Two Years Later

It took four months and three days for Reese to finally call me her boyfriend.

Life had been the same—class, labs, reading, studying—and life had been infinitely better—Reese lying on her fabric couch with Lemon, sleeping in my bed, holding my hand when we walked down the street, meeting my friends and them loving each other. And when she wanted to be by herself, her texting me something that popped into her head made me the happiest.

When the day finally came, we'd been sitting at the coffee shop across from my apartment when one of her co-workers walked in. She introduced me to the older guy as her boyfriend so casually that she didn't even notice.

I'd suspected she had been considering me as one for a while, but she hadn't had an opportunity to use the word.

And hearing it come from her beautiful lips was the most stunning thing I'd ever heard that I almost fell out of my chair.

When I wrapped my arms around her at my kitchen sink afterward and pointed it out, she elbowed me in the ribs and told me, "Why do you sound so surprised?"

I only squeezed her tighter and told her I loved her.

And it still took me another eight months to convince her to move in with me.

So, when I started my third year of med school and clinical rotations, she finally packed up her tiny apartment—that I really didn't hate—and moved her gorgeous, non-OCD ass into my place.

In my fourth year, we learned my residency fate: Texas Children's in Houston. And after graduation, where Reese met my family, we started preparing to move.

My dad sat me down after and lectured me on never letting her go, not repeating his mistakes, that I needed to make time for her—even when I was busy, even when I hadn't slept in twenty-four hours, simply taking the time to ask her something about her day would matter more than I realized.

And I took it to heart.

"We can still fly, you know," I said as I placed her suitcase into the trunk next to where Reese was sitting. "There's no pilot strike this time. And all of our stuff, including your new car, is already waiting for us in Houston."

She crossed her arms and pulled an attempt at an angry face. Her features were blurred in the dark parking garage.

"Why won't you tell me our plans?" I pressed.

Reese sighed playfully and pulled me between her legs. "Why do you like working me up so much? You know I've been planning this for months, and I want to surprise you."

I buried my face in her neck and pressed my body weight into her. "You know why."

And while ninety-nine percent of the time it was because she was sexy when she got annoyed, that time it wasn't. I had a much bigger surprise burning a hole in my suitcase and not knowing our plans was stressing me the fuck out. How was I supposed to know when the best time to propose was when I didn't know where we were stopping?

"It's a miracle that after two years I'd still rather be sitting two feet away from you in a car for a week than flying in the comfort of a four hour flight."

I would never understand it myself—how I'd gotten so lucky that she was still putting up with me.

"Well, I am so damn lovable."

"Yeah?" she said, pressing her full lips into mine. "Why is that again? I can't seem to remember why I liked you so much in the first place."

"Because I force you to be organized?" I kissed her before she shook her head.

"Nope." Her thighs clenched around my hips.

"Because I use all of your products in the shower so I'll have skin as soft as yours?" I pushed her hair back behind her ear.

"Nope." She pushed her cheek against my palm.

I narrowed an eye. "Because I blew up your five-year plan?"

"Hmm," she said, biting her lip. "N—"

I didn't let her finish. I couldn't. Not when she did that to me—whether it was on purpose or not. It was so damn sexy watching her teeth sink into her pink bottom lip that I had to suck on it immediately.

"Because I kiss you when you bite your lip and interrupt you when you're talking?" I mumbled into her mouth as I pulled her bottom lip into mine.

Fuck. There was no furniture upstairs.

I pulled back and tried again. "Because you love me?"

Her hands slipped around my ass, begging me to rub against her. "Hm," she murmured when I appeased her. She scooted backward further into my truck with her legs spread and bit her lip again. "Maybe that's it. Remind me a little harder."

Fuck furniture.

I crawled into the trunk, closing the door behind me, and slammed the back seat down flat in a quick motion of events. She pulled her shirt over head and unhooked her bra, slithering her arms out of the straps.

"How hard do you need reminding?" I asked her, pushing her onto her back. My voice was desperate, blood rushing so fast I could hear myself throbbing. I took off my shirt and slipped off her shorts. Her legs fell open, and I could see how wet she already was for me.

"So hard I can't remember my own name."

I didn't even wait to get my shorts off completely. Every time always felt like the first time. I would never get used to being inside her. I thrust into her so deep she screamed my name.

My name because she was mine. Her lips wouldn't scream another man's name ever again.

Her fingernails dug into my lower back when I pulled back slowly, willing me to go faster. She crashed her lips into mine, and I parted them with my tongue so I'd be able to have the taste of her in my mouth for the next few hours. Her hips started to squirm underneath me, not able to go anywhere with my weight bearing down on her.

"That's it, Reese. Show me how good it feels."

"Fu..." she breathed against my neck.

"Good girl," I whispered when she arched her hips hard.

She was lost in it, not able to speak complete words. I brought my thumb down to rub her. "Lu..." Her eyes rolled up into the back of her head. It took all of my strength not to lose it there, because she looked like she was about to die of pleasure. And I would have died with her; happy.

I wrapped my hand lightly around her throat and crashed my tongue into hers. I buried my face between her perfect breasts. "You're mine. Forever."

"I'm yours," she repeated under her breath as her fingers ran through my hair and and tightened at the back of head. Her legs started to shake. "I'm going to come for you."

"Fuck," I rasped as I sucked on her nipple and took it between my teeth gently, so ready to feel her tighten around me. "Come for me. I want to feel it."

"I love you, Luke," she breathed out, making my lungs collapse.

Every time I heard those words spoken from her perfect mouth, I had to fight for oxygen. The way she said it with purpose—the purpose of keeping me alive—had the complete opposite effect on me.

I picked my head up to look into her dark green eyes that I'd never get tired of as long as I lived. "I love you."

She let out a soft moan, and I felt her clasp tightly around me before I came right behind her.

—

"Lemon probably thinks we left him," Reese frowned after we'd been lying together in the car in silence for ten minutes.

"He knows you would never do that," I laughed and kissed her nose. "If you weren't so goddamn cute, I'd be mad he loves you more."

"He stayed up researching all of the dog friendly hotels and places with me. He's excited," she said, pulling on her clothes. She dug in her bag for a new pair of underwear, then hit me with them. "We haven't even left yet, and I already have to put on new underwear."

Like it was my fault.

I only smiled to myself and the thought of what I knew was between her legs.

When she hopped down and turned around, I pulled the little black box out of my bag and shoved it in my pocket. I hadn't been further than five feet from it since I'd picked it up the week before.

I spent months designing it; consulting with her dad to make sure it had some of the same features of her mom's ring, consulting with Paige to make sure I got everything Reese wanted right, and consulting with the jeweler to make sure it was perfect.

And it was perfect.

I was determined to surprise her. I didn't think she even knew it was coming. I knew she didn't want anything crazy. She wanted something intimate and private, but I didn't know the right time to do it.

I turned the box around in my hand over and over as we walked up to our door. We left the welcome mat for the new tenants we'd rented to, so I ran my feet over it to keep the floors clean.

Lemon was sleeping in the middle of our empty living room when Reese opened the door. She patted his head when he sat up as she walked by.

I stood next to Lemon and scratched between his ears, waiting for Reese to emerge from the bathroom, trying not to get lost down memory lane.

When Reese opened the door, her eyes immediately filled with tears when she saw me.

"I know," I whispered, attempting to not choke up. She crossed the room quickly to hug me. I pulled her in tight, feeling her sink into me. "Our new apartment will be better. I was thinking we could turn our extra bedroom into a Pilates room for you, and we have a bigger balcony. Besides, we still own this one. We'll be back. Someone will make their own happy memories in it while we're gone."

She nodded against my chest, trying not to sob. "But it's our home."

Turns out—I'd just know.

I pulled the black box out of my pocket and dropped to my knee slowly, my heart racing.
"You are my home, Reese."

Her eyes went wide and her irises were the brightest green I'd ever seen.

"Yes," she sobbed out as I opened the box.

I chuckled. "I haven't even asked you yet. I have a whole speech."

She tried to stuff down another sob before she ran her fingers over my lips. "Yes."

She'd never let me say the whole thing.

"Reese, will you marry me?"

"Yes, Luke. You're my home too."

I would always be home as long as she was with me.