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Chapter Thirteen: Silas

Her saying that she feels safe with me is the biggest compliment I can get, her checking me out earlier was a confidence booster, but this just warms me from the inside out. Her in my arms is a bonus too. Feeling her warm body pressed against me. The thud of her heart against my stomach. The smell of her shampoo in my face. She is home, and alive, and well.

She pulls away from me, going towards the DVDs. I fight back the emptiness that overcomes me as she walks away. "Speaking of Christopher Nolan, has he had movies come out in the last eight years?"

"Yeah, 4." I point them out amongst the collection. "Two more Batman movies, Inception and Interstellar. He has a WWII movie coming out in the summer called Dunkirk."

"Want to have a Batman marathon today?" She says cheerfully, sitting back on the couch.

"Good choice. You're going to love it." I go ahead and put the first one in. It's still early, but I decide to make popcorn. She got me a popcorn maker a few birthdays ago. It's not the easiest to clean, but it's so much better than the microwaveable stuff.

I set the bowl between us, giving her a little space. She has her feet propped on the coffee table. "Thanks." She says, taking some to her mouth. She hums, "Mmmm" in the back of her throat as she eats it.

I can't wait to watch her reactions to seeing some of her favorite movies again.

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As the credits roll in, she turns the tv off, revealing the mirror. "Want to go get lunch before we start the next one?"

"What are you in the mood for?"

"Mexican?"

"Mexican, it is then."

I hand her an umbrella before we walk out to the car. The rain has stopped for now, but it will be back. It's Florida. For a state called the sunshine state, you would think more sun, less rain. Us locals know better.

"Tell me about our dating life in college." She asks after we ordered our food.

"We kept it a secret for a while. We didn't tell anyone till January of freshman year. We wanted to be sure. After we started dating, we would take as many classes together as possible, but I was an Econ major and you English, so after generals were out of the way, we just scheduled our classes for the same times during the day." She loves the chips and salsa here. The chips are thick and homemade. The salsa isn't too chunky. "We ate most of our meals together, often with Jamie. He asked me if we were a thing in October of freshmen year, and I said that we were friends. Which, in my defense, isn't a total lie, I think of you as my best friend. We would do our homework together. Hang out after class and on the weekends. I would spend as much time with you as possible."

"What would we do when we hung out?" I look down and don't answer right away. We took our time with the physical aspect of our relationship, but once we started... well, I could never get enough of her. I was obsessed with every aspect of her. I look up to meet her eyes. "Oh... we would... got it."

"Not constantly. We have self-control." Some. "We would go on walks. Have movie nights. We definitely like to eat out."

"I should go on a diet. I'm bigger then I remember being." Because you were pregnant.

"I think your body is perfect." I do. I think she is the sexiest thing alive.

"My thighs need a friend."

"I love your thighs."

"You like what's between them." Not a lie. I love that. But I love everything else too.