Page 152 of That First Flight

If you told me a year ago that my life would look like this right now, I would have called you a liar and brought myself to the bar with Logan to see what kind of fun we can get ourselves into.

I think back to what dad told me about never settling. There’s no way he meant something as strong as what Macey and I have together. I don’t believe for one second that this would be settling when it feels meant to be.

I was also naive to believe that being in a relationship was stupid. No matter how happy my brothers looked, I just always felt like it wasn’t in the cards for mebecauseI was living life without a care in the world.

Now, with Macey and Mackenzie, I feel like the luckiest man in the world because I didn’t only get one girl. I got two.

Two girls who have flipped my world upside down in the best way possible.

Macey moves under my arm that’s draped over her shoulders, and sits up as she lets out a yawn before she stretches.

“I’m exhausted. I think I’m going to head to bed.”

She doesn’t wait for a response, but leans in and kisses me before she starts to make her way to her bedroom.

“Where are you going?” I stand up quickly and ask her.

She hikes a thumb over her shoulder. “I’m heading to bed. I’m so tired.”

I can’t help but grin, because it’s cute that she thinks she will ever be sleeping in that room again.

It’s my turn to hike a thumb over my shoulder. “This way.”

“My stuff is this way.”

“That’s a problem we can deal with tomorrow,” I tell her as I take long strides to close the distance between us. “I want you in my bed with me for the foreseeable future.”

“You don’t think that’s moving too fast, Oliver?”

“We’re past the moving too fast thing.” I laugh. “Besides, even if it is, I could care less about what’s fast and what’s slow. I know what I want and it’s you in my bed. I need to have my arms around you. I need you to fill my sheets with your scent and I need to wake up every day to that smile I’ve grown addicted to.”

Macey’s lips curve as her cheeks turn a light shade of pink.

“There it is,” I say before I bring her face to mine. Before she can say anything back, my lips are on hers.

I lift her in my arms, refusing to break our kiss as I carry her to my room.

Ourroom.

As I lay Macey down gently on the bed and hover over her body, I know this time will be different than the others. This is me showing her how much I love her without having the guts to say the words yet.

This is me showing her how she’s claimed every part of me.

“Oliver,” she pants as she tears away from my lips, frantically trying to push my sweatpants down my legs.

“Shhh,” I murmur against her lips.

Her movements still and I stare into the green eyes that are engraved into the deepest parts of my soul. I don’t say anything, I let my eyes tell her what I need to say before I kiss her again.

There’s no rushing.

It’s just us and the fierce electricity that rushes between us when we’re connected.

I sit her up slowly, reaching for the hem of her sleep shirt and pulling it over her head. Her eyes bore into mine, soft and gentle. I reach behind my neck and pull my shirt over my head, and even those few seconds were too long to take my eyes off of her.

Macey stands from the edge of the bed and pushes her shorts to the floor before sitting back down for me.

“You’re so beautiful,” I whisper, cupping her cheek with my palm. Her head leans into me as if it’s a magnet on my skin. “I wish I knew what I did so right in life to deserve you, Macey. I’m going to spend the rest of my life thanking the universe for putting us in the same spot at the same time.”

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