Tightrope

Chapter 26

Previously:

"We're going to be okay, right, Sanem?" he asked her, his forehead leaning against hers.

"I'm ready to get back on the tightrope with you, Can."

***

3 Weeks Later

Sanem woke with a smile on her face and, before she even opened her eyes, immediately felt around on the bed for Can. His side of the bed was cold and empty, and her eyes flew open and she looked around his bedroom, but he wasn't there.

She looked back at the bed and noticed there was a note on his pillow. She picked it up and sat up with the sheet tucked under her arms to read it.

Good morning, my love.

I hope you slept well. If you wake up before I'm back, DON'T MOVE. I'll be back soon. Just relax...and maybe think about all the reasons I'm the luckiest man in the world because I have you in my life. We can compare notes when I return.

I love you.

Can

Sanem's smile nearly split her face in half. "Ya, Caaannnnn," she crooned, flopping back down onto the pillow. She felt like she was 14 again, and she was even more in love with him now than she was then. She snuggled into the covers and sighed happily. The sheets smelled like him, and she held them against her face, breathing in and closing her eyes in contentment.

In the three weeks since everything blew up, she and Can had become even closer. They'd had some hard conversations, and with every conversation they learned each other a little bit better. They didn't always see eye to eye, and they sometimes struggled to reconcile the person they'd kept with them in their minds all the years they'd been apart with the person who was standing in front of them now.

But their love was such a fundamental part of who they were that they were able to work through their disagreements and see things from each other's perspective, because they both believed their relationship was worth the work. Not being together wasn't an option. They'd argued countless times--more than they'd ever argued in their lives. But they always made up, full of apologies and new realizations; tearfully, gratefully, passionately, they made up. The thought of all the "making up" they'd done made her blush and she pulled the covers up over her face and squealed.

It was at that moment that Can returned to the bedroom with a tray loaded with all her favorite breakfast dishes and tea, and a gift bag looped over his arm. He smiled at the scene in front of him. "Sanem? Gözlerim, nefesim, canım," he said, walking toward the bed, "what are you doing?"

She pulled the sheet down to just below her chin and sat up. Her hair covered her face, and she tried to blow it out of the way, but it just kept falling back where it was. "Can?"

Can smiled at her and set the tray and bag down on the nightstand before sitting on the bed and pushing her hair away from her face, both hands settling on her cheeks. When she could see, her eyes moved over his body and she realized that he was dressed in nothing but his boxer briefs. She raised an eyebrow at him and gave him a naughty smile.

Still holding her face, he leaned down and kissed her lips and she smiled into the kiss. He leaned back and looked down at her. "Good morning, beautiful."

She grinned and let go of the sheet to wrap her arms around his neck. She kissed his cheek. "Good morning, Can," she said into his ear.

She was warm and naked, and her body felt so perfect against his. His arms came around her and his hands ran up and down her back. He kissed her cheek and her neck and squeezed her tight. "Mmmm. I swear, Sanem, nothing in the world feels as good as holding you in my arms like this."