Someone shakes my shoulder, and my head rolls to the side.

“Jade, what are you doing?”

My eyes crack open, and I see Hudson kneeling next to me.

I look around, taking note that the sky is still black, and I’m sitting on Hudson’s porch. When did I fall asleep?

“Jade?” he asks again, his hand sweeping down my face.

I clear my throat. “I came looking for you.”

He stands, extending his hand out to me. I take it, and he helps me to my feet. “What’s that?” he asks, nodding to something at my feet.

I look down and pick up the letter I left on the ground. “I was hoping we could talk.” I run a hand over my face, waking myself up. “I know it’s late. Wait,”–I peek around him, searching for a tired little boy–“where’s Chris?”

“With my mom. I picked up an early shift tomorrow.” He moves around me, unlocks the door, and walks inside. He holds the door open, staring at me expectantly. “You coming?”

I nod and quickly step inside, not giving him the chance to change his mind.

He throws his keys on the kitchen counter as the door closes behind me.

I stand in the middle of the living room unsure of what to do with myself, feeling like we’re starting all over again.

He leans against the wall across from me, his arms and legs crossed, like he’s waiting for me to explain myself.

I deserve it. I deserve the hard look on his face, jaw clenched and eyes boring into me.

“I’m sorry,” I say, looking directly in his eyes, needing him to know how much I mean those words. “I’m sorry I pushed you away. I’m sorry I avoided you, and I’m sorry I didn’t let you help me.” I grip the paper in my hand as I take a step toward him.

His eyes soften, and my shoulders sag, seeing that he doesn’t hate me as much as I thought he did.

“I had to do it on my own,” I explain, stopping four feet away from him. “I needed to know I could pick myself up, but I never should have treated you the way I did.” I shake my head. “You were there when no one else was. You were everything I needed and more.”

He uncrosses his legs and shoves away from the wall, moving a foot closer to me before he halts his footsteps. “I know you needed time on your own, but you are also the only one who knows what I’m really scared of.”

Losing people…and I left him, making his fears a reality.

I press my lips together to keep my chin from trembling. I inhale and exhale until I feel confident enough that I can speak without crying. “I’m sorry I left, but I promise it won’t happen again. I won’t leave you because you’ve stolen my heart. You bring me peace and make everything feel right, even when it’s not.” I take a step closer, looking in his eyes, making sure he can see how exposed I am under the weight of his stare. “And I love you.”

He searches my face as tears pool in my eyes. He keeps his chocolate brown eyes guarded as I struggle to keep myself from falling into his chest. “I’m in love with you, and I love Chris–”

Hudson’s mouth crashes against mine, cutting off my words as he cradles my face in his hands, and I cling to his shirt, pulling him closer. His tongue sweeps in my mouth, and I moan as I sink further into him. I missed his touch, his overwhelming strength, and the scent of cinnamon. I missed everything about him. I feel whole in his arms, at peace.

I don’t want to let go, but I push away from him, remembering why I came here. He drops his forehead to mine as he snakes his arms around my waist.

“I have something to show you.” I hold up the letter in front of my chest, and he lifts his head from mine, reading the piece of paper in my hands.

He looks at me smiling, his entire face lighting up with joy. “You’re going to school?” I nod. “I’m so fucking proud of you.”

He lifts me off the ground, and I shriek, throwing my hands around his neck as he kisses me, stealing my breath.

He had more faith in me than I had in myself, and I couldn’t be any happier that I let the walls around my heart fall, letting him in.

He drops me to my feet, and whispers, “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I say just before his mouth descends to mine again, capturing my lips with his.

I drop the letter to the ground as I grip his neck, pulling him closer, forging our bodies together like they have to exist in the same space, otherwise we might combust.

I grasp the back of shirt in my hands, clawing at him like I might be able get closer, like I can crawl inside him.

He reaches for the back of his shirt and yanks it over his head in one smooth motion, leaving me in a daze as his bare skin stares back at me, begging me to feel every inch.

I trail a hand down his chest, slowly running it over every dent across his stomach, admiring every outline. His stomach contracts under my hand with each touch. Before I know it, he has my shirt over my head and on the floor. My hands snake around his neck, and I yank his mouth down to mine, wanting more.

He walks backwards, moving us to his bedroom without looking, and I latch on to him, trusting him as he leads the way.

He has me on the bed as soon as we enter his room, moving over me, placing kisses down my neck and chest as my hand runs through his soft hair, tugging.

The rest of our clothes land on the floor, and I shove him to his back, allowing myself to hover above him. My hand travels the length of his face as he watches me intently, dragging my hand down his neck and letting it rest over his erratically beating heart.

His eyes gleam even through the darkness, the moonlight flitting through the blinds and bouncing off his irises.

We’re going to be okay…both of us, together. We’re going to be more than okay.

Everything happens for a reason, and I think Hudson and I struggled so much in our lives to get to this moment in time–to get to this place where we’re both happy.

I seal my lips to his as he flips me on my back. I hold on to him, never wanting to let go of the man who helped me through the worst time in my life. And to my surprise, he was waiting for me on the other side of the tornado. He weathered the storm, when I expected him to pass through the night, leaving me on my own. I thought I was going to destroy him, break him into a thousand pieces, but I didn’t. We revived each other when we thought all hope was lost.

His lips move down my neck, searing me with his mouth as he kisses a trail down my heaving chest. My hands run through his soft hair, tugging at the ends to bring his warm mouth back to mine.

I let my fingers dance across his skin, feeling the muscles running down his back. I touch every part of his scorching skin, my hands greedy after having been away from him for so long.

His tongue dances with mine, and I moan into his mouth when his chest collides with mine. The contact brings me to life, igniting a fire that sat dormant for too long.

He pulls his mouth away from mine, running his hand gently down the side of my face. He gazes in to my eyes, and I watch love pour out of him, my chest clenching at the sight. “I would have waited a lifetime for you,” he says, placing a light kiss on the side of my mouth.

I slide my hand up his strong arm, letting it rest on his jaw. “And I would have waited until I took my last breath.”

His mouth connects with mine as his free hand rifles through his night stand. I pour all of my emotions in to him with my kiss. I let him know how much he means to me as my hands caress his skin. We don’t need words, not right now.

After he rolls a condom on, he connects us as one, making us complete. Apart we are two people wandering around searching for that thing that makes the world go ‘round. Together…together we’re something neither of us could have imagined–whole, free.

We move together, bringing each other higher, and when we combust, it’s magic, an explosion like no other, binding us for life.