First Crush, My Forever

Chapter 86

  The sky's already gone that soft navy color when we pull back into the driveway. KK's sound asleep in the backseat, her head tilted just enough to catch the last bit of sunset through the panoramic roof. She's got her stuffed bear clutched to her chest and a sticker still stuck to her sleeve from earlier. Taytum parks the Sorento, shifts into park, then just sits there for a second with her hand still in mine.

  We don't say anything. We don't have to.

  I glance over at her, my heart still a mess from everything she's done today. She looks so damn proud of herself. A little nervous, maybe. But mostly proud.

  "I don't know how you pulled this off," I say quietly.

  She shrugs, but there's a little smirk playing on her lips. "You think I can't handle big stuff?"

  I scoff. "I think you keep surprising the hell out of me."

  "I like keeping you on your toes."

  I glance back at KK and drop my voice. "Let's get her inside."

  We both climb out. Taytum gently unbuckles KK, careful not to wake her, and I open the door for them. She carries her in, her little arms looped around Taytum's neck like muscle memory. KK doesn't even stir.

  I watch them, something warm spreading slow through my chest. She didn't just get a new car. She didn't just bring home BBQ. She came home like she always does, like this is where she belongs. Like we're hers.

  She disappears into KK's room, and I hear the soft thud of her laying her down, the click of the nightlight, the whispered goodnight. A few minutes later she comes back out, barefoot, stretching her arms over her head with a tired groan.

  "You okay?" I ask.

  She nods. "Yeah. Just full and sleepy. That BBQ hit hard."

  I chuckle. "You want to shower or chill?"

  She lifts a brow. "You telling me I stink?"

  "I'm saying you smell like BBQ and sunshine."

  Taytum laughs and walks over to where I'm sitting on the couch. She drops down next to me and pulls her legs up underneath her, leaning into my side like she's been waiting to do it all day. I wrap my arm around her shoulders, and for a second we just sit like that.

  No rush. No noise. Just us.

  The soft glow of the lamp in the corner paints the room gold. Outside the window, the cicadas have started up, and the world feels still. Safe.

  She sighs. "This feels good."

  I nod. "It does."

  There's a quiet that settles between us, but not the kind that feels empty. It's the kind that says you don't need to fill it.

  After a while, Taytum speaks. "You ever think about where we'll be in five years?"

  I glance at her, surprised. "Sometimes. Why?"

  She shrugs. "I just... I don't know. I think about it a lot lately."

  My throat tightens, but I keep my voice steady. "What do you see?"

  She shifts, like she's choosing her words carefully. "I see us here. You, me, KK... and the baby. Maybe another one after that. I don't know. I see dinners and mornings and school drop-offs. I see you stressed grading papers, and me late to staff meetings because I stopped for coffee. I see holidays and birthdays and all the boring, beautiful stuff in between."

  I don't say anything right away. It's a lot. Not in a bad way, just... heavy in a way that makes my heart ache.

  "I don't want a future without you," I say quietly.

  Taytum's eyes flick up to mine. There's a softness there, but also something steady. Solid. Like she's already planted both feet in this life.

  "Good," she says. "Because you've already got me."

  She leans in, pressing a kiss to my shoulder through my t-shirt. Her lips linger there for a beat longer than they need to.

  "I know I'm young," she says after a minute. "And I know people probably think I don't get what this kind of life really means. But I do, Dani. I want to show up. For you. For KK. For the baby. For all of it. I want to be the kind of person you can depend on even when things are hard."

  I close my eyes for a second, letting her words settle.

  "You already are," I whisper. "You've been that since the beginning."

  She looks at me again. "Really?"

  I nod. "You don't just love me when it's easy. You show up when I'm tired and short-tempered and not the version of myself I want to be. You love KK like she's your own. You change your whole damn car because you want our lives to fit together better. That's not something a lot of people do."

  Taytum's eyes go glassy, and she blinks fast, like she's trying to keep it together. She doesn't say anything, but I can tell she hears me.

  We sit in silence for a while longer. Then she moves closer, her lips brushing mine.

  It starts soft. Slow. But it deepens quick. Like both of us are feeling everything all at once. Her hand finds the edge of my shirt, slips under, warm against my skin. My fingers tangle in her hair, and I pull her closer.

  Eventually we break apart, breathing hard. Her forehead rests against mine.

  "Let's go to bed," I say, voice low.

  We don't bother turning off the lamp. We just make our way to the bedroom, undress without rushing. I pull on one of Taytum's old t-shirts. She's just in her sports bra and boy shorts and nothing else.

  When we slide under the covers, she pulls me close and wraps her arm around my belly, her hand resting over the curve that's showing. She kisses my shoulder again and exhales like she's been holding that breath all day.

  "You ever get scared?" she asks after a while.

  "All the time."

  "What scares you the most?"

  I think about it. "Not being enough. For KK. For you. For the baby. Screwing something up I can't undo."

  She's quiet for a second. "You won't. And if you ever do, I'll be right here to help you fix it."

  I blink fast. My throat gets tight again.

  "I think about our future too," I admit. "I think about KK having you at her school events. I think about you helping this baby with homework. I think about sitting on the porch with you when we're both old and gray."

  Taytum smiles against my skin. "You'll still be hot."

  "Sure I will." I roll my eyes.

  She laughs, then whispers, "you definitely will be and I want all of that too."

  I turn slightly so I can see her face in the dim light. "You sure?"

  "I've never been more sure of anything."

  She doesn't say forever. She doesn't say anything about rings or promises. But I feel it anyway. It's there in the way she looks at me. In the way she touches me. In the way she gave up her favorite car and brought home dinner and kissed me like the world was on fire.

  I fall asleep with her holding me, and even though there are a million things that could go wrong in this life, I sleep like I've never slept before.