CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE - CALEB

Tara and I woke up the next morning still connected. Our bodies were tangled together, my arms wrapped around her and her leg thrown over my waist. While I held her, I couldn’t help but imagine doing this for the rest of my life. Now that Tara and I could be together without the pressure and threats from Darren, I felt like the entire world was opening up to us. We could do anything we wanted. We could go anywhere. As long as we had each other, nothing else mattered.

Nothing else, except her cancer.

That thought hit me like a punch to the stomach. Tara opened her eyes and blinked up at me, grinning sleepily. She kissed my lips and sighed, lingering just long enough to make my dick grow hard. I cursed myself for not being able to control my body. Whenever Tara was around, the damn thing had a mind of its own.

She looked down to see it hard and grinned.

“Someone’s happy to see me,” she said. Her hand slid down to stroke me slowly. I moaned and tried my best to fight the sensations she was creating.

I wanted to talk about her treatment. More than anything, I wanted to know she would be okay but I couldn’t. Everything was so uncertain. Our future seemed wide open and yet, completely closed off. If Tara’s chemotherapy didn’t work, then what? Would surgery be an option? And if not, would I lose her forever?

That thought was enough to push any sexual desires I had to the back of my mind. Tara continued to stroke my cock, but I groaned and slowly pulled away. She frowned, confused and slightly hurt.

“We have my PT session in an hour,” I reminded her gently. “We should probably shower before we go to the hospital.”

“I never thought I would say this,” she said. “But I wish we could skip it today.”

“Me too,” I said with a laugh.

“But you’re right,” she said. She sighed deeply and pushed herself out of bed. “We should definitely shower first.”

She grinned and reached for my hand. I couldn’t resist her for another second. I let her pull me into the bathroom and turn on the shower. When it was hot enough, we stepped inside, and Tara ran her soft fingers over my body. I kissed her long and hard, the water making our bodies slick and slippery.

When she kissed her way down my chest, not stopping until she was on her knees, my dick hard in her face, I knew I was a goner. This woman was everything to me. Without her, I didn’t know what I would do.

She took me into her mouth, swirling her tongue around me and making my head go blank. I couldn’t think about anything with her doing that. My body reacted instinctively, jutting itself forward and succumbing to the deep pleasure.

Tara brought me to orgasm, letting me come in her mouth and swallowing it down. She looked so fucking hot kneeling between my legs. I groaned and gripped her hair while she finished me off. I could barely stand up, and yet, I still wanted more.

“Good morning,” she said with a sly grin.

“You’re perfect,” I said. “Absolutely perfect.”

We finished showering and got ready for the day. As we drove to the hospital, I couldn’t stand for Tara to be away from my reach. I held her hand, lightly tracing her skin with my thumb. I didn’t want to let go. Ever.

When we reached the PT building, Tara led the way inside. She was grinning from ear to ear all morning. The night before had been amazing. We were so connected, so effortlessly us. I’d never felt more confident in our relationship, and I knew Tara felt the exact same way. She was happy. So happy I couldn’t stand to ruin it, but I knew I had to. We had to talk about her cancer.

“Listen,” I said as we got to the weight bench. “I know you don’t want to talk about this, but we need to.”

“Not today,” she said. She pressed a finger to my lips to silence me. “Right now, in this moment, I just want to be happy.”

“I know baby, but,” I said before she interrupted me.

“I know we have to talk about it,” she said. “My treatment and everything. It’s going to be scary. This entire process scares the hell out of me, and soon, it’ll be the only thing we talk about. So, for right now, let’s just be here. Together and happy. Please?”

I smiled and nodded, knowing I would never deny her a request like that.

We started my physical therapy session just like the others. Tara helped me stretch out and then got me on the bench. Now that I was mostly healed, my sessions were quick and easy. Tara still pushed me further each time, making me break my limits every time. That was just one reason why I loved her so damn much. She never let me stop or give up.

While my session progressed, I couldn’t stop thinking about what Tara said. She wanted today to be her day of happiness, just one day of blissful peace. I wanted to give her that. I wanted to make this day perfect in every way because she was right, it might be the last truly happy day she had for a while. Once her chemo started, everything would be harder.

I stared at her while she wiped down the weight bench. No one else was in the PT building. It was just us.

Tara looked amazing, just like always. Her blonde hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, falling halfway down her back. Every time she moved, it caught the light and mesmerized me. When she lifted her eyes to mine, they overwhelmed me. I could have stared into their blue depths for the rest of my life.

“What are you looking at?” Tara asked, smiling lightly.

“I’ve been thinking,” I said.

“Yeah?” she asked.

I cleared my throat and walked over to her. I kissed her slowly, wanting the moment to last forever. She sighed and pressed herself against me. When we pulled apart, I blinked at her, trying to remember how to speak.

“What were you thinking?” she asked.

“Everything that happened between us feels like fate, doesn’t it?” I asked. “I mean, we met years ago and fell in love. We weren’t supposed to be together, but we couldn’t fight it. Then, like idiots, we let each other go. I hated myself for ten years and then, suddenly, you’re back in my life. It felt like fate.”

“It did,” Tara said, smiling.

“And I think that’s too strong to ignore,” I said. “We found our way back to each other after a lot of shit went down. That has to mean something.”

“What are you saying?” Tara asked with a confused chuckle.

“I’m saying that I love you,” I said. “I love you, Tara.”

“I love you too.” She smiled and leaned forward, ready for another kiss.

“And I want to marry you,” I finished.

She froze. Her eyes met mine, and she looked at me in shock. She took a step back, stumbling slightly. Her head moved side to side as if she wasn’t quite sure what to do.

“Tara,” I said softly. “I’m serious. This isn’t a joke. I want you. I’ll always want you.”

“Is this because I’m dying?” she asked bluntly.

I laughed and shook my head. “No,” I said. “What the hell kind of question is that?”

“A valid one!” she said, her voice frantic. “You can’t be serious about this.”

I smiled and walked over to her. I grabbed her hands and then slowly lowered myself down to one knee. She stared at me with her mouth hanging open.

“I don’t have a ring,” I said. “But who cares? We’ve waited ten years for this, I’m not waiting another second. Tara, baby, will you marry me?”

“Are you sure this isn’t just because I’m sick?”

“Will you just say yes!” I said, laughing and swaying on my bad leg.

“Yes,” she said. “Yes, of course. You’re insane, but yes!”

I got to my feet and wrapped my arms around her waist. I kissed her softly, picking her up off the ground and spinning her in a circle. She clung to my shoulders, kissing me back and laughing against my lips.

When I put her down, we both heard the door open behind us. We spun around to see my mom walking inside. She smiled and waved, hurrying over to us.

“Should we tell her?” Tara asked.

“You do it,” I said, nudging her forward.

“Hey kids,” Mom said. “How was the session?”

“We’re getting married!” Tara squealed, unable to contain her excitement for another second.

“What!” Mom looked from Tara to me and then back again. “Are you serious?”

“Yes,” I said. “I just asked her.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were planning to propose?” Mom demanded. “I could have helped you pick out the ring!”

“Well, you still can,” I said with a shrug. “I didn’t exactly plan it. It just sort of felt right.”

“Of course it did!” Mom said, grinning widely. “You two were always meant to be together.”

“You think so?” Tara asked, smiling at me. Her eyes were so full of emotion.

“I know so,” Mom said. “I’ve always known it. A love like that isn’t something that just fades away with time. I knew it then, and I know it now. Oh my gosh! I’m so happy for you both!”

“I just hope Darren feels the same way,” I said, shaking my head and laughing.

“Oh, who cares?” Mom said. Tara laughed as my mom pulled her in for a hug.