He leans down and kisses me, his lips soft as he seats himself all the way inside me. I rock up into him, and swallow his groan.
“I want it. That first. All of them. As many all-nighters as you’ll give me.”
Then he kisses me, and I love him.
I love him.
I love him.
Epilogue
Mateo
The semester ends quicker than either of us wants it to. Classes end first, then exams, then it’s graduation day.
Watching Nell graduate is a strange sensation. I’m happy for her. Fucking impressed with how much she’s accomplished already. Terrified of what comes next. But we’re making plans.
Nell likes to do that, and I’m just glad that I get to be a part of hers.
I’ve got her for one more semester for sure. She’ll be busy with her job as a research assistant, but not quite as busy as she’d been with all her classes and assignments. And since it’ll be the off-season for football, there will be less pressure for me, too.
We’re both doing Christmas with our families, but I’ve got the bowl game (the first for Rusk in over a decade) a few days after that. Then we’re holing up together somewhere and not coming out until New Year’s.
It’s not perfect. Nell still sometimes stresses about the future, but she’s excited about her research job. She hasn’t mentioned any doubts lately, and I think she’s finally settling into the idea of her future.
I like to think I had something to do with that. Because I know she helps calm me. There are things we don’t know, things we can’t know, about my career and hers, but I believe we can make it work.
She and I, we were made to work.