We had our first date a few days after I slept over at Will’s house for the first time. He’d given me everything he had promised: dinner, drinks, and dancing. And over the last couple weeks, our life had been like a montage in a romantic comedy. We’d had our moonlit strolls, laughed until we cried, baked together—Will even wiped frosting on my nose—and kissed until our lips were numb...and then kissed some more.

Our opposite schedules blew, but we were figuring it out. We spent a lot of time on the phone or slipping in a quick dinner when we could. And weekends...well, weekends were what dreams were made of.

We snuggled up together on Will’s deck after spending all of Sunday relaxing and eating and generally basking in each other.

I turned my head and kissed his jaw and he leaned down and caught my mouth, kissing me slowly, sweetly.

I smiled into his mouth and he pulled away.

“You smiling at me?” he asked.

“Mm-hmm.” I sighed. “I like it here.”

His arms tightened almost imperceptibly. “Better than Tiber City?”

“Anywhere’s better with you, Will. This deck doesn’t hurt though.”

“Oh burn, you only love me for my deck.”

I sucked in a breath. He’d said the L-word. I knew he didn’t mean it, but I did love him. It was crazy and irrational and much too soon, but I was nothing if not unconventional.

He heard my intake of breath but took it the wrong way. “Shit, sorry, baby. Don’t run away.”

I shook my head. “I’m not going anywhere. I told you that.”

He ran his hands through my hair, stroking it slowly. “I don’t want to scare you.”

I scoffed. “If you knew what I was thinking right now, you’d be scared.”

“Not possible. Tell me, Annie.”

I shifted around on the chair so that I was facing him, my legs draped over his. It was a rather precarious position since I didn’t have on any underwear and I was only wearing a T-shirt, but he kept his eyes on my face, watching, searching.

I bit my lip. “So, I realized something.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah?”

I nodded and tucked my hair behind my ear. “Yeah. I kinda...no, not kinda. I fully, completely love you. And I know that probably makes me seem like a crazy person, and I totally understand if I’m freaking you—” He cut me off when he smashed his lips to mine and kissed me in a way I’ve never been kissed. Not by him, not by anyone. The basic physics of it were the same: tongues sliding and swirling, lips pressing and sucking, noses smooshed into cheeks. But everything else? The important things? It was all brand new.

He kissed me with our story on his lips. Our friendship and sadness and angst and separation. Then the story shifted into our reunion, our happiness, our forgiveness. And it culminated in this moment, this kiss.

He pulled back, panting, his forehead on mine. “If you’re crazy, then I’m a fuckin’ lunatic, because I have never, not for one goddamn second, stopped loving you.”

I choked out a small sob and hugged him tight. He pulled me into him so that I was straddling his lap. Our hug quickly turned into a passionate embrace and before I could breathe I was sinking onto him. We were surrounded by neighboring row homes and busy Baltimore streets, but all of that faded, and we made slow, sweet love in our own bubble.

I kept my T-shirt on, my one concession for having sex outside, but Will’s hands found their way under, rolling my nipples between his fingers and driving me out of my mind.

Our mouths fused together, kissing, breathing, panting. His hands moved to my hips, pushing me up and pressing me down, not rushing, savoring the moment. Against his lips, I chanted, “I love you. I love you. I love you.” He took the words into his mouth and returned them with a kiss.

My limbs started trembling and my belly tightened. I reached between us and circled my clit, and then I came with a sigh, falling more into Will than ever before. He braced me, not letting me crash, and then he fell too, pumping into me desperately, groaning as he released everything inside of me.

“I love you, Annie. I really fucking love you.”

“Love you too, William. Forever and always.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that.”

I cupped his cheeks and grinned. “Do it. I dare you. See how much I’m always gonna love you.”

He grinned back. “Okay, challenge accepted.”

We untangled ourselves and went inside. It was only ten o’clock and I’d normally be awake for a couple more hours, but I was limp and sated and felt like I could sleep for days.

When we got in bed, Will set his alarm, then pulled me into his arms.

“Are you sure you have to get up early?” I asked.

He chuckled softly. “I kinda do. But you can stay here and sleep.”

“You trust me not to rob the joint?”

“You pretty much own me, so there’s nothing I have that’s not already yours.”

“Will…” I sighed.

He slipped his warm, broad hand under my shirt and cupped my breast. “I can’t believe I get to keep you.”

I squirmed under his touch. “I’m going to cling to you like a spider monkey.” When his thumb rubbed over my nipple, I arched my back. “I thought you had to go to sleep.”

He nuzzled my neck and pushed me onto my back. “Mmm...I do. But I have this gorgeous woman in my bed distracting me.”

And suddenly I was wide awake, with my legs around his waist and my mouth on his. I could really get used to this.