Lucas

She had no idea. I could see her thoughts racing behind her eyes and I wanted to smooth them all away. She didn't have to figure things out by herself anymore. She didn't have to worry that she didn't know what tomorrow was going to bring, because I knew it would bring the first day of our future. Maybe that would only be a few days, or maybe it would be a whole lifetime. No matter what, she was going to experience her greatest love in the time we were being given.

"Lucas, I'm being serious!" She said as I shut the hotel door behind us.

"So am I. Now take that jacket off and let me see you be serious naked." I reached for the belt on her jacket and pulled it lose. She batted away my hand, laughing and trying to dodge my touch.

"Wait, wait," she laughed as I lifted her over my shoulder and tossed her onto the bed with a bounce. "Lucas!" I pulled her boot off and she held up the other one for me even though she'd been pretending to flee.

"Stop over thinking it, baby." I pulled her second boot free, then leaned over her body on the bed and pulled her glasses from her face, setting them down gently. She was propped up on her elbows smiling up at me. "The story wouldn't be any fun without the middle," I kissed her quickly on her mouth. "Cinderella couldn't skip the ball, Belle put work into being with the Beast, and Ariel had to get legs." I laughed at the last one and kissed her silly as she laughed behind her lips.

"It's always about the story," she said, pulling me down to her with the lapels of my jacket she'd unzipped. "Maybe having ours not be G-rated wouldn't be so bad."

I moved away from her mouth so I could laugh, then let her toss off my jacket and un-tuck my shirt from my pants. The Marines required shirts to be tucked and belts to be worn. So many fucking obstacles in the way of getting naked! Maybe they did that to give girls a chance to come to their senses. "I think we passed G-rated and are heading straight for triple X." My lips met hers again right after she'd pulled my shirt over my head. I felt her tugging at my belt buckle and took the time she was distracted to finish unfastening her jacket.

"What about the grandkids," she asked, but I could barely understand her through our kisses and laughter. GOD I LOVED HER.

"We'll lie," I answered. When She lifted to get a better grip on my pants, I slid her jacket off and pulled her sweater over her head. She nodded, pulling her lip between her teeth as she watched my arms flex with the motion of undoing her pants. I slipped them over her hips and down her legs. Standing, I pulled her pants off and each sock, then toed off my own boots and socks. When I stumbled a little in my rush to get back to her, she laughed and tossed a pillow at me.

I know that girls want things romantic. I know they dream of rose pedals and candles glowing, but I hoped in that moment she felt the way that I did. She was giggling, her cheeks lifted and flushed. We were so happy and playful, the energy between us seemed to slip into my heart and fill it with this warmth and peace. Love didn't always look like candle lit rooms with roses--sometimes it was an old hotel room with boots on the floor and two new adults so drunk on each other they couldn't stop laughing.