His arms held her fast against him, her own arms slow to release him as she finally gathered more control over her breathing. Laying her head against his shoulder, she turned her face so she could look at him, her eyes trailing along his jaw line. A small smile quirked on her lips as he spoke, her fingers drawing circles on his opposite shoulder.
“
Please tell me you can stay here tonight.”
Chuckling, she nodded. “I haven't had a curfew in a long time, Stafford. No worries about getting locked out of a dorm. Yes, I can stay.” Silence filled the room as they continued to sit together, Cassie’s eyes drifting closed. A small sigh of contentment escaped her as exhaustion began to sink into her muscles.
When he next spoke, she felt the vibration of his voice as much as she heard his words. “That was amazing. You are amazing. Why did we wait ten years to do that?”
“A lot of reasons,” she said, her voice quiet when she spoke. Some of those reasons she really didn't want to get into at the moment. “Ten years ago you would have gotten a very different Cassie, though,” she said, laughing,”Awkward would be an understatement.”
“Younger Adrian would definitely have been too much of a coward to say anything anyway,” he responded. Lifting her head, Cassie studied him for a moment before bringing her hands to either side of his face.
“I think that sometimes, as painful as the realization might be, things happen when they're supposed to. Not just when we want them to. Those two kids ten years ago had a lot of big decisions to make.” Cassie needed to believe this. Ten years ago they were both about to embark on two very different careers, demanding in their own way. If they'd been as honest with each other then, how would that have turned out?
“Yes, they did. And you're right. It seems we had to wait for the stars to align...or for me to get the right head thinking for once!”
Cassie laughed at his words, and reached up to brush back his hair. She couldn't stop touching him. A mischievous twinkle sparkled in her eyes, and she pretended to look thoughtful for a moment.
“I think I’m partial to both heads at the moment.”
Adrian chuckled, his head shaking slightly at her. “Both heads are very happy with you right now.”
Leaning in, Cassie kissed him softly. “All right, Coach. I think you have thoroughly worn me out for the night. I think that we should probably get cleaned up and get some sleep. I know you have to go in tomorrow.” Untangling her body from his, Cassie made her way into his bathroom to get ready for bed.
When she finally crawled under the sheets beside him, her body shivered into his from the cool fabric against her skin. They had shared a bed a few times in college, the results of some late night study sessions, but that had a drastically different feeling than this. She burrowed into his side, her arm sliding around his middle, the exhaustion of the week and their night catching up to her quickly. Before long, Cassie fell asleep, feeling perfectly content.
Her body was accustomed to waking up early, and so it didn't surprise her when she woke up a little after dawn. Looking up, she smiled to herself as she watched Adrian sleep, a reminder that last night had not, in fact, been a dream. Flashes of their night together skirted across her memory, and she very vividly recalled the feel of him inside of her. The way her body has given into him so effortlessly.
She slowly got out of bed, careful not to wake him. Slipping into the restroom, she found a Wolf Pack sweatshirt hanging on the back of his bathroom door, and slid it down, the shirt falling to her thighs. Reaching back, she pulled her hair out, and looked at herself in the mirror. Her mussed hair fell around her shoulders. She looked like a woman who had been made love to, and before she realized it, she was grinning at herself in the mirror. Adrian Stafford had taken her body to heights she hadn't known possible, but she also knew that he was the only man alive capable of making her feel the way he did. He’d told her he loved her. Shaking her head, she padded out of the bedroom and downstairs.
After searching for a few minutes, she found her cell phone on the table where she’d left it the previous night. Making her way into the kitchen, she found the coffee pot and tracked down a couple of mugs. Once it was brewing, she unlocked her phone to see the damage one neglected night had done.
Leaning against the kitchen island, she propped her head up on her fist, her cell phone flat on the quartz countertop. She had fifteen missed text messages from Meg.
M: Hey, babe. What time do you want me to pick you up?
M: You aren't answering me…
M: OMG. Are you and Adrian hooking up?
M: I texted you an hour ago and you still haven't answered. Finally!!!!!!!
M: 
M: You didn't come home last night! I bet he made you…never mind.
Shaking her head, Cassie couldn't help but laugh.
C: I’m alive and well. No worries.
With a sigh, she pulled up her social media, already dreading the abundance of notifications.
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