Weekend Away:

Day 1

"I brought Kara here," John admitted. "She likes the lake and making s'mores."

She leaned back against his chest and looked at the cabin. Three days, just us. "I like s'mores too."

Look at her, he thought, old cutoffs, some tight tank top, her bra straps peeking out…I want to peel this off her. Naughty girl next door, all pressed against me. Does she know? Of course, she knows. She's a temptation…one I gave into. "Max?"

She turned around and smiled, as she wrapped her arms around him. "John?"

I'm going to marry her, he thought, she's going to be my wife. We're not there yet, not even close, but her, this close, smiling, so damn pretty, laughing, kissing me. Romance her. Love her. "Do you want to move this inside?"

"And do what?"

Wrapped around me, like a very sexy present. "Max, you know exactly what we're going to do in there. Don't play coy."

"Me?"

Damn it, he thought, as she kissed him on the porch. I can't resist her…not this soft, touchable, flirty, Max. Wrapping his arms around her, he swept her off her feet, as he opened the front door. Stumbling inside, they fell on the couch together.

Day 2

Max burst into giggles by their fire, as it continued to thunder and pour outside. "I challenge."

He passed her the Scrabble dictionary. "Go for it."

"Damn it," she sighed. "You're right."

Adorable, John thought, all lit up in the fire light. Competitive. He played his next word and smiled at her. "Your turn."

"You know I never give up without a fight? I'm so tempted to concede to you."

"Who are you?"

She smiled at that, taking a long pull of her beer. "Ah, here. I believe that's 63 points?"

"I love you, Max."

She stared at her boyfriend of three months, forgetting about their hotly contested Scrabble game. Oh, John… I know how I feel. I'm not afraid of this. "I love you, John."

He forgot about their game, as crossed to sit next to her on the floor. Wrapping his arm around her, they didn't take their eyes off each other. He tilted her face to his and kissed her for a long moment. Pulling back, he cupped her face in his hand and looked into her eyes. Ah, Max… "You are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

She felt herself flush at that. Oh, that smile of his. His gentle hands on me. Love…it really is. It has been for a while. "You make me feel that way."

Fire-lit skin, all this red hair, her in my arms…she isn't moving away. "Come here."

"John?"

"Max?" he pressed combing through her hair, trailing his fingers down her face. "You okay?"

Love…I really am in love with him. She nodded, as they just looked at each other. "I'm always okay with you. I love you, John."

He kissed her, before pulling her up on her feet with him. "Let's call Scrabble a draw."

She smiled at that, as they wrapped themselves around each other and stumbled toward the bedroom.

Day 3

My shirt and a smile, John thought, as she poured him coffee the next morning. And nothing else. Last night was…all night, ending with us a sweaty mess of tangled limbs, saying how much we love each other again. Taking the offered cup, he kissed her again. "Hey."

She smiled as she kissed him back. Mine, she thought, this man… "Hey."

We're okay, he thought, she's not fleeing over this and not just because we're in a cabin in the woods. "Sun's out…what do you say? You up for the great outdoors? Hiking? Take a swim?"

We should, she thought, and all I want is to kiss him…have his hands on me…to hear him tell me he loves me. "We should."

"Do you have other ideas?"

"I think your hands do," she smiled, as they settled on her butt. "You haven't stopped touching me."

"You're wearing nothing but my shirt after sleeping naked next to me. I want to drag you back to bed."

"I'm not stopping you."

"If we go back to bed, it's where we're staying all day."

"Oh, really?"

He smiled at that. Adorable and sexy. How could I not love her? "Drink up, Honey. You're going to need your energy."

Day 3

Max leaned back against his chest, as they watched the sun go down. "Can we stay here?"

"Not go home? You want to run away together?"

"It's peaceful," she said. We did hike and swim…and say I love you. Just us. "I had a really good time. I always do with you."

"Because you love me?"

She smiled at that. "Because I love you, John."

"It does get messy at home."

She bit her lip at that. The comments, the looks, the work stuff… "I don't care what people say. I want to be with you."

"Because you love me?"

"Do you just like hearing me say that?"

He pressed his lips to her head. "I haven't told anyone I loved them since…since Deanna."

She turned to look at him, her heart racing at that. "Really?"

"Just Kara…no…not like with you and me…and Max? I love you."

She smiled, as she pressed her lips to his. "What was she like? Deanna? I mean, you don't have to tell me, it's not my business."

He combed through her hair and looked at her. "She was so smart, Max, it took me weeks to ask her out in college, she got me all tongue tied."

"You?"

He smiled at that, intertwining his fingers with hers. The thing that makes people mad, our skin colors. "She wanted to change the world. She was so determined, passionate, impulsive…you remind me of her. Not that…that's not what…that's not the reason you and me."

"I know."

"I think you two would have liked each other. She'd be happy to know that I found someone I want to spend my life with."

"You do?"

Too soon, he thought, too soon. What did I just do? "What do you think we're doing, Honey?"

"Spending time together."

"We're practically living together."

"I love waking up with you."

He kissed her. "I love having you there. Max, this, you and me…"

She kissed him back. "I love you and me."