I rest my head on his shoulder for a few seconds, heart so incredibly full. This is the start of something amazing, I can just feel it.
“You know we’ll get to have a ‘coming out’ of our relationship for the tabloids,” I say and take a bite of my pizza.
“You mean like leak a sex tape?” Sam asks hopefully.
I laugh. “No, I was thinking more along the lines of eating outside while holding hands or something. But we can totally make a sex tape.”
“We should get started on it tonight. I’m thinking the shower will be a good place to say we ‘accidentally’ recorded ourselves.”
“My phone case is waterproof.”
“Perfect. I’ll make sure to turn on the mood-music too.”
“And what will that be?”
“For you,” he starts, cocking an eyebrow, “the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.”
“Hey!” I laugh, playfully swatting him. “But yeah, I could actually see that getting me in the mood.”
“See? I was right.”
We both laugh, snuggling a little closer together as we finish our pizza. Deciding to put the sex tape off until the morning since we’re both tired, we get ready for bed together. There are double sinks in the bathroom, and it’s almost silly how something as mundane as brushing our teeth can have such significance, yet it does.
“Did you hear more from the network who wants you to write for them?” Sam asks, taking two decorative pillows off his bed. I’m impressed, really, by how well put together his whole apartment is.
“My agent emailed me today saying she was arranging a meeting for Monday or Tuesday. I don’t think I’m going to take it, though.”
We get into bed, and Sam takes me right into his arms. “Why not?”
“It would take time away from my usual writing, and it would require me to be in LA more.” Maybe I shouldn’t have said that out loud, but the one thing that brings us both comfort about being in a long-distance relationship is our ability to travel back and forth. I have more freedom to travel than Sam, and signing the contract to work on a TV show would change that.
“I selfishly want you to myself.”
“I selfishly want that too,” I say back, feeling sleepy already. There is no place on earth more comfortable than Sam’s bed—as long as he’s in it with me.
“Good thing I have you all weekend.”
Everything is perfect, and I know that right here, snuggled up in Sam’s arms, is right where I’m meant to be. All the pain I’ve held onto, all the fear that’s kept me in the dark, melted away the moment Sam kissed me.
We sure took our sweet time coming together, but now that we’re here, there’s no going back.
I am in love with Sam Harris.
And he is in love with me.Chapter Twenty-FiveSam“You’re going to miss your flight.” I run my fingers up and down Chloe’s back.
“Would that be a bad thing?” she mumbles.
“Not for me.” I lift my head off the pillow and kiss her forehead. “You can stay as long as you want. It’s quiet here during the day so you’d probably get a lot of writing done.”
“Well, when you put it that way, it would be irresponsible if I didn’t stay.”
I sweep my hand down her back to her thigh. We’re both naked in bed, and Chloe is supposed to be leaving for the airport to take a red-eye back to LA. The weekend went by so fast, and I can’t believe it’s fucking Sunday already.
Things couldn’t be more perfect. We started Saturday morning by sleeping in and then having sex in the shower. I showed her around the city, and we ended our night with a dinner cruise and walking around Navy Pier. The weather wasn’t quite as nice today, and since I was on-call, I couldn’t venture too far from the hospital.
We stayed in, ordering Chinese takeout, and played video games most of the day. Chloe is almost irritatingly good at them, though it was more of a turn-on than anything else, and I only got slightly irritated that she beat me three times in Mario Kart.
She’s the definition of perfection, and I still can’t believe she’s mine. She’s beautiful and successful, yet still humble and kind. She’s quirky but not ashamed to be herself. And she challenges me, not afraid to speak her mind or have a different opinion. All of the research she’s done for her different books makes her a well-rounded person, and her knowledge and interest in politics surprised me. She told me she didn’t realize until recently how important it is to be involved and to know what’s going on around us. If there’s a chance your vote could make a difference, you should be sure to use it.
“You did say being with me was inspiring.” I run my fingers through her dark auburn hair, having no intention of letting her go.