And the beginning of us.
For over an hour, Sam alternated between fast and hard, and slow and steady. Whispered “I love yous” echoed between us as he pushed me to the edge more times than I could count, but each time, just before I was able to step off, he’d shift gears. Finally, with a sheen of sweat covering both of our bodies, Sam planted himself to the hilt and emptied inside me as I came crying his name.
No matter how overwhelming my life was from that point forward, there was no way I’d ever be willing to give up those moments with Sam.
I couldn’t change for him. I understood that.
I was making my life a priority for myself.
But, if I got to live it with him at my side, it was an easy choice to make.
LEVEE AND I decided to leave that next morning to head back to San Francisco, and I was already having doubts about bringing her home. I definitely wanted her with me, but it felt all kinds of wrong to take her away from the help I so desperately wanted—needed—her to receive. But, as we drove to the airport with her smiling and laughing beside me, it was easy to pretend that I could handle it.
Maybe I was Spiderman for Levee.
Or maybe I was just setting myself up for my biggest failure yet.
With the exception of a few people stopping Levee for an autograph or a photo, we made it out of Maine virtually unnoticed. However, that wasn’t at all the case when we landed in California. We had taken the same flight, snuggling in first class like newlyweds, but when our plane had landed, we’d gone our separate ways. Levee wasn’t ready for the media attention yet, and as frustrating as it was, I was willing to do anything to keep her stress level as low as possible. Sucking in a deep breath, I begrudgingly walked past her as a large group of people started snapping pictures and calling her name the moment she exited the security area.
Henry’s head of security, Carter, had arranged for two bodyguards to meet her when we landed. I’d only made it a few yards away before my attention was drawn back to the commotion. Nerves settled in my gut as my feet became rooted to the ground. I had yet to truly experience Levee’s celebrity status up close, but my heart raced as a sea of people swarmed around the woman I was irrevocably in love with. It was an unbelievably miserable thirty seconds before she emerged sandwiched between the two giant men.
With a stoic expression and a pair of shades covering her amazing eyes, she looked more like the woman I’d first met than she had in a long time, but the oddest thing happened. Seeing her like that felt wrong. No matter how nostalgic it made me.
Deep down, she’d always be my Designer Shoes, but now, she was also my Levee—the strong and brave woman I was planning to never let go.
Even in a crowd full of people, her gaze instinctively found mine. Tipping her glasses up, she smiled and winked as they hustled her toward a waiting limo. I shouldn’t have done it, but there wasn’t a chance in hell I could have kept it in. Crossing my arms over my chest, I returned her smile, mouthing, “I love you.”
She didn’t respond with words, but her cheeks blushed, giving me all the answer I needed.
After pulling a pair of shades from my backpack, I dropped them over my eyes and walked anonymously to my Jeep in long-term parking.