My first thought when I wake up is that it is unbearably hot and that the sun is much too bright for it to be 7 o’clock in the morning. My second thought, and arguably the more coherent one, is the explanation for my first.

Today is Justin’s first day of Spring Break.

Naturally, we celebrated in the best possible way last night and well into the early morning. We probably didn’t fall asleep until about 3 AM, and the sweaty sheets are now wrapped tightly around our bodies and legs, which is the reason for the balmy temperature. I manage to twist my body and crane my neck to peer over at the clock, kicking the sheets loose to let some cool air in. It’s almost noon and I let out a snort of laughter in disbelief.

“What’s so funny?” Justin’s scratchy voice asks. I flop back onto my pillows and smile at him as he peers at me with an amused expression.

“Just the time…it’s almost noon,” I answer, surprised at how hoarse my voice is. He seems to realize this too, based on the arrogant smirk that immediately crosses his face.

“I told you not to make any plans for today,” he grins as the arm around my naked back tightens, hugging me close to his side. He leans forward, planting a kiss on my forehead as he sighs happily against my hair. “One whole week of no kids, no lessons, and no clothes.”

“You wish,” I scoff with a roll of my eyes. “We don’t all have the luxury of getting breaks off of work, you know. I still have to go in this week.”

He grumbles a response into the pillow that is squished against his face, but I don’t bother trying to decipher it. Instead, I push up off the mattress and move so that I’m lying on his back. My breasts squish against his angel tattoo and he turns his head, trying to look at me over his shoulder.

“What?” he groans, trying to sound annoyed, but failing miserably.

“I’m hungry,” I whine as I press kisses to the back of his neck, underneath his hairline. He shudders softly underneath me and suddenly flips over so that I’m laying on my back underneath him as he moves to hover over me. I let out a surprised squeal, which is quickly silenced by his lips as he leans down, kissing me deeply. My arms wrap around his neck and I relax into his embrace, lazily kissing him back.

The moments after we just wake up are my absolute favorite. Time runs a little slower then, and the kisses and touches are so much more intimate and tender. I love that we just lay in bed, trying to stretch out time as long as possible before he has to get up for work. And now that he has a break for one week, he’ll probably try to make us stay in bed all day.

“So what am I supposed to do about your hunger?” Justin asks, pulling away gently. His lips remain a few centimeters above mine and I stretch up, running the tip of my tongue along his bottom lip. His mouth is just so irresistible. I could literally just kiss him for hours.

“Mm…I dunno. One of your delicious omelets sounds pretty good,” I answer coyly, batting my eyelashes at him.

“I don’t think so. I’m going back to sleep,” he says as he rolls over onto his back and throws his arm over his eyes.

“Come on…please! Don’t you love me?” His arm stretches up as he looks at me, his eyebrows raised in disbelief. I match his expression, looking back at him expectantly.

“I love you,” he responds seriously, reaching out to drag my body over his. I rake my eyes over his stubbled jaw line, running my thumb over his cheek as I smile down at him. “I love you, Elizabeth Grace Reynolds. I absolutely adore you, and cherish you, and am completely obsessed with you.”

My heart flutters involuntarily, taken aback by the raw emotion shining through his eyes. I have never been in a relationship where love was expressed so freely, and for Justin, it just comes so easily. He never hesitates to remind me how much he loves me every day. And I know he means it because there is no way any man could say those words and look at me the way he does every time he says them, and not mean it. And I had been so shocked when he said it to me for the first time, that I literally froze for a few seconds.

There is no question that I love Justin. I feel it in every cell of my body.

And yet, I couldn’t muster up enough courage to say them back to him after only one month of dating. To me, with that kind of confession comes vulnerability. When you tell someone you love them, you’re laying all of your trust in them, giving them the power to completely crush you. And so I only smiled at him then, kissing him with all of the love I felt and trying to express everything I could not say.

He had said it again the next day in the car, where I was unfortunately strapped down to my seat. We were driving to his mother’s house for the first time, and I was already nervous enough about meeting her. I will always remember the way his face fell after a few silent seconds passed, and we just stared at each other. His jaw locked as he turned back to the road, almost flinching painfully when I didn’t answer him. How could I practically hurt with love for him and yet be unable to tell him so?

So I waited until we were pulling up to his mother’s house and then turned to him, stretching across the middle console, and held his face in my hands. He was still visibly angry, but as soon as I told him how much I loved him, his whole face lit up.

And I haven’t been able to stop saying it to him ever since. My heart still skips a beat every time he tells me he loves me, but at least I respond to him now. I’m still trying to get used to the fact that this amazing man loves me, and that is why I am left speechless every time he showers me with words of love and adoration so easily.

And I’m sure he knows of his effect on me, which is why he has chosen to tell me this, this morning. He’s trying to distract me from my hunger, but I will not be deterred.

“That’s great. I love you too, babe…and if you cherish me so much, why can’t you just fricken make me breakfast?” I ask, grinning as his eyebrows furrow together and he begins to pout. I nudge him a little with my elbow and finally he heaves a loud sigh, running his hand over his face.

“Okay, fine…but you’re helping.” He rolls to the edge of the bed and stands up, showing me his naked backside. My eyes immediately scan down the toned muscles and his slightly flat backside as he bends down to retrieve his sweatpants. Who knew music nerds could be so unbearably sexy? “Ahem…Ellie?” Justin’s voice clears, interrupting my lust-filled thoughts. I meet his bright eyes as he chuckles and kneels on the bed.

“Sorry,” I shrug. “I have wandering eyes.”

“You should never be sorry about that,” he smirks as he grabs my hand and pulls me up to a seated position. The sheet falls away from my body, exposing my breasts and I immediately cover them up with one arm as I follow him out of bed. I grab one of his big T-shirts and shove it over my head before he gets any ideas about returning to bed.

“Let me just wash up and I’ll meet you out there,” I say as I tiptoe past the clothes on the floor and head towards the bathroom. Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I look exactly the same as I always have. But I feel like a different person. The past four months have flown by so fast, and yet I still get all giddy when I’m with Justin. I know it sounds cheesy, but we just fit together perfectly. We still have fights, of course, mostly about our different work hours, but at the end of the day we find a way to forgive each other. And now that I’ve finished moving all of my things into his apartment, we’ll have to work even harder on that forgive and forget thing.

After the past few months of going back and forth between our two apartments, I finally decided to just move permanently into his place. It was stupid to continue to pay my rent when I wasn’t even living there, so I gave up my lease and moved upstairs last week. Today is our first official day of living together. I’ve never lived with a boyfriend before, and I worry that we took that step too early, sometimes. But I trust Justin and he makes me want to take that risk. At the end of the day, he just makes me feel loved. And that’s all that matters, I guess.

After brushing my teeth and running a comb through my hair, I walk out to the kitchen and am greeted by the sight of Justin standing topless in front of the oven, singing to himself as he makes breakfast.

“Need any help?” I ask as I step up behind him. I stand on my tiptoes and rest my chin on his shoulder to kiss his stubbly jaw. My arms weave around his waist and hug him tight, sighing softly against his warm skin.

“Could you set the table, babe?” I nod and set off to complete my task as my boyfriend continues to sing and dance in the kitchen like the goofball that he is.

“You sure are chipper today,” I remark from my spot at the table where I’m watching him plate my breakfast. I will never understand how he can practically burn water for pasta, but has no problem making eggs. He will never cease to amaze me.

“I have no reason not to be happy,” he shrugs with a smile as he sits down across from me. “I have everything I could possibly want.”

I can’t help the rolling of my eyes as he smiles innocently at me and starts to pour orange juice into his glass. “I’m still not going to take off of work tonight,” I say with a smirk, understanding his sudden bout of sickeningly sweet romanticism.

His smile falters as he purses his lips disappointedly. “What am I going to do while you’re gone?”

“You’ll think of something,” I answer, smiling at the whine in his voice. “It’s only four hours, Justin. You can deal with not being by my side for four hours. Aren’t you sick of me yet?”

“Never,” he answers truthfully as he slides an omelet onto my plate and then takes the other one for himself. “I really do have everything I could want, Ellie. It wasn’t a ploy to get you naked. Although, I wouldn’t mind that option either.”

I ignore his last comment, choosing instead to ease my grumbling stomach as I take a bite of the breakfast he has so wonderfully cooked for me. He follows my lead and the room falls quiet as we both focus on our food. Breakfast, or brunch I should say, passes by rather uneventfully and after cleaning up, I settle into unpacking my last box of clothes. I didn’t have to bring much from my apartment since Justin’s apartment is already well decorated enough. He graciously offered to share his music room with me and now we have a pretty impressive combined music collection. He starts alphabetizing my vinyl disks while I unpack my clothes, deciding that watching me was simply too boring for him.

“I think I’ll go out and buy another shelf for this room. Your shit won’t fit,” I hear him call from down the hall.

“My music,” I correct him. He really isn’t subtle about his opinion on my musical tastes.

“Sure,” he laughs. I’m just unpacking the last of my boxes when I hear the familiar tinkering of piano keys from the music room. My curiosity piqued, I quickly shove the drawer shut and pad down the hallway. I walk into the room and Justin is sitting at his upright piano, smiling when he sees me standing by the doorway. He nods and pats his bench, gesturing for me to sit down.

“I haven’t gotten a chance to write anything in awhile,” he explains with a timid smile. I sit down next to him on the bench as he mindlessly begins to play a few chords, humming in harmony with the tune in his head. Within a few minutes, he already has about half a song written out. All in his head of course. Justin doesn’t bother with sheet music.

Watching him play music is completely mesmerizing and one of the things I love about him. There’s just something about the way he closes his eyes and his smooth voice just carries across the room. He exudes a certain self-confidence that I’ve never seen before, like he just knows that it’s what he’s meant to do. In a way, I’m kind of jealous that he can shed away all of his worries and just hideaway in his music. The fact that he is so sure of his ability and can fully give himself to that passion is inspiring.

I watch him as he bends over the keys, his fingers stretching across the ivory keys effortlessly as he begins to sing. His eyes are closed and he throws his head back, listening to the beautiful sound he’s creating as he leans towards me.

Now if you’re ever wondering about the way I’m feeling

Baby girl there ain’t no question

Just to be around you is a blessin’.

Sick and tired of trying to save the world

I just wanna spend my time with you girl

And what you give me lets me know that we’ll be alright.

Cause if your love is all I had in this life

Well that would be enough until the end of time

So rest your weary heart and relax your mind

‘Cause I’m gonna love you girl until the end of time

The music comes to an abrupt stop as Justin lifts his hands of the piano and rests them on his lap. He turns his body on the seat, straddling it as he looks at me with an embarrassed smile playing on his lips.

“I know it’s kind of silly,” he starts to say but I lift my hand and place my pointer finger on his lips, silencing him.

“It was beautiful,” I interrupt, trying to blink away the tears that start to sting my eyes. “Honestly…it’s really good.”

“Thanks,” he smiles. “And it’s about you…” He adds, as if he were afraid I thought it was about some other woman.

“Thank you,” I answer softly, dumbfounded by his honesty. “I love it.”

He grins at me, hugging me close to his chest. He pulls his head back and eyes me warily, his lips curving into a slight frown. “You’re crying.”

“No,” I argue, shaking my head. “I’m just…overwhelmed.”

“Was it too much?” he asks, tucking his bottom lip in between his teeth. “I didn’t…mean anything by it. Until the end of time doesn’t really mean…”

I chuckle as he stutters nervously, framing his face with my hands. “Justin. I meant that it just means a lot to me…it’s a really heavy song. I don’t think I deserve to be the inspiration of something so deep and beautiful.”

“You deserve much more than a song,” he scoffs, rolling his eyes at me. “You know I can only write exactly what I feel.” I can’t help but smile and lean forward as he meets me half way, kissing me deeply as his hand delves into my hair. After a few more minutes of heated kisses and wandering hands, Justin lifts me off the bench and carries me into the bedroom, sitting me down on top of the still messy sheets. He stands in between my knees, gazing down at me with a soft smile on his face.

“What?” I ask, feeling a wave of self-consciousness spread over me.

“I’m just appreciating the view,” he smirks. I break our eye contact and glance over to his dresser, where a bunch of my jewelry is organized next to his cologne and deodorant. A photo of us from a concert is propped up against the wall, one of our first pictures together and probably one of my favorites. I'm grinning at the camera while Justin plants a kiss on my temple. When my sister had seen the picture, she said she had never seen me so happy, and now when I look at it, her words are all I think of.

And now in this moment, living in this weird domestic bliss, my emotions are overwhelming. 

In my mind, our relationship has just climbed up two Mt. Everest-sized steps in the span of a few days. At first, moving in with him didn’t seem like a big ordeal. I practically lived with him anyways. But after the last few nights, I’ve realized that this is real. I am actually living with a man with whom I am deeply in love, who has no qualms about expressing how much he loves and adores me back. I can’t see myself with any other man. I have never felt even an eighth of what I feel for Justin, for anyone in my life, besides my sister and mother, of course. And this realization settles heavily at the bottom of my stomach

This is it.

Justin is the man I am going to spend the rest of my life with. There is no doubt in my mind that he is it for me, because being with anyone else just seems impossible. No other person could ever treat me and take care of me as well as Justin does. Maybe that’s why it was so hard for me to tell him I love him. I was scared that maybe I was falling too fast for him. But it was too late, I had already fallen for him. Hard. And now that I know he’s the one, I can’t stop thinking about how much I love him.

“Ellie?” Justin’s worried voice pulls me out of my epiphany. I blink dumbly at him and realize that I've been staring at the picture for the last 30 seconds and he is now sitting beside me with a concerned look on his face.

“I love you,” I answer him breathlessly. His eyes widen a fraction before a slow smile crosses his face.

“I love you too, babe,” he chuckles under his breath, eyes narrowing as he studies me carefully. “Are you okay?”

I nod distractedly and wrap my arms around his shoulders as I crawl into his lap, trying to get as close to him as possible His arms immediately envelop my body, warming me up as his lips meet mine in a fiery kiss. This is all I need.

Just me and him together.

====================================

My girl is crazy.

And I mean that in the most lovable, affectionate way possible. One minute she’s acting all quiet and weird, and then the next she attacks me and keeps repeating how much she loves me. Her hands are everywhere on me, like she can’t get enough and I have to struggle a little to keep up with her. Not that I mind at all. Anytime she wants any, she is free to take it.

“Justin…” her lips mumble against my chest, where she is doing some amazing things with her mouth and tongue right now. Her hands are now shoved into my pants, working fast against Big Jim. God it feels so good. She is way too amazing at getting me hot for her. She kisses her way up to my face and then pulls her face back, staring into my eyes. I get lost in her honey brown eyes for a little bit, my hands slipping underneath her shirt and pressing against her soft skin.

“Hmm?”

“Make love to me,” she says softly, sucking her bottom lip in between her teeth. “Please…”

Well she doesn’t need to ask me twice. My hands slide down towards her ass and hold her against my chest as I stand up and pick her up, only to turn and then lay her right back down on the bed. She scoots back towards the pillow, giggling a little when I get out of my sweatpants and shirt a little too eagerly.

“What…you think this is funny?” I ask, looking down at my hard-on and then back at her. That shuts her up real fast as she stares at me a little, her eyes darkening with lust as she licks her lips and then rises to her knees. She moves over to the edge of the bed where I’m standing and rests her hands on my chest. I smirk down at her and my eyes scan over her soft brown hair which flows down her shoulders in waves, and the way my old Memphis Grizzlies shirt hugs her curves in all the right places and stops short revealing her lacy underwear.

“I don’t think it’s funny at all,” she apologizes, sliding her arms over my shoulders and locking them behind my head. My own lock above her ass and I lean in, kissing her real deep and slow. She lets out this soft moan when my hands start kneading her breasts underneath her shirt and her fingers roam down my body, wrapping themselves around my dick.

“Shit,” I gasp against her lips as she starts to work her hand up and down my length, rolling my balls between her fingers as her lips curve into a smile. She starts kissing down my chest, licking and sucking my nipples before she continues her way south. Her body slides down and across the bed, her stomach pressing into the sheets as she props herself up on her elbows and takes my throbbing erection in her mouth. Her position looks kind of odd and uncomfortable, but her tongue feels so good I can’t find it in me to tell her to move. My hands immediately burrow into her hair, not really pushing or anything, just letting her know that she’s doing everything perfectly.

She does this thing with her tongue that drives me fuckin’ crazy every time. I can’t really describe it, except that it feels amazing. Most of my exes had never liked giving head, and would just try to suck me off as fast as they could to get it over with. But Ellie is on a whole different level. I’ve always believed there was a certain art in oral sex. Not to sound like a pervert, but sometimes it’s just nice to pleasure your partner, you know? You don’t have to do any crazy shit…but just realize that guys don’t just get off with girls sucking on their dicks like a vacuum. It’s better to change stuff up, and Ellie totally gets that.

I feel her teeth lightly grazing my skin and I let out a deep guttural groan, my fingers curling against her scalp. If I don’t stop this soon, I’m going to come before the real fun begins. I can already feel my balls tightening and the familiar tingling sensations running to my toes. So I pull back away from her, slipping out of her mouth and wince my eyes shut, willing myself enough patience to get Ellie screaming my name before I let myself go.

My eyes open and refocus and she’s suddenly naked, laying back on her elbows and smiling up at me. Her knees are bent, pressed together, and I slide my hands up her smooth calves and over her knees, pushing them gently apart as I climb onto the bed and over her body.

“God…I love you,” I mutter as I study her face and greedily memorize every little freckle and minute detail of her face. “Have I told you how beautiful you are?”

“Not for a few hours,” she smiles and I smile back, nuzzling my nose along her jaw. I start to kiss down the long column of her neck, sucking and tasting her skin as I make my way down her body. Her breaths begin to get shallower and her skin is warm against mine as I lavish attention to her breasts. Her soft skin smells of vanilla and oranges, and frankly, it’s the best thing I’ve ever smelt. I continue my way down her body, kissing a trail down towards her navel as my hands slide down her sides and curve underneath her ass. I shower kisses on her inner thighs, licking my lips slowly as our eyes meet. Her lips are parted slightly as she stares down at me, her breaths releasing in heavier pants.

A soft gasp escapes her pink lips when my tongue slides in between her wet folds. Her body is squirming in my arms as she begins to move against my face, urging me on. My fingers smooth up her thighs and push her legs farther apart as I brush the pad of my thumb against her clit and then flick at it with my tongue.

“Justin,” she moans loudly, eyes fluttering shut. I slide a finger into her entrance, moaning when I feel how slick and wet she is. Fuck. Another finger slides in and I start to pump my fingers in and out of her, feeling her walls squeeze around them tightly. Her palm presses against my forehead and she starts to grind her body against my lips wantonly. My fingers curl up and I feel that soft spot inside her, pressing the tips of my fingers against it gently.

“Yes. Oh god, don’t stop,” she gasps as her hips buck off the mattress. I begin to move my hand and tongue faster against her and inside her, wanting to see her come apart in my arms. Her fingers scratch down my neck and grip my shoulders, digging into my skin as her mouth hangs open and her thighs squeeze around my head. I watch mesmerized as Ellie’s eyes wince shut and her head is thrown back against the pillows. In that moment, she’s the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.

I kiss my way back up her body, lavishing attention to her breasts and collarbone as her arms weakly wrap around my neck. My lips find hers easily and I melt in her kiss, feeling her soft curves against my body. I want her so bad right now and it’s taking all I have not to just bury myself inside of her to the hilt. But I can’t…I can’t just start to fuck her senselessly because tonight is different. It’s our first night actually living together, and I need her to know that I’m serious about us. Ellie has the tendency to freak out over things, and I know she’s been over-analyzing this move-in. Mostly because I overheard her talking to her sister about it, but that’s beside the point.

Her hands move down my back and I feel her legs wrap around my waist as she lets out an impatient sigh.

“What’s wrong?” she pushes my head up so she can look at me properly, her deep brown eyes searching mine suspiciously.

“What?”

“You…well you got me off and now you’re not trying to,” she bluntly answers and makes that expression she makes whenever she says something particularly vulgar.

“There’s no rush,” I shrug with a smile as I move my hips and press against her intimately. We both moan at the contact and I feel the pleasure ripple through my body. Unable to wait much longer, I finally push into her and suddenly everything is alright again. There’s that incredible, tight, perfect fit and I know that I’m right when I say she’s it for me. Our hot breaths mix together as I start to move inside of her, feeling her completely sheathed around me. There’s no greater feeling than this. My hands bury in her hair as I raise my body up so that I can move deeper inside of her.

“Oh…” I groan when she squeezes her muscles around me. I roll to the side and drag her knee higher up my hip. I think it says a lot about my stamina that I have been able to hold out this long. I was about ready to end it before it even started. She starts to kiss me real soft and wet, making the little noises I love as I start to pound into her faster. I can feel tremors run through her body, letting me know she’s close.

“Come on Ellie. Let go for me,” I encourage her as I cover her breast with my hand and graze my thumb over her hard nipple. This real sexy growl escapes her lips and I’m suddenly on my back and she’s on top of me, riding me. Her hips begin to roll hypnotically against me and I have to tear my eyes away from her bouncing body to take in a deep calming breath. She leans forward so that are chests are pressed together and starts to do some amazing things with her mouth against my neck. Just like that, I lose it and with one last deep thrust up, I explode. My fingers dig into her legs and I vaguely register her scream as her orgasm follows my own.

I don’t know how much more of this kind of sex I can take. I feel like I need days to recuperate after just one session.

When I finally gain consciousness and my breath back, Ellie’s body is completely slumped over on top of mine. She must have moved off of me at some point and is now just sprawled out on top of me, our legs intertwined and her hair fanned out across my chest. I can feel her heartbeat against my chest and I lazily throw my arm across her back.

“Holy hell,” I grumble and she turns her head to look at me, resting her chin on my sternum. I smile when I see her cheeky grin and squeeze her to my body. “You are going to be the death of me, woman.”

“Oh I don’t know. We still have a few good years,” she says thoughtfully.

“I don’t think I can move.”

“Then don’t. Let’s take a nap,” she yawns and somehow, I don’t know how, finds enough energy to lift her body off of mine and plop down onto the mattress. We snuggle together and I breathe in deeply, letting the exhaustion take over my body. Her smell and warmth completely surrounds me and I feel calm and at home with that knowledge.

“I love you,” I mumble quietly before she has the chance to doze off. “Everything about you.” It’s true, too.

I love the taste of her. I love how she starts mumbling incoherently when she’s close to the edge and I’m right there, pushing her closer so we can get there together. Or how she snores when she’s dead tired and passes out in bed before I can kiss her goodnight. I just love her. Even through all of the bullshit we go through, and drama with her family, I adore her.

And I really hope she knows that. She’s literally the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and her scent follows me as I walk through the school’s halls. Sometimes, when I’m working with the kindergartners, I even wonder what our kids would look like. It’s ridiculous, really. But I can’t help it. I know it’s too soon to be thinking about marriage or kids. Hell, I’m scared shitless of being a father right now. But she brings out thoughts and feelings I’ve never had before. And in these moments when we’re just laying in bed together, I think about my future. And Ellie is it.

I think she’s always been the girl I was supposed to live the rest of my life with, and that is why I was so hung up on her for so long. Every fiber of my being must have known that I needed her.

“I love you too,” she answers sleepily into the pillow. “By the way, I’m still going to work tonight.”

“Sure.” I laugh, knowing she won’t be saying that later when we’re trying to recover from being laid to pieces again.

“I’m serious, Justin. You can’t seduce me like that,” she whines and I have to smile when I peer over at her and see her pouting prettily at me.

“Just…sleep. We’ll worry about the seducing later.” I press a kiss to her shoulder and pull the sheets over us. If this is what I have to look forward to for the rest of my life, then I’ll take it.