Bloomington

Only You, Always

They didn't even make it into the store.

Five minutes later, the car was still idling in the parking lot, soft music humming from the radio, and Jackie hadn't moved to undo her seatbelt. Catherine sat beside her, her fingers absentmindedly tracing the edge of the yellow diamond on her finger, watching it catch the early evening light. It still didn't feel real—not in the way most things didn't feel real. This was different. This was calm. Grounding. True.

Jackie was quiet beside her, one hand resting on the steering wheel, the other draped loosely between them.

JACKIE
(small smile)
You know, it's kind of hilarious. We just got engaged in the front seat of a car.

CATHERINE
(glancing at her, eyes warm)
Fits us, doesn't it?

JACKIE
Yeah. No champagne, no flowers, no audience... just heartbeats and a plastic bag of tortilla chips in the back seat.

Catherine leaned over and laced their fingers together.

CATHERINE
It's perfect.

Jackie looked ahead, then back at Catherine, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.

JACKIE
Do you really want to go in there right now?

CATHERINE
(sighs)
Not really. It's too... normal. I want to hold on to this moment just a little longer before we go back to reality.

JACKIE
Then let's not. Let's go somewhere. Just us.

CATHERINE
Where?

JACKIE
Anywhere. Somewhere no one knows us. Somewhere quiet. I want to wake up tomorrow and not be anyone but yours.

Catherine thought for a moment, then smiled.

CATHERINE
There's a cabin. My uncle's old place by the lake. Still in the family. It's a little worn down, but... no neighbors. No cell service. Just stars and trees and the sound of water.

JACKIE
(grinning)
That's the best pitch I've ever heard.

She reached into the back seat and grabbed their overnight bag—still there from the last weekend they never took.

JACKIE
Let's disappear.

And so they did. The car pulled away from the lot, from the lights, from the noise. Bloomington grew small behind them in the rearview mirror. The sun dipped low, and Catherine turned the music up just slightly, enough to let the silence between them feel like peace and not a pause.

Hours Later – The Cabin

The Lake house sat quietly at the edge of the woods, a whisper of light spilling from its windows like it had been waiting for them. Jackie took a deep breath the moment they stepped out of the car. She didn't know what she expected, but this... this felt like stepping out of the world.

Catherine unlocked the front door, her fingers brushing Jackie's as she pushed it open. The place smelled like wood, old blankets, and memory. Dust floated lazily in the golden light from a single lamp in the corner. It was quiet, worn, and perfect.

Jackie dropped the bag by the wall and turned in a slow circle.

JACKIE
You weren't kidding. This is magic.

CATHERINE
Told you. You don't need a five-star hotel to fall in love all over again.

JACKIE
(laughing softly)
I never stopped.

They lit a fire, wrapped themselves in a thick throw blanket, and left their phones powered off and buried deep in their bag.

They didn't talk much after that. They didn't need to.

Later That Night

The fire had died down to glowing embers. Jackie stood by the window, arms crossed over her chest as she looked out at the stillness. She didn't hear Catherine approach, only felt her arms wrap around her waist from behind.

CATHERINE
Hey. You disappeared on me.

JACKIE
(quietly)
Just... needed a second. To feel all of this.

Catherine rested her chin on Jackie's shoulder, her voice soft and steady.

CATHERINE
You okay?

JACKIE
Yeah. I just can't believe how fast everything changed. In a good way. In a perfect way.

Catherine turned her gently, cupping her face with both hands.

CATHERINE
It wasn't fast. It was always there. We just stopped fighting it.

Jackie leaned in and kissed her slow, soft press of lips that tasted like the beginning of something.

The moonlight through the window turned Catherine's skin to porcelain and shadow. Jackie reached for her, cupping her face, then brushing her lips across Catherine's slowly—once, twice—before their mouths met fully, hungrily.

Catherine tugged Jackie's sweatshirt off, hands eager, breath already uneven. Jackie moaned into her mouth, tasting the edge of something more—need, urgency, a kind of desperation that came not from uncertainty but from knowing. Knowing this woman. This body. This forever.

Jackie's hands found the hem of Catherine's top and peeled it away, lips grazing the newly revealed skin of her ribs, her stomach, her hips. Catherine tilted her head back, fingers threading through Jackie's hair as her breathing quickened.

CATHERINE
(whispers, rough)
You're driving me insane.

JACKIE
Good. Then let's fall apart together.

Jackie pushed Catherine gently onto the bed, crawling over her. She kissed down her neck, over her chest, her stomach, pausing only when she reached the edge of Catherine's lace panties.

She didn't ask. She didn't need to.

Catherine arched up toward her, a low whimper escaping her lips as Jackie's mouth found her. Her hands twisted into the sheets, hips rolling, Jackie's tongue moving slow at first—teasing, savoring—then faster, deeper, until Catherine's back arched and she came with a strangled gasp, her body trembling as Jackie held her through it.

Before Catherine could even catch her breath, Jackie kissed her way back up, her thighs settling between Catherine's.

CATHERINE
(low, breathless)
I need to touch you.

Jackie nodded, biting her bottom lip, her voice shaky with restraint.

JACKIE
Then do it. Please.

Catherine flipped them in one smooth motion, straddling Jackie's hips. Her lips brushed Jackie's collarbone, then her breasts, and lower. She took her time—dragging her tongue, her teeth, her fingers—across every sensitive inch. Jackie whimpered beneath her, grabbing fistfuls of the blanket, until Catherine slid two fingers inside her and Jackie gasped, thighs clenching, legs trembling.

JACKIE
Fuck, Catherine...

CATHERINE
(whispers)
I want to feel you come for me.

She did. And she did again, pulled over the edge with Catherine's fingers, her mouth, her whispered name falling like reverence against her skin.

Later...

They lay side by side, the blanket tangled around their bodies, chests rising and falling in unison.

Jackie reached for her phone. One notification from Wade:

"We need to talk. Something's come up."

She stared at it. Then, gently, she powered her phone off.

CATHERINE
(half-asleep)
Everything okay?

JACKIE
(softly)
Yeah. I have everything I need right here.

Catherine turned into her, kissing her shoulder, hand sliding over Jackie's stomach possessively.

CATHERINE
Good. Because I'm not letting you go.

The fire crackled again. The lake whispered through the window.

And Jackie, finally, let go of the world—and let herself belong to Catherine.