𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣
⊱ ─────────── ⊰

Is this real? Pinch me.

I step off of the plane and walk behind a sea of people.

Weaving my way around with a smile perched on my face, I retrieve my luggage from the carousel and fix my bags so that I can haul them along without struggle.

It's been a long three months. That's 12 weeks, 90 days, 2,160 hours, 129,600 minutes, and 7,776,000 seconds. What I mean is, that's far too long without Chris.

If I smile any bigger, my face will break.

I push my phone deep into my carry-on bag and pace towards the exit. There, I stand and wait for my fiancé. I still love the sound of that: my fiancé!

It's been so long since I've seen Chris that I don't know if I want to laugh or cry. I changed my outfit four times this morning just to impress him. This feels like a first date, I'm so anxious.

I don't have to jitter with nerves much longer, though, because a new white truck aggressively parks in front of where I'm standing.
The windows are tinted, but it's an electric Ford F-150 'Lightning.' I'm impressed.

It's Chris.

I watch him lower himself out of the truck and saunter around, pushing the sunglasses over his hairline.

His hair has grown so much since I'd seen him last. That had to be a month ago. He broke me out a few times but in my last four weeks of treatment, I decided it's best to miss each other (though we did maintain some stolen phone calls.)
In the beginning, though, I broke all the rules, not caring or thinking anything would come of it. Honestly, though, space did me some good.

"CHRIS!" I shriek, dropping my bags onto the floor so that I can run to him.

I crash into the front of his body and snake my arms around him.

There's that scent I've missed so much, it travels through my nose.

The scruff of his beard scratches my lips as I kiss his cheek and leave the side of my face against his in our embrace.

It seems like we're hugging for forever, his hands are rubbing my back and it feels amazing. I push my pelvis into him, trying to get as close as humanly possible.

"I missed you so much." I whisper in his ear, fighting the emotion in my throat.

"I missed you." Chris speaks low. He smiles at me once he gets a good look around my face. "You look so good."

I giggle, wiping the tears from my face. "You do, oh my gosh, look at you. Ugh, why am I crying?" I fan the moisture from my skin and laugh, walking back to pick up my bags.

Chris takes them from me and kisses my cheek, making me smile like an idiot.

He helps me to the truck and throws my things in the backseat.

As I reach for the passenger door handle, Chris slaps my hand away to open it for me.

"Aww." A girl says, smiling at us in passing.

I giggle, grinning at her over my shoulder, before I jump into the seat.

Chris shuts me inside and goes around the front to hop in himself.

Neither of us say anything until we reach the first light outside of the airport.

I'm happy to be back amongst the public. For three months, I didn't see any stop lights or crowds of strangers or impatient cars stuck in traffic. I miss the simple things.

I power on my iPhone because it's been off for so long now. My android, I'm ready to throw that out of the window!
I'd been asking Tish to periodically turn my phone on just to make sure it still works.

While it's charging, I steal a look at Chris's side profile. He's so handsome from every angle, I find myself staring with an open mouth.

This feels like a dream. The wind's casually blowing his brown locs back, he looks godly.

He starts to smirk and then bites at me, making me giggle in my seat.

I suddenly can't stay still in my seat and stick my upper body out of the sunroof, waving my hands around.

The fresh air rushes up my nostrils and hits me like a drug.

While I was away, I didn't feel held against my will, but this sense of freedom that I have right now, makes it feel like I was locked away in a tower for three months.

I wave to some people in their cars. Some of them just stare, others wave back.

Chris rubs my leg and I wind down back into the passenger seat.

The smile never leaves my lips.

I stare at each feature of his face. How I missed it!

Chris grabs my hand and locks our fingers. I kiss the back of his.

"This doesn't feel real." I laugh, shaking the wind-blown hair out of my face. It's grown so much, I don't know if I want to keep it this length or cut it before the wedding. Whenever that will be... but let's not stress it right now. What matters most is being in the moment with Chris and getting back to ourselves.

"I love you so much." Chris's voice rasps.

"And I love you." I squeak, looking between both of his green eyes. I quickly get lost in them but he blinks and wets his lips.

"You sure you're okay with staying in this house tonight, right?" He asks me.

I swallow hard and sit upright. "Oh, right, you're house-sitting for your new boss. Are you sure it's cool that I stay with you?"

Chris nods. "I already asked. And you did say you like Tennessee, I couldn't not let you come."

He's right. I laugh. "I do, this is nice. How long have you been out here?"

"Just a day."

I nod my head at the information.

Suddenly, I feel a yawn coming on. It's a big one.

"Tired?" Asks Chris, squeezing my thigh.

Again, I nod my head yes.

That, and dangerously hungry, I think in my head.

Chris smiles small. "You'll be able to rest soon. Hungry?"

I gasp because he read my mind. "Starving!" I exclaim.

I'm nestled in the passenger seat still, sipping my fruit punch Hi-C as I scroll on social media. My followers have been wondering where I've been, saying they miss me, and to come back. I'll have to make a video explaining or just pop up with some content once I'm situated.

Chris breezes through a gate to some community that is something straight out of a magazine. I can't believe my eyes. Some of the homes are just huge and scream wealth, others are aesthetically stunning or unique, and the rest are modern family homes - my fav. But, gosh, they're all so beautiful!

This reminds me of when Callie and I used to ride around neighborhoods late at night with Quinn in the backseat, sleep. While Callie made up backstories for every family in a home, I would pick my favorite house and decide that's where I'd move Quinn to one day. . .

I lean forward in the seat and gaze out of the windshield.

There's a community pool, tennis courts, a track, a pond where people are actually fishing and playing, an updated playground, a gym, basketball courts, you name it.

"I expected your boss to have a nice house," I gasp, "but this is crazy. Look!"

Chris laughs at how excited I am. "You're cute." He says, parking the truck.

My eyes almost pop out of my head, they get so big at the estate before us.

"Well," Chris says, "you gonna get out?" He laughs and goes around to help me out of my seat.

I drop onto the gravel and remain in awe. My jaw's on the ground.

My fiancé gives me a hand with my luggage and walks me to the front door, moving around like he owns the place.

I'm even more blown away at the interior. The lines are so clean, everything is so neat and polished, I love the high ceilings— God, I sound like Chris now.

Because everything inside is so fresh, and mostly white, I feel the need to take my pink Christian Dior slides off by the door. Chris puts his sneakers next to mine.

Sudden barking alerts me, I scream when I see Duke and Stevie. They run to greet me with energetic tail wags and flapping tongues.

"Chris," I exclaim, dropping to my knees to greet the Dalmatians, "you brought them with you? How?"

Chris facepalms and then puts his hands at his hips.

"Uh, yeah. I-I just put them on the plane. Aheh." He says awkwardly but I let it go.

"Oooh, I missed you guys so much!"

✕

Chris and I come down from the high of laughing hysterically for minutes on end. Those are the best, when the joke keeps on going and you have tears in your eyes from laughing so hard your stomach hurts. Gosh, it probably wasn't even that funny, but it felt good.

I haven't laughed like that in so long.

A sigh slips passes my lips once I relax.

I swallow down a gulp of red wine and look deep into Chris's eyes.

He takes my hand over the table and brushes his thumb against it.

"You don't know how much I missed you. It wasn't the same." He admits, speaking quietly.

I smile small but say nothing.

"Do you feel better?" He asks me.

"Much!" I don't hesitate to answer with the truth. "It was well needed. What about you? New job, new truck, you're really doing it up."

Chris hangs his head bashfully. He shrugs and says, "Things are turning around for sure. I like my job, the people I work with for once; I'm comfortable, you know? I don't have to look over my shoulder anymore, I can just work. And now that you're back, I feel like I'm more myself already." That makes me grin ear to ear.

"Well," I clear my throat, "I'm proud of you. If you're happy where you are, that's all that matters. I just-" my voice trails off with a sudden pessimistic thought clouding my brain.

"What?" There's desperation in Chris's tone.

I gulp, looking past his body.

I pause for a beat and then say, "How can we be sure that everything is over with? Like, I'm scared there's some loose ends or something. There always are..."

He stands and moves around the dinner table to console me.

Chris kneels before me and spins my body in the chair to face him.

Lifting my chin, he stares directly into my eyes when he tells me, "It's done. It's all over. I promise, nothing else can happen."

"How can you be sure?"

His jaw clenches. "I just know. Look, I'm ready to settle down and be normal."

I throw my head back and laugh out loud. "Literally, I want nothing more." I emphasize.

Chris chuckles, letting go of my chin.

"Normal." Ha. Seems so distant, so far from what we know as a couple. I like the sound of it.

"So don't worry about that, alright?"

"I just feel like we've had this conversation before-"

"Shh. Trust me, we're going to settle into our new home soon and forget all of that." Chris assures me.

He bites his lower lip and grins at me. I'm more tempted than I am satisfied, but I decide to trust that he won't let anything happen if it's up to him.

"When are we getting a new house? And why not this one?!" I chirp, keeping the smile on Chris's bronzed face.
I'm not being totally serious, but a house like this would be amazing to live in. It's just ideal, the location, the aesthetic!

"I love you so much." He says in an animated growl that's both comical and sexy at the same time.

I giggle as he nestles his head in my lap, the soft locs tickling my exposed flesh.

Chris nips at my bare stomach and my giggles turn into light moans.

The look he gives me is one asking for consent to keep going - to take things further.

I fall weak with the spell his darkened eyes cast on me, and toss my head back.

Just as my eyes roll back with his teeth sinking into my thighs, Chris gets a phone call.

I look at it since it's on the table near me face up.

"Who's Nia?" I wonder with one raised eyebrow.

Chris groans and stands, snatching the phone from my hands.

"My boss." He says, accepting the call.

"Hello?" He speaks with an aggravated tone.

I look at Duke and Stevie. "Did I know his boss was a girl?"

Duke only tilts his head adorably like curious dogs do.

✕

I let out a final yawn as I'm sitting at the vanity, gently brushing my hair for the second time today.

Sitting the brush down, I stare at my reflection and correct my posture.

"Hmm..." I make sounds with my mouth.

I twist my lips and push my hair up to see what I would look like with a short cut.

Nah.

Next, I try a long bob.

No, too middle school me.

I could dye it, I think in my head. That 'light bold red' (a muted copper) color did look good on me in that AI picture I took before.

Out of ideas, I let my hair fall and in walks Chris.

He shakes his head, telling me that the call didn't go so great.

He'd been gone for a couple of hours. First, I cleaned the dishes while I watched him argue on the phone and pace outside.
Then, on my way to the indoor-outdoor room for my nightly stretches, I saw Chris in the study crumbling up sketches and throwing the papers across the floor.
After that, he had a smoke in his truck.

"What are you doing in here?" He asks me, kissing my shoulder. "You smell good."

I don't have to say 'thank you' to his compliments, I'm so used to them.

"I picked a room for us to sleep in. Err, were you in the master bedroom, I couldn't find your stuff?"

Chris scratches his head. He lets out a quick laugh. "It's, uh, in a closet somewhere."

Seeing it's passed midnight, I stand from the velvet round tufted stool to climb into bed.

Poor Chris is so tired he can't even make it to the shower, he just removes his clothes but manages to set a couple alarms.

He yawns big and adjusts his junk in his briefs before lying down.

Because he turns on base and stays up, I can't fall asleep either so I put my feet in his lap and scroll online.

Only I'm kind of bored of social media at the moment so I put my phone down. After that three month detox, you realize how unimportant it is. I'll get back to it because I'm grateful for my one million plus followers, but it's nice to not need it.

Another thing is, I've gotten used to sleeping in complete silence so you can imagine the sounds of grown men yelling, loud whistles, and dribbling balls into a hard court keeps me up.

"I can't sleep." I complain out loud, flinging my eyelids open.

Chris continues rubbing my feet but doesn't acknowledge me.

I throw a small temper tantrum, kicking my feet, and whining. "Babe, I can't go to sleep!"

"Come here." He says, not removing his eyes from the Lakers game (he's a huge LeBron fan.)

Smiling because we get to cuddle, I don't hesitate to scoot closer to his body.

Ahh, just like old times. This is normal.

I hum, "Good night," and slip into comfort with his body heat warming me up in this air-conditioned room.

Minutes pass and the sounds of buzzers blaring and cheering fans keep me awake.

"Chris?" I call for his attention.

He doesn't move a muscle or say anything.

"Chris..." I coo again.

"Huh?" He remarks. I roll my eyes, he knows I hate "huh."

"Cuddle with me!" I mewl, pulling on his defined biceps. Mmm. He's been working on those while I was away.

Like the obliging and affectionate fiancé he is, Chris doesn't give me any grief — he also barely tears his eyes away from the flat screen— and lies down flat so I can put my head on his chest.

"Good night." I beam, closing my eyes.

"Good night, I love you." He says, kissing my head.

His fingers starts to massage my scalp but something still feels like it's missing. . .

Ah, lightbulb!

I bring my leg over Chris's and giggle, finally comfortable.

"Now I can go to sleep," I intone. "I love you, too. So much."