Asterism

2. my caveman

IT was quiet between them for a while. Aiden's hand rubbed calming circles on her back. Marley breathed him in, held him close until she was certain that he was real. She rested her head on his chest over his heart, focusing on the steady beat. My heart is always with you.

Aiden gently tilted up her chin, his blue eyes searching her face before he blew out a spearmint exhale, resting his forehead against hers and closing his eyes. "Do you have any idea how much I missed you?"

Marley rested a hand on his cheek, smiling at him when he opened his eyes and nuzzled into her it lovingly. "Of course. About half as much as I missed you," she teased softly, but her voice wavered with intense emotion she couldn't hide.

"Never." Aiden shook his head, holding her palm to his smiling mouth and pressing a kiss there, speaking against her skin. His lashes fluttered as he blinked up at her. "You know this last month just further sealed the deal, right?" Marley's breath caught in her throat when Aiden's body smoothly rolled over hers. He bent his elbows on either side of her head, while a slow heat Marley missed dearly, slid beneath her skin. Desire. His mouth ran lightly over her jaw, and she shivered, her eyes squeezing shut. "You're one hundred percent stuck with me now, Hoover. I'm going to follow you, I'm going to follow you wherever you go. I don't want to be away from you again," he breathed throatily, his fingers tangling in her hair. "You okay with that?"

Marley's words came out chopped and breathless as his mouth pressed under her jaw, parting on the blushing skin. "I-I-don't think that's re-realistic, Aiden."

"I guess I can't always be at your side," he murmured, his fingers slipping beneath her shirt. Marley jolted when his hands touched the skin of her waist. "But I want to be. You know that, right?" She tensed up a little at the reminder of her outburst earlier, and he felt it. His hands held her face now, his blue eyes boring directly into hers with unwavering intensity. "Hey. Guess what?"

"What?" She whispered.

"I'm not here for binders. I'm not here for the Providence River or for PowerPoint presentations or to spin an activity wheel. I'm here because I love you, and I choose you."

Her eyes welled up with tears. She curled her fingers around his shirt. "Thank you."

"You don't ever thank me for that." His blue eyes became more intense then, as they trailed over her face, stopping at her mouth.

Marley's breathing deepened when his did, as they stared at each other silently, the unbearable tension back in the space between them again. And right then Marley remembered every single silence between them over FaceTime, when they would laugh together before trailing off and staring longingly through the screen. Marley remembered every aching second after Aiden called her beautiful out of nowhere of having to sit there all alone knowing that he would kiss her right then if he could. All of that frustration and wanting came flooding into her all at once, and it was beyond overwhelming.

He intertwined the fingers of her left hand and his right, running his thumb over his promise ring, a playful smile on his lips now. "The best part of this new living situation? No Bryan down the hall, or Leo in the vicinity about to barge in. Or, Ian in the house. Or, anyone in the house for that matter. It's so odd to think that we're literally completely alone right now. That was so rare before." Marley held her breath when Aiden lifted to be eye level with her, pinning their intertwined fingers to the bed beside her head. His spearmint exhale brushed teasingly against hers. His voice had deepened. "There are no interruptions. No distractions..."