Little Things | An Original

10

Maeve

Dalton stands up from the couch and offers his hand to me, before leading me to his hallway. He stops us before we reach his room, and smiles at me.

"What?" I giggle. I can't help it. I just feel so happy and light when I'm around Dalton. It's always been this way with us.

"Just taking this all in," he says, before bringing his mouth to mine. "Tonight has been so perfect," he adds, brushing my hair behind my shoulder.

I smile and wrap my arm around his neck before kissing him back, both of us taking the moment slowly.

"I think this might be the most romantic night I've had."

Dalton smiles. "Better than Prom?"

"Prom was a very close second. I didn't get to watch you cook."

Dalton laughs. "You, and your aptitude for watching me cook."

I laugh too. "What? I find it hot."

"And I find you adorable, Peach."

He kisses me there, in the middle of the hallway. My back gently presses against the wall, and Dalton's hand is gently holding my chin. His thumb softly runs across my cheek, and I want to melt. I've never been with someone who has such a gentleness as Dalton.

We pull away from each other, and then he gently tucks my hair behind my ear. I reach up and cup his cheek in my hand.

"I'm so glad we're here right now, Dalton."

He kisses my forehead before bringing his lips back to mine. "Me too, Peach," he says, before scooping me up bridal style and carrying me to his bed, which makes me giggle.

"That was really hot," I whisper, running my hands up his arms while he lowers his mouth to my jaw and starts to kiss my skin again.

"You like it when I carry you?" he asks.

"Yeah," I say, leaning my head back as he lightly sucks on my collarbone. "It's so sexy when you take care of me like this."

Dalton smiles down at me, stroking his thumb along my cheek. "You deserve to always be taken good care of, Maeve. Always."

Tonight has been one of the most special nights of my life. To feel like you've finally found something that you were missing is one of the best feelings of all time.

Dalton has always made me feel special, but sharing this moment with him might just be the most intimate experience I've ever had. This is something out of a romance novel; a movie. The exact type of book I'd read in a heartbeat, and a movie I've probably watched on the couch with my mother while we eat our favorite ice cream flavors.

We take it slow tonight, truly enjoying every single second together. The two of us take complete care of each other, taking our clothes off piece by piece.

I want to melt as soon as he's inside me, but we both make it last. The way that he's looking into my eyes is giving me immense butterflies. I'm not sure anyone has ever looked at me in this way, and it's making me think about a future with him. What would it be like?

Dalton makes me feel warm and cozy, and when we're finished in his bed we continue in the shower. After we're cleaned up and in comfier clothes, we lay back down and cuddle together.

"Do you wanna get breakfast in the morning? There's a good bagel place down the block from here," Dalton says. "My treat."

"It should be my turn to pay for our food, Dalton," I say. "You already made me dinner."

Dalton kisses my forehead. "Okay," he says. "We'll call it even if you buy the bagels in the morning. I think they're the best in Chicago."

"This weekend is gonna be fun," I say. "Jamison and Abby are gonna come with us. I think Taytum and Andrew might too."

"Fun," Dalton says. "Andrew and I go way back. We were really close during football in high school."

"I remember that," I say. "You guys had a big circle back then."

"Eh, really only at school. Otherwise I mostly hung out with Zack, and a few of our buddies. I'd go to the St. James parties, which is probably why I ever socialized at all in high school. The first time I went to one of those, I got so hammered that Zack had to call Paisley to come drag me home."

I giggle. "We all have an interesting first time with alcohol. One time I had to take Taytum home from a party because she got really drunk. When we got to her parents' house, she started hugging her siblings and calling them 'her babies'."

Dalton laughs. "That is gold. The things people say when they're drunk."

"Good times," I say.

"This weekend is going to be great. I'm so excited that we're going together. It's been a long time since I've had someone to share these occasions with besides Zack and my sister."

"Now you have me," I say. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. Unless it's a trip to see my sister do gymnastics. She's working really hard this year, so she can go to the Olympics."

"Woah," Dalton says. "I knew she was good, I didn't realize that she was that serious about it."

"Oh, yeah. She's been working towards this goal since she was ten. Her coach asked her if she wanted to continue for fun, or if she wanted to get serious and start training to go elite. She hasn't looked back since, and she won silver at the junior world championships."

"That is incredible," Dalton says. "You must be very proud as her older sister."

I smile. "I really am. My siblings are thriving. I still can't believe that Milo bought a house. He just got a new car recently, too. He's working full time while also getting a double degree. I can't imagine how he gets any sleep."

"The same way you probably did while being in school, and working to create your business," Dalton says.

I smile again. "Yeah, I didn't get much sleep then. I do now, though."

"Good," Dalton says. "You really are incredible, Maeve."

"Thank you," I say. "You make me feel so appreciated, and that's something I haven't had in a partner in so long."

"You know, I still feel the same way that I felt about you when we were teenagers. It's just even more so now that we found our way back to each other after all the time we spent apart."

"You just put all of my feelings into words," I say. "It just feels like I finally have a missing piece back in my life that I was looking for and couldn't find."

Dalton kisses me. "That's how I feel too, Peach. I really hope we can continue to explore a possible future together."

"Me too," I say, as we snuggle even closer. Both of us fall asleep pretty quickly after this, holding each other and taking in the coziness of each other.

It feels like I've just gotten home after a long day. I feel this way every time I spend time with Dalton.