was so different to the reaction she’d had when she worried about our secret being found out.

“It was just yesterday before I came to you. I don’t know how, but the boss found out, and he just calmly told me to leave. So I was kind of hoping you still wanted me around.”

The smile she sent me was edged in relief, and I made a sound of surprise.

“Why would you even think that? Of course, I want you around, Sharon. I don’t know if you realize this, but you’re good for me.”

She rolled her eyes. “I think we’ve talked a lot about flattery, Jerrik.”

“Not enough,” I countered. “Not if you can't tell the difference between me flattering you, and me saying what’s the simple truth. You do realize that without you, I’d probably still be as bad as I was when I first came to the retreat?”

Her lips pursed in disbelief. “You do understand the position you’re in, don’t you? You’re famous, Jerrik. When you get back out there, you’re going to be reminded that you get to see extraordinary people a lot more often than most people.”

“Maybe, but remember when I told you none of the people I kept near were considered friends of mine?” I waited until she nodded. “I need someone like you, people someone less poisonous and more positive, someone I trust. You make me feel like no one ever has in my life, Sharon. With you, I feel whole. And I want to keep feeling that, for as long as you want to keep me around.”

For a moment, she just stared back into my eyes with a blank expression on her face. Then, she smiled sweetly and wrapped her arms around my neck to pull me into a hug.

“Then we’ll be together for a long while, Jerrik,” she said simply.

I hoped so, because for the first time in my life something about it felt right and it started and ended with Sharon.