Eleanor’s Reviews > Soul Searching > Status Update

Brady pulled back and rested his forehead against mine.
His chest was heaving. "I forgot to breathe, he said. "You're so good that I forgot to breathe."
My lips stretched into a smile. "Careful" I said. "I might let that go to my head.
Brady kissed me again and then pulled back. "I think you should let it go to your head. I think you should be aware of how amazing you are, Collins."

"Do you ever miss her?" My voice was quieter than I meant for it to be.
Brady grabbed a plate and pushed the eggs out of the pan onto it, followed by the bacon and toast. Then he brought the plate to where I was sitting at the table. He put it in the middle and sat across from me. His eyes met mine. God, they were so blue. It felt like he was looking right into my soul when he said, "Not even once, Collins."

Before I could take the leap over to the rock, Brady grabbed my waist and pulled me back to him. I liked the weight of his hands on my hips. "What the fuck?" he asked over the roar of the water. "You were not about to just jump onto that rock.
Not after what just happened."
I turned my head to face him, and I felt his grip tighten.

"I think you talk a lot—at least to me?'
"You're one of the very few exceptions to the rule," I said. I really didn't mean for it to sound flirty, so of course, it did.
"I didn't think you were into rules." But I'm into you. And I was. Into him, I think. But I didn't really know what to do with that.
"I'm not," I said. "Which is why I'm breaking that one for you."

I stood up quickly, rising fast enough that when my head hit the ceiling with a resounding thwack, the momentum sent me right back down.
"Fuck, Collins." I felt his hand on my back and I wrapped my arms around the back of my head. "That sounded bad"

I wrapped my arms around myself. When did it get so cold up here? Within a few seconds, Brady unzipped his fleece jacket and put it around my shoulders.
"Oh," I said dumbly. "Thank you"
"Anytime" Brady responded.
The sides of our bodies were still touching. I looked up to find him already looking down at me.

"I've seen the movies" Collins nodded. "You've kind of got a rugged hero thing going on - in a more contemporary way.”
Her eyes tracked down my form and then back up. I hoped she couldn't see me swallow.
"Say thank you. Aragorn is hot." I felt my eyes widen. It's a damn good thing my hip was leaned against the counter, or I would've lost my balance.

"We are not going down there, trouble," I said—my thoughts about Collins slipped out as a nickname. I mindlessly rubbed my hand up and down her back. "Not after that"
"Boring Brady, she muttered, but she didn't push back. I took a few deep breaths, trying to get my heart rate to slow down, and I noticed Collins breathing in time with me.

Collins pushed back from my chest to look at me, and I brushed her hair out of her face. "Holy shit, she whispered.
When she leaned back to look at the hole that appeared a few seconds ago, I held on to her tighter. I wanted her to be as far away from it as possible.

I pulled her onto the stable part of the floor that didn't now have a Collins shaped hole in it. Her head fell onto my chest. I kept one of my arms wrapped tightly around her torso and moved the other hand to the back of her head. My heart raced against my rib cage, and I swore I could hear hers doing the same thing.
"Are you okay?" I breathed. I felt her nod against my chest.