She swallows and licks her cherry stained lips. “Nobody’s ever done anything like this for me, especially without expecting something in return.”

“It’s all you, Sophie. Now are you ready to be wow’d?”

She giggles and her eyes light up. Finally she says, “Wow me, Kipton.”

I end up doing just that, several times, until we’re both so exhausted it’s too much effort to move inside the house. Instead, we cuddle up under the moonlight in our own little world away from the chaos of college life. We’re safe, satisfied, and complete.

“Thank you.”

“Baby, you don’t have to thank me for loving you. And you’ll never have to question how attracted I am to you again. I won’t let you forget this time.”

It’s never been this intense after sex. As long as I got off, I was happy. In fact, before Sophie, I’d be dressed and on my second drink by now. What she and I share is different, insanely different. But I crave it.

She holds tight to my hand, her body slightly trembling. Assuming it’s from the mixture of sweat and the chill of the night air, I pull her closer to my body. “I love you, Kipton,” she whispers against my chest.

For a minute I think I imagined it, but after her body tenses up, waiting for my response, I know it was real. “God, beautiful. I love you too.” If possible, I squeeze her even tighter. She has no idea how her words just lassoed my entire heart, pulling tight with no intention of easing up. She’s it for me. She’s fucking it.

“DO YOU TWO LOVE BIRDS have any idea how long it took me to find your asses?”

What the? I wipe the sleep from my eyes and turn my head. Cara’s standing at the end of the mattress tapping the toe of her boot against the wood. “Shhh. You’ll wake Sophie. Why are you even up here?”

“I should ask you two the same thing. I broke two nails climbing up here to make sure you were still alive. Two, Kipton!” She holds out her mangled nails like it’s my fault she’s incapable of climbing a damn tree.

“How did you know we were up here?” Sophie questions. I didn’t realize she was awake. Leaning over, I place a kiss on her forehead. She wraps her arms around my neck and finds my lips.

“Excuse me, can you stop making out and answer me?” We don’t stop. “Guys, come on. That’s gross.” We still don’t stop. Sophie smiles against my mouth and our laughter mingles with our kisses. She’s enjoying this. Finally, Cara kicks the air mattress and jolts us hard enough that we break apart. “Are you done, sucking face?”

“No,” I respond honestly. “Not so fun is it?”

“Ugh. Well I’m ready to go back to the dorm. Let’s move people. And, I apologized about you catching me with Drew.” She claps her hands like Mary Poppins and shushes us.

“Trust me, we hear you.” I’m almost afraid to ask, but I torture myself anyway. “Where did you sleep last night?”

“In your bed with Drew.”

“Oh hell,” I groan. “Did you at least change the sheets?”

“We slept, Kipton. There was no sex. But now I regret that. Especially since you two were in a damn tree all night leaving me stranded. I looked everywhere for you two.”

She’s going to love this. “Can you climb back down without killing yourself so we can get dressed?”

Her eyes widen and her mouth pops open. “You mean. You’re both naked right now? Under there?” She gestures toward the sleeping bag. The only barrier between us.

“Yes.” Sophie rolls on her side and can’t help but laugh at her roommate.

“Oh for the love of god, you two, that’s disgusting. Someone’s gonna get a damn tick. Put some clothes on and hurry up!” She sits back down on the wood floor and eases her way onto the ladder. I don’t hear any noise, so I assume she makes it safely to the bottom. It’s confirmed when I hear the pile of leaves under the tree rustle with each retreating footstep.

We do have to get moving, but I want one last moment alone. She’s going home today for a week and I’m not used to being in separate beds let alone different towns. “Good morning, babe.” I roll on top of her, covering her body entirely with mine.

She peers up at me and smiles. “Morning.”

“Sleep okay?” She nods her head and rubs her fingers over the back of my head. It tickles, but I don’t make her stop. “I’m bummed I have to let you out of here.”

“Can we do this again sometime?” She looks so hopeful I’ll say yes.

“It’s not too rustic?” Most girls wouldn’t last an hour up here.

“No, I like it up here. It feels a million miles away from the rest of the world. Just me and you in our own cocoon.”

I smile. My girl is awesome. “Anytime you want.” I lean over and grab her clothes from the side of the mattress. She sits up and lets me help her dress. The clothes are chilled from the cool morning air and she grabs the blanket for warmth while I get myself dressed.

“Hurry up! I’m cold!” Cara shouts from the ground below us.

“We better hurry, Kipton.” Sophie inches closer to the ladder, inspecting the ground below. “Whoa. It looks higher in the daylight.”

“Oh no you don’t.” I reach out to pull her back toward me wrapping my arms around her middle from behind. “You sure you have to go home today?”

She doesn’t respond. I wait another few seconds, but she doesn’t move either. “Hey.” I spin her around to face me. “What’s wrong?”

She shrugs her shoulders and stares at the wall of the treehouse. “Nervous about going home.” I don’t want her to struggle the entire time she’s away, or to revisit old habits. It would be easy for me to convince her to stay with me, but I know she needs to figure it out on her own. “I’ll be okay.”

I’m not sure if she’s trying to convince me, or herself. “Do you want me to go with you?”

“No. You need time with your family. I’ll be fine. I’m making it a bigger deal than it is. You ready?” She finally takes a breath and scoots over to the ladder. I don’t stop her this time.

“Go slow, okay.” She nods. “Wait. Let me go first so I can help you down.”

We switch places and I keep one hand on her ass the entire way down. For safety of course.

Reluctantly, I walk her to her car. Cara’s thrilled when Sophie unlocks the doors. “About damn time.” She’s being a tough ass, but we both know she loves seeing me with Sophie.

“Why didn’t you just get a ride back with Drew this morning?” I question.

“Because he had to be at the desk at six in the morning and I thought I should find my roommate first.”

“Thanks, Cara,” Sophie says.

I open Sophie’s car door and before she gets inside, I tuck a stray piece of her hair behind her ear. She ducks her head and tries to smooth it out. “I must look awful.”

“You look sexy. I like your freshly fucked look.”

Hitting me in the chest, she can’t help but laugh. “Be good this week.”

“You have nothing to worry about and I’ll call you every day. I’ll probably text you all day too.” I’m so whipped. “And Saturday will be here before you know it. Then, I’ll have you in my bed for a whole week.”

She digs her keys out of her purse and pauses. “I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“I can’t sleep in your bed with your parents in the house!”

“You can and you will. It’s not up for discussion.” I pat her butt and urge her inside the car. She goes reluctantly, but wants to argue about it more. “Drive safely; let me know when you leave.”

“Okay.”

I signal for her to roll her window down. She does and as soon as there’s enough room to stick my head inside, I plant one last scorching kiss on her lips. “I love you, beautiful.”

“Love you, too.”

I pray she comes back to me in one piece.