Page 57 of Hold Me Tight

When I reach up and gently brush the backs of my knuckles along her cheek, she leans into my touch before she can think better of it.

It’s instinct.

The beginning of trust.

And it’s everything.

“Get some sleep, Callie.” My voice is rough with everything I’m fighting to keep locked up.

Like how I’d burn the world down to make her feel safe.

How I’d wait a lifetime if that’s what she needed from me.

How she already owns my heart and doesn’t even realize it yet.

Before she can respond or I can change my mind and give in to the gravitational pull between us, I rise to my feet. Every muscle screams in protest as I circle to the other side of the bed. The mattress dips beneath my weight as I lie beside her, careful to leave a sliver of space between us.

Not because I want the distance.

But because she needs it.

Getting impatient and rushing her now would be the quickest way to lose her.

The room falls into silence. It’s the kind that buzzes with everything that hasn’t been said.

It’s the kind that holds its breath and waits.

I stare up at the ceiling, all the while steadying the storm inside me and trying to forget the way her skin felt against my hands. The way she looked at me like I could be something more than the man she thought I was.

Like maybe I could be the one she lets in.

Beside me, the sheets rustle.

A small shift, then another, and I know she’s turned to face me.

I don’t move.

I wait as a long moment stretches between us and then her chest begins to rise and fall in a slower rhythm, the tension in the room easing with each passing second.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Steady and trusting.

As if whatever battle she was waging inside herself has finally quieted enough to sleep.

Even though our bodies aren’t touching, I’ve never felt closer to her. Never felt something more intimate than her turning toward me in the dark and letting herself rest.

She doesn’t have to say it. Not out loud.

Because I feel it.

She’s letting me in.

Inch by inch.

And I’ll earn each and every one of them.