I hear the front door of the cabin close and the huff of Antonio as he finally gets to kick off his shoes. I drag my feet as I walk toward him, exhaustion taking over me. I can't imagine how he must feel right now, especially with driving all day and bringing in our stuff.
I would have helped if he didn't fight me on it every step of the way. I swear I offered to do both things about twenty times per hour. However, it fell on deaf ears. He was not having it at all.
So, instead of making him frustrated, I thought it best to allow him to take care of that and I would make it up to him later. I flop down on the couch next to him, curling myself up into the side of his body.
"You like it here?"
"Yes. It's gorgeous. Tomorrow you have to tell me how and why."
"Why not now?"
"I'm too tired."
He rubs my side, exhaling deeply as he agrees with me. He doesn't move to go into the bedroom, instead, he reaches over to grab the faux fur blanket and places it over the both of us. Cuddling together in the dark, it doesn't take either of us long to fall asleep.
***
I wake up still in his arms. The warm sun rays stream through the window, naturally heating up the cabin. I breathe a relaxing inhale, the remnants of his cologne mixed with his masculine natural scent combining with the fresh air.
I snuggle deeper into him, the feeling of pure happiness making my toes curl and a goofy smile spread across my lips. I press my lips to his neck, moving my legs briefly and subtly to feel how intertwined we are, my hand laying on his chest to feel him breathe.
I push down the excited squeal that bubbles in my chest. I have been thinking about him, crushing on him, since I was young. Knowing that after all this time, I am finally laying beside him, his body pressing against mine, I am barely able to process this moment.
I cannot believe this is happening. Is this happening? Or is this my heaven?
"Sweetheart."
His voice is rough and groggy as his brown eyes flutter open, his hand squeezing my hip.
"Good morning, Antonio."
"Mornin'. How did you sleep?"
"It was perfect, and you?"
"That was the best sleep I've ever had."
He stretches his arms out to the side for a moment before wrapping me up in a tight hug.
"I'm so fucking glad you're here."
"I'm happy to be here."
"Are you hungry?"
"Yes, but I'm going to cook. You stay right here."
"But-"
"You drove ten hours and then unloaded all of our stuff. You deserve to just lay here."
"But I-"
"No. Don't fight me on this, please."
He hesitates to agree but does so anyway as he knows that I'm going to win this one. I make my way to the bathroom to pee quickly and enter the kitchen where he has already begun taking this out of the fridge. How did they get here in the first place?
"Get the fuck out and go do something else or sit."
"But-"
"Antonio Jonah Summers! Let me cook for you. This is ludicrous."
He puts his hands up in a surrendering position, back away from the fridge.
"Alright, alright. I'll go make myself busy."
"Jesus Christ!"
Without making too much of a mess, I make us both breakfast, consisting of fruit salad, vegan pancakes, and strawberry smoothies. I catch him unloading my clothes into the dressers in the bedroom that we are supposedly going to share now.
I don't get a word out about breakfast being ready before he dangles a matching pair of white lingerie in front of my face and the silk robe that goes with it. I'm blushing. I squeak out that breakfast is ready but can barely look at his mischievous eyes and sneaky smile while I eat.
By the time we had finished with breakfast, brushed our teeth, showered (separately), and changed into clean clothes, it was almost eleven in the morning. The sun is now pulsing with heat, the cabin windows open fully to allow some cool airflow into the space.
I take myself on a tour of the area surrounding the cabin, making sure to be careful about any animals (or what they leave behind) as I walk. And then Antonio gets the brilliant idea that we should go for a hike.
Don't get me wrong. I love a good hike. But I'm not entirely a fan of having sweat drip off of me and down my buttcrack. It's not comfortable at all, however, he's so damn excited about it that I can't fucking say no.
So twenty minutes later, I'm practically a goddamn mountain. He said it wasn't going to be a hard hike, about two miles total, but I wasn't informed it would be one mile straight up and another straight down. That is pertinent information to me; he doesn't agree.
"You're doing great, Dakota!"
"You say that one more fucking time, you aren't going to be."
"Oh, come on. Look how beautiful it is."
"Yes, it's gorgeous out, but it's hot. So fucking HOT!"
"Stop saying the f-word in nature."
"I will say whatever I want because you have literally dragged me up a mountain."
"It's a hill, and you can handle it."
"You have no idea what I can handle."
"I hope to find that out."
Dirty pig. Honestly, he's making sex jokes while I die from heat exhaustion. He doesn't give two fucks.
I reach into my pocket, pull out the protein bar sitting there, and chuck it at his head. He curses - the f-word - as it hits him squarely in the head.
"Stop saying the f-word in nature."
"You little, ugh, I can't wait to fuck you."
I grin up at him, hiding the desperation to be fucked by him behind my smile. He has no idea how much I want that. I would fuck him on this trail if he asked me to. I have a feeling that he wants it to be a romantic experience though.
He seems like that kind of guy. While I'm grateful that he wants to make our first time together special and intimate, I also just want him to tell me to strip, latch a hand around my throat, and pound into me so hard that my brain turns to mush.
"You brought condoms, right?"
"Yeah, and I'm clean. Are you on any birth control?"
"I'm clean too. I have an IUD."
"I feel more comfortable using both a condom and your birth control method."
"Me too. At some point though, I do want to have my tubes tied, but I was denied in my twenties, so I'm hoping that will change."
"If we end up staying together, to be clear I have no intention of breaking up with you, I can just get a vasectomy. That would be way easier for you and for me to just do that. That way we don't have to worry. And if we were to ever change our minds about kids, it can be reversed."
"You would do that?"
"Yeah, why not? To not have to worry and then you won't have to be on birth control, that sounds incredible."
It's the bare minimum, it really is, but there's something about that that turns me on so fucking much. I love him. I love him. I love him.
"Is it weird to you that we're already talking about our future plans after a week of dating?"
"No, it's not. I know that I want to spend my life with you, Dakota. I don't need any more time to know. I love you. There's nothing that will change that, and I want to be with you and only you."
"I love you too."
"Good."
He gives me a gross and sweaty kiss before turning around and continuing his way up the 'mountain.'
I thought both of those conversations were going to go very differently. I'm so grateful that they didn't, but it's not what I pictured.
I heave a sigh, staring up at his back for a moment, and then follow behind him.