He holds me as my eyelids grow heavy, as his breathing slows. He holds me like he never intends to let me go.

The two of us may have started out faking this, but as we drift off to sleep together, I’m certain that nothing has ever felt quite so real to me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

TRAVIS

Last night was a lot. I hated seeing Brenden so upset and not being able to do anything about it. But I think it ended up being good for him. Hopefully he realizes now that he doesn’t need to act like everything’s fine and wonderful all the time when it’s not. That he’s allowed to hurt.

And I meant it when I said I’ll be here for every version of him.

He knows I’m not the best with words, but if this is going to work, I’m willing to try for him. I want him to know how I feel.

Right now, as he begins to stir in my arms, it feels like I’m living in a dream. Neither of us moved away from the other while we slept. Not like he could’ve if he wanted to with the way I wrapped myself around him. I’ve even got my leg hooked over his.

I’m not normally this cuddly, this possessive with someone I’m dating. Granted, I have minimal experience with actually dating, and it’s been a long time. But even with Christian when I lived in Boston, I never felt this aching need to keep him as close to me as possible.

Brenden’s different, of course. He has been since the day I met him, even if it took longer for my feelings to develop into this.

“G’morning,” he mumbles sleepily. It’s so cute that I have to bury my nose in his hair and kiss the back of his head. His hair tickled my nose all night, but it was worth it for the privilege of being surrounded by his scent.

“Morning,” I tell him, twirling my fingers aimlessly over his stomach. “How do you feel?”

“Wrung out. And not in the fun way.”

I laugh, squeezing him to me a little tighter.

“But I’m glad we did that,” he continues. “I think it was good for everyone.”

“Mmhmmm,” I murmur, pressing my lips to the nape of his neck as my fingers resume trailing over his soft skin.

“This feels nice,” he says, and I can hear the smile in his voice.

It feels more than nice, but I’m not sure I’m capable of finding the right words for how perfect this is, so I kiss him again. And again, and again, marking a path down his spine. I don’t get too far though, because I’m not willing to move away from him that much.

When he lets out the tiniest, sweetest moan, I can’t help myself. I remove my arm from around his waist and bring it down between our bodies. My hand almost covers his entire ass cheek. I squeeze, making him moan again, and then I use one finger to rub over his hole.