She laughed as he left. She pulled back the covers and climbed under. Then she panicked, was she going to sleep in here with him. What did that mean? But as he appeared in the doorway from the bathroom, she knew she wasn't going to leave tonight.
****
Kip sat on the edge of the bathtub after he tossed the used rubber. He took a few steadying breaths. He'd lost it in there before with Mandy. He'd forgotten who he was with. Over the years sex had gotten to be something he did because his bodily needs couldn't be taken care of in any other way. It wasn't special, it wasn't exciting. It merely was.
He never wanted it to be like that with Mandy. She was special. Sex with her was more than sex, it was even more than making love. It was a way to express what he felt for her in a physical way. And, he'd forgotten that when he started to just pound into her. His mind had gotten so wrapped up in the feelings, he'd just wanted to lose himself in her.
He had lost himself. He didn't like it at all. He made a promise to himself to not let that happen again. Every moment with Mandy was precious, he'd lost so much time with her. He'd been trying not to kick himself for letting her go without a fight all those years ago. It was a losing battle, but he figured right now, he needed to put that aside. He had her here now. The next step was figuring out how not to let her go again.
He got up from his seat and returned to the bedroom. He stopped in the doorway between rooms. Mandy was curled up under his covers. She hadn't left to get dressed, she'd climbed under the blankets.
His heart went into a freefall landing in his stomach. He smiled and walked over to the bed. "Mind if I join you?" he asked hoarsely.
"Sure," she said, pulling back the blankets for him.
"Just a sec." He held up a finger. Walking away, he shut the door and turned the lights off. "You are staying here tonight right?"
He crossed the darkened room, slipping under the covers with her. This had to be the nicest feeling in the world. He didn't care that he'd had a hand in the losing game earlier. He didn't care that she was leaving his presence for an undetermined amount of time tomorrow afternoon. Tonight he was sharing a bed with her.
She snuggled easily into his arms, like she'd been there all his life. "I'm staying," she whispered. "Once I was in here it was set."