They stood on opposite sides of the room and right now it felt like different corners of the state. She searched and poked and looked for the right answer. He wished he knew what it was.

“I feel everything and it scares the shit out of me.” Had him panicking and making excuses for why he should cut out early before this relationship grew into love and took a piece of him. The games running through his head to protect the heart he thought he no longer had surprised even him.

“I feel like you hold back.” She glanced at the floor before looking back up at him. “I mean, I know what’s between us is new, and it happened under odd circumstances, but it feels real. At least to me.”

The truth hit him. This was the relationship talk. She wanted to know where they stood, which was fair. He was still working that out himself. “I don’t want to leave you. This might be new to both of us, but I want to explore it.”

She made a humming sound. “Okay.”

“That’s it?” For some reason he didn’t feel as if he dodged a bullet.

“I guess that’s enough.”

Later that night he pushed into her for the last time and let the orgasm overtake him. As the last of the pulses hammered him, he let his body fall heavy against hers. Let the smell and taste of her wash through him.

Her softness lured him in every time. Tonight started in the shower and continued on the sheets. Even now, damp piles were trapped underneath him. She had her legs wrapped around his waist and her fingers plunged into his hair. She held him close and kissed his neck.

The lovemaking mirrored every other time they had fallen into bed. A wild frenzy of need that slowed and sped up as their moods changed. A space where they were free to do what they wanted, ask for what they needed.

He loved that about her. The way she owned her pleasure. She didn’t hide from it. She pushed him to do the same.

In such a short time, they’d bonded and connected. In here and out there.

“We’re going to need another shower.”

Her words broke through his mental wanderings. He wasn’t even sure why his mind had taken off. He usually stayed in the moment with her. Steadied his breathing and calculated how long it would be before he could be inside of her again.

“I’m happy to shower as many times as needed.” He had to force the words. They didn’t flow naturally like they usually did. He wasn’t even sure they made sense in context.