Page 29 of Somewhere Between Falling

And just like that, everything made sense in the world. Everything I had been trying to deny, since that cold day in December when we first met, melted away like snow in a spring rain.

Our second kiss was slower, sweeter, no longer desperate, but rather an act of confirmation of our feelings that we were both finally ready to contently accept.

“We should go somewhere,” I said, breathless.

“My place?” he suggested, after all my dorm room wasn’t exactly private.

“Yes,” I agreed.

Tobias lived in a townhouse not far from campus. It was brick with cream trim and an olive-green door.He unlocked it and held open the door for me as I entered, and it looked exactly how I imagined it would.

The front entrance opened right into his living room. The walls were a deep burgundy and there was the faint smell of leather, citrus wood polish, and old books, which made sense because the room was full of bookcases on three of the four walls, each one as tall as the ceiling and overflowing with books. His tan leather couch had a cream, hand-knitted throw blanket and mismatched pillows that looked cozy, and the space looked just like I would have expected the living room of a self-proclaimed professional student like Tobias to look like. What I hadn’t expected was the cat; nor was I expecting the cat to be hairless.

“Um, what’s that?” I asked teasingly when the pinkish creature greeted us at the door.

“That’s Atticus.”

“As in Finch?” I asked, and he nodded with a smile. “You know, I should have known you were a cat person, but I never would have guessed the hairless variety. Aren’t these things extremely expensive?”

“He was discounted,” he said with an affectionate smile. He picked him up and held out his paw. “See the fur on his paws and tail? Well, the breeder who imported him from the Ukraine didn’t want any fur on her cats, so she sold him to me for cheap.”

“He’s from the Ukraine?”

“Has his own passport and everything.”

“Your cat has seen more of the world than I have.”

“That’ll change.” He put Atticus back on the ground, and the cat weaved through his legs purring louder than I had ever heard a cat purr before. I wondered if all cats purred that loudly, but it was just muffled on regular cats by their fur.

“So how come you never mentioned you are a cat person?” I asked, reaching down to pet Atticus. His skin was warm and softer than I expected, almost like a warm peach.

“Must have just slipped my mind,” he said. “What about you? Cats or dogs?”

“Definitely cats,” I said, continuing to pet Atticus. He licked my hand with his sandpaper tongue. “Look, he likes me.”

He smiled. “So, um, want the grand tour?”

I nodded and followed him down the hall from the living room into a small kitchen, with black and white tile, a huge window above the sink, and a sliding glass door that opened into a small backyard.There wasn’t a kitchen table, but I supposed there wasn’t a need for one since he lived alone. Well, assuming you didn’t count Atticus.

“Bathroom is there if you need it.” He pointed to a closed door before leading me up the wooden staircase.

I realized the only room left to see was his bedroom, and that thought alone had my heart racing. I wasn’t sure why I was so nervous. I knew where this was going as soon as he invited me to his house, but something about being just steps away from his bedroom had my stomach doing somersaults.

“This is my room,” he stated, which was obvious. The bed was large with a mahogany headboard and dark gray bedding that almost looked black.There was a stack of books on his bedside table, including the copy of Lonesome Dove I got him, along with a half-empty cup of coffee.

He trailed a finger down my spine, and I shivered in response as I turned to meet his gaze. We picked up where we left off in the library. He brushed his lips across my jawline, ending at my mouth, as his hands were tangled in my hair. He eased us both toward his bed.

Chapter Seventeen

Sunbeams peeked through the closed blinds, but I wasn’t ready to move. I had never felt more content in my life than at this exact moment. For the first time, everything just made sense, and a part of me knew that I’d never be the same. Tobias had changed me down to my core.

“Good morning,” he murmured into my hair.

“Good morning.” I sighed, suddenly aware that because of my moment of spontaneity, I didn’t have a toothbrush.

We lay there, tangled up in bed sheets and each other's arms for most of the morning, but eventually we emerged from our blissful piece of heaven. After all, Atticus needed to eat, which he forcefully let us know with his incessant meowing when ten o’clock rolled around and he hadn’t been fed yet. I never knew that such a small creature could be so loud.

While Tobias got Atticus’s breakfast, I excused myself to freshen up in his bathroom. Luckily, he had mouthwash, which was second best to actually being able to brush my teeth. When I came downstairs, he had already started the coffee and was making some toast.

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