Page 89 of Twenty Years Later

"Say it again," I demanded, my voice so thick with desire I barely recognized it as my own.

She wrapped her leg around me tighter, bringing me in deeper. The sensations were unbelievable. "I love you. I love you. I love you," she said in breathy whispers as we moved together.

This was truly what they meant when they said making love. Because this feeling was something different from anything I'd ever experienced. I had never felt so close to anyone in my life. My God.

In this position, with our faces so close, I felt like I could see right through those beautiful eyes all the way to her beautiful soul. And I wanted to drink in every part of her.

As the passion swept through us, I felt our movements grow more erratic, and I knew she was close. I held on, using one hand to explore her, wanting to touch her, taste her, consume her, everything all at once.

My back tensed, pressure building in my whole body. She closed the small gap between our lips and kissed me so passionately, I almost burst. But I was determined to wait for her and make this sweet torture last as long as possible.

And then I felt it. I felt the amazing sensation of her starting to clench around me, and she pulled her mouth away to look at me.

"Oh, my God, Alex..." she breathed.

"I love you so much, baby."

My heart pounding out of my chest, the pressure inside me built even more, becoming almost unbearable as she let go, and I felt her squeezing me over and over again.

"Alex," she moaned, her face awash with pleasure as she made the sexiest sounds in the world.

Hearing her moan my name like that, that was it for me. My hips locked into hers as a rush of the most intense pleasure I'd ever felt shot through me, making me explode inside her and fill her, the feeling overpowering me to the point that I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't anything. Everything else fell away except for this woman in my arms whose body joined with mine kept me tethered to this earth.

Good God. What had just happened?

"Fucking Jesús Guerrero," she said against my lips.

It took me a moment to come down from my high. But her words eventually sunk in, and I laughed till I was even more breathless.

"Fucking Jesús Guerrero is right. God, Jayda, that was like... otherworldly." I struggled with how to even describe it. Staring into her eyes, we breathed each other in. "I don't know. You're the writer. What's the word for that, for what just happened between us?"

Still with that intense eye contact, I felt her chest rising and falling with mine as she thought for a moment. She reached up to stroke my cheek with the most amazing look on her face. Inhaling deeply and with a soul-shattering smile, she whispered just one word, "Love."

Epilogue Part One

Jayda

Seven Months Later…

I was so hot. Everything was so hot. Always. All the freaking time. And I felt like I'd been pregnant forever. I was so ready to get this little being out of me. When you knew you were pregnant from day one, forty weeks seemed like an eternity.

But really, it was just a minor inconvenience, I thought, as I watched Audrey and Gabby splash together in the sprinkler one scorching Saturday afternoon. Sure, the electricity bill might have been a little higher so far this summer. But that was okay. More than okay. Because I was happier than I'd been in a very long time.

And I owed it all to the amazing man that had moved all the way to Maine to be with me, to support me, to love me.

Sitting in the cushioned chair in the front yard and sipping my icy lemonade, I thought about Alex and how we'd just slipped into this wonderful life here together. He'd officially moved in a few months ago, his whole family coming to help us, and he'd hardly brought anything, saying he was more than happy with my choice of decor. Good man, I had told him, laughing.

But what was really nice about this house was it held no memories of a past for either of us. There were no ghosts to haunt us here. It was a neutral space where we could start our future together.

Blake's dad had visited with us as well, thrilled to have two "bonus" grandkids, only adding to my joy at seeing how our families blended and interacted together. I thanked God every day that my mom was back to her normal self now after switching her bladder medication several months ago, eliminating the harmful side effects that had caused her confusion.

At that reminder, I did another round of Kegels, thinking about my mom's upcoming hip surgery. While of course Alex wouldn't be operating on her, he had settled in nicely at a new practice and was making sure she had the best care possible. I couldn't be more grateful for Alex in my life, not just for his expertise, but for his partnership as I navigated having parents who were growing older and relying on me more and more.

I squirmed a bit in my chair, trying to get comfortable.A few more weeks till my due date. Not that that meant anything really. When I found the right spot, I set my drink down on my big belly, wondering if the little soccer star inside would kick it away.

We had decided to wait to find out the gender, something neither of us had done the last time. Although of course I'd be happy with either, I liked to tease Alex that we were having another girl because I loved to imagine this former player someday dealing with three teenage daughters in the house at the same time.

I laughed out loud just thinking about it.

---