Thank you all for your patience while I wrote my final papers and graded sixty English papers. Let me know what you think of this chapter!

The following morning was bright and sunny, and so Callie and Arizona decided to spend much of the day in San Francisco before getting back on the road. They walked everywhere: up the Marin Headlands, through Chinatown for lunch, and then they stopped by City Lights bookstore that afternoon.

A few hours later, as she drove down the highway toward Morro Bay, Arizona broke the comfortable silence that had settled between them. "You can turn off the navigation now."

Callie looked out the window at the hills that flanked them on both sides. "Are we here? I kind of was expecting water."

Arizona smiled. "There will be. We're almost there."

After shutting off Google Maps, Callie looked over at her. "How do you know the way, anyway?"

"My family used to come up here during the summer when my dad was stationed in San Diego," Arizona explained.

Callie's eyebrows flew up. "I never knew that."

Arizona met her eyes. "Good to know I can still surprise you."

"Hey, we haven't lived together in years. I'm sure you're full of surprises."

Arizona rolled her eyes—not at Callie so much as her own life. "You haven't missed much."

"Ha."

"You didn't!"

"Come on," Callie urged. "Tell me one big thing that's happened in the last two years."

After a minute of contemplation, Arizona shrugged. "Well, I got a tattoo."

"WHAT?" Callie squawked.

Arizona giggled. "I'm just kidding."

In Morro Bay, Arizona exited the highway and drove slow through a neighborhood of weather-worn houses before parking parallel to the ocean, only a few yards away from the sand.

Arizona smiled as she watched Callie take in the view. "Want to walk? My legs are stiff."

Callie nodded, and they walked down the stairs and onto the beach before taking off their shoes; desiring the sun-warmed sand against their feet.

"It's such a perfect day," Callie mused, "I can't believe no one else is out here."

Arizona's eyes were on her feet as she took careful steps, the ground uneven. "I'm sure they are. This isn't the popular part of the beach—we're not in the touristy part of town."

Callie frowned. "Is that part better?"

Arizona shook her head. "It's nice for the farmers markets and for overpriced antique stores, but I didn't want to be at a beach full of people."

"Because you would rather be alone with me," Callie finished, a playful glint in her eye.

Arizona made a face, working hard not to reveal her smile. "No." But she knew Callie could see through her.

Callie let their shoulders brush as they edged closer to the water, moving south only once the sand was dense and wet beneath their feet.

"It's nice," Callie admitted a few minutes later. "Like we have the whole coast to ourselves." She opened her arms, felt the sea breeze wash over her.

Arizona smiled. "I knew you'd like it." Then, after a pause: "It's your turn to tell me something, by the way."

Callie's brows furrowed. "What?"

"You didn't know that my family used to take road trips here," Arizona explained. "Now tell me something I don't know about you."

"You know more about me than anyone," Callie chuckled.

"I'll always want more. I'm sure you can think of something."

Callie thought for a minute, and then something came to mind. She shook her head a little. "Mmm. Nope."

Arizona frowned. "What is it?"

Callie shook her head. "Nope. Too vulnerable. It's about you."

"Callie!" Arizona complained. "You have to tell me now."

Callie pouted out her lower lip. "I don't want to."

"Fine," Arizona sighed. "I'll tell you a vulnerable one first."

Callie raised an eyebrow.

Arizona sighed. "When we first started dating," she began, "I had this...disarming feeling. It was different, and it was terrifying, and it was kind of…everything."

Callie's face softened, waiting, while Arizona searched her eyes, looking bewildered about something.

"We were new," Arizona continued, "so it wasn't love, but I knew it would be. I just felt...full every time you looked at me—every time I looked at you."

Callie offered her a knowing smile. "More human, maybe."

"Yeah," Arizona nodded softly. "And you know how hard that is for me. My dad taught me to be a soldier. And one look from you, one touch, could undo me."

And Callie was looking at her so intensely, with so much tenderness, that Arizona eventually had to break her own gaze away. She looked out at the beach that spanned before them. "It still can."

"It's good, though, right? I mean, it's scary but…good. Right?"

Arizona bit her lip. "When it's reciprocal."

"It is," Callie assured her, her voice soft. "Always has been."

A long, comfortable moment passed between them.

"Now, your secret." Arizona looked at her expectantly.

Callie made a face. "Mine feels dumb in comparison."

"I'm sure it's not."

"Okay, well," Callie looked out at the huge rock in the distance—one she was sure she'd seen in postcards before. "I don't know if I ever told you this. But the first time we had sex weirdly felt like my first time ever." She paused, meeting Arizona's curious eyes. "It was just better."

Arizona smiled a little, pressing, "Better than with Mark?"

Callie laughed. "Are you kidding? No contest."

Arizona's smile widened.

"But not like that," Callie continued. "It wasn't just because you really, really knew what you were doing—" Callie swallowed hard, suddenly distracted by memories. "It was just you. I had never wanted anyone like that before."

Arizona wet her lips with her tongue. "Like what?"

Callie shrugged. "That much, I guess. It was all-consuming."

Arizona's voice dropped an octave. "That…is not a dumb secret."

Callie blushed, suddenly overwhelmed by those clear blue eyes. "Come on. This isn't news. You already knew you were a sex goddess."

Arizona laughed with pure delight. "I know my strengths," she conceded. "But that's not all you admitted to."

"No," Callie conceded, "it's not."

Arizona playfully bumped her shoulder against Callie's and then faced forward again, unable to wipe the smile off her face.

"And," Callie began, "speaking of sex…"

Arizona turned back and gave her a look, her lip quirking up in anticipation.

Callie laughed. "I was just thinking: I'm glad we're not rushing into this the way we always have. I mean, I do want you—I think you know that. But, more than anything, I want this to last." She wanted to be sure that Arizona knew she was okay with her reticence, with the slow physical stuff, the hesitancy to talk everything through.

But, well, given their last discussion, Arizona was ready to not move slow. She wanted to kiss Callie and keep doing that for a long time. She wanted to more-than-kiss her. What was the point of playing coy, of resisting her urges, at this point? She'd resisted them for long enough already.

But there was Callie, looking at her with so much affection, telling her she appreciated that they were moving slow. For Callie, she was happy to abide.

Arizona nodded. "So we should—what?—not touch each other? I mean, not…for a while?"

"That's the...mature thing to do, right?" Callie paused, half-wishing Arizona would argue. But she didn't—just looked at her with those impossibly pretty eyes. "I just need to make sure you know I want so much more than that with you."

Arizona knew. Of course she knew. But she also understood Callie's fear better than anyone. So she just offered a small smile. "That sounds good."

By the time they were walking back, the sun had set but the night was still bright, moonlight refracting off the water.

They stopped to sit, looking out at the water.

Arizona watched as Callie's hair wafted around her face every time a gust of wind hit them. She had the urge to reach out as brush her fingers through it, or maybe pull it back into a loose bun. But Callie has said that she wanted them to work up to the physical stuff—even the more innocent touches, maybe.

She forced herself to turn away, to focus instead on the sand dollar they'd found, sitting on the ground between them.

"Arizona, look."

Arizona looked up and blinked at her. She wanted to trace the lines of her face, the shapes her freckles made.

Callie nodded toward the sky. "It's so pretty." Her voice came out almost breathy. "I want to reach out and touch it."

She was looking at the moon. Arizona was looking at her hand.

Sitting on their separate beds later that night in their hotel room, Arizona's hand went up to rub at her neck, and she winced at the pressure against the tender area.

"Oh my god," Callie realized, suddenly frowning. She set down her glass of wine on the night table. "I forgot. We walked for hours today. Your back must be killing you."

Arizona shook her head. "It's not so bad. It's just this one spot..." She pressed her fingers against a pressure point that was particularly sore.

"I could help."

Arizona raised an eyebrow at her. "Wouldn't that be in violation of the whole no-touching thing?"

"I'm a doctor," Callie argued, shrugging to indicate her supposed nonchalance. "I can massage you in a clinical way."

There never had been anything clinical about Callie touching her. And, anyway, massages were…intimate. Arizona knew that. Callie had to know, too.

She pursed her lips, weighing her options. Then: "You know you don't have to take care of me, right?"

Callie offered a playful, yet unmistakably soft, smile in return. "As if you'd let me." She gestured toward the middle of Arizona's bed. "Go on. Lie down. I know you would do the same for me, if you didn't have those useless girly hands."

Even as she lay on her stomach to allow Callie to massage out the knots, she countered, "Excuse me. Just a few hours ago, you alluded to my exceptional sexual prowess. I assume my hands are part of that."

Callie felt her cheeks flush. "Definitely not."

Arizona narrowed her eyes in her direction.

Callie laughed. "Fine. Maybe." Then, watching Arizona's eyes fall shut, she paused for a second before reaching out to touch her. There was something about Arizona lying prone, utterly relaxed, that had always thrilled her. The blonde was not a woman who liked to give up control. And, yet, for her, Arizona was willing to.

Arizona opened her eyes when Callie didn't make a move towards her, catching her staring. She felt her cheeks heat up, seeing the loving look in those brown eyes.

Callie inhaled an uneven breath, steeling herself for action. "Um. Can I…"

Arizona nodded knowingly, and Callie moved above her, kneeling on either side of her hips, careful not to put any weight on her, not to let their legs touch. She felt her hands shake as she brought them up—hesitantly—to rub Arizona's tense shoulders.

Arizona moaned instantaneously at the sensation and then instantly blushed with embarrassment. She turned her head to meet Callie's eye. "Sorry."

Callie's hands had stilled, and she shook her head, wanting to reassure Arizona that—really—there was nothing to feel sorry about. Because that was maybe her favorite sound in the world, and the fact that her hands had elicited it out of the blonde…

Well, it brought back memories. None as innocent as a massage.

Finally, Callie found her voice. She tried to chuckle. "Don't be sorry." She began working her hands deeper into the knots, eager to make Arizona feel good—at least in this one small way. She moved her hands down a lithe back, massaging with care.

"God, you're incredible," Arizona breathed.

Callie bit her lip, working to hold back her want. She ghosted her fingers down Arizona's spine, wishing there wasn't a layer of fabric separating their skin.

Arizona shivered at the sensation, feeling goosebumps line her back. She prayed Callie didn't notice.

Bravely, Callie pressed her thumbs into the tender skin of Arizona's neck, relishing in its smoothness.

"Yes," Arizona groaned. "Right there."

A few minutes later, Callie moved her hands down Arizona's back, kneading the muscles with strong thumbs. The blonde moaned when she pressed against a tender spot, and Callie could just feel the blood vessels dilating around her clit in response to the sound.

When her hands reached Arizona's lower back, they stilled. How badly she wanted to bury her hands under her shirt, to feel that skin, warm and supple under hers.

Finally, she lifted the bottom of Arizona's shirt to grant herself access, running her fingers over white skin with a feather-like touch.

Arizona felt her breath hitch.

Callie heard it, too, but she didn't say anything. She only continued her gentle movements, pouring all her love in her hands.

Arizona consciously attempted to slow her suddenly uneven breathing. It was crazy, really, how little Callie had to do to make her feel like this. "You're, um. You're really good at that."

Under Arizona's shirt, Callie's hands went up to massage her shoulders. She didn't even let herself think about how Arizona wasn't wearing a bra, how easily she could brush her thumbs over her breasts…

Oh, look, she thought, rolling her eyes at herself internally. Here you are, thinking about it. She felt her stomach dip.

After another few minutes, she smoothed down Arizona's shirt and sat back against the headrest, looking down at Arizona.

Arizona lifted her head, blue eyes meeting brown.

Callie offered a soft smile. "Does that feel any better?"

Sitting up, Arizona nodded. She moved to go sit beside Callie and then bit her lip, offering a slight nod. "Yeah," she breathed. And then, unable to help herself, Arizona reached out, her hand finding the back of Callie's head. She lightly rubbed Callie's scalp the way she'd always liked, fingers pulping against black hair.

Callie's eyes fell shut. Arizona's hands, while girly, were not useless. She felt herself melting into the touch.

Languidly, she met Arizona's gaze and was briefly disarmed by the intensity with which the blonde was looking at her as her hand moved against her.

Arizona's lip quirked up—just a hint of a smile. And then she leaned in.

Callie's breath shuddered out, her heart pounding in anticipation.

But, rather than going for her mouth, pink lips found the skin beneath her ear, the contact so light that Callie could hardly feel it. She felt Arizona exhale a warm breath against her skin and shivered. Her hand easily found Arizona's thigh, rubbing down the flannel pajama pants, silently urging the blonde to continue her light ministrations. "Arizona…"

She didn't know how Arizona did it—how she'd always done it. Because, even with this tiny touch—Arizona's lips pressed a little below her jaw—she found herself consumed with want, her body like a lit match.

And then, not wanting to push Callie any further—working instead to be patient, to move slow—Arizona pulled back a moment later, reclaiming her hand from thick black hair. "We should, um, probably sleep, huh?"

Callie had never felt so awake in her life. Arizona's hand in her hair, breath on her neck. It had ignited every nerve ending. But Arizona hadn't wanted to rush into anything before. They'd agreed to go slow—and they were already breaking that rule. And so, regretfully, she forced herself to swallow her hunger. "Probably."

After brushing their teeth, they settled into their respective beds, and Arizona found herself instantly resenting the cool sheets, so clean, so bleached, so absent of body warmth. She pulled the comforter up to her neck. It was a poor substitute for Callie.

Callie looked at her through the darkness, suddenly feeling protective. "Are you cold?"

Arizona bit back her smile, pleased that her movement had brought on the desired result. "A little."

Callie made a move to stand. "I'll turn on the heater."

"Or," Arizona raised an eyebrow, "we could just sleep together." She held out her hand expectantly, beckoning Callie closer.

Callie choked on her own breath.

"In the same bed, I mean," Arizona quickly clarified. She smiled. "You're like our own personal space heater."

"Oh," Callie exhaled, her voice uneven. The thought of sharing a bed with Arizona—all softness, all lavender scent, all half-bare arms and legs—made her breathless. She felt her body start to buzz.

Arizona pulled back the covers and gestured toward the space beside her, waiting expectantly.

Finally, a long moment later, Callie relented, moving to lie down beside Arizona—opting to give into her instincts for once, to do something despite her more conservative judgment. Still, even as she pulled the blankets up to her neck, she didn't dare move closer to Arizona. Instead, she stayed on the outer edge of the bed, far from any real contact.

Facing her a few feet away, Arizona's eyebrows furrowed. "You're not a very effective heater over there." She shifted closer to Callie.

At the movement, Callie caught a whiff of blonde hair and forced herself to slow her breathing. In…one, two, three. Out…one, two, three.

The sheets rustled as Arizona made herself comfortable, and—watching her—Callie attempted to edge further away to maintain the shrinking space between them.

Then, she shut her eyes, though she knew that sleep wouldn't come anytime soon.

"Callie?" Arizona whispered.

Callie felt minty breath against her face. She felt goosebumps line her arms. She sensed how close Arizona was—directly in front of her.

Reluctantly, Callie popped an eye open.

Arizona dimpled at her. "Are you comfortable there, on the very edge of the bed?"

"Extremely," Callie lied. Even she could hear how tight her own voice was. She balled her hands into fists to keep herself from reaching for her.

Arizona pursed her lips. "You gave me a very long massage. Isn't it only fair that I get to touch you, too?"

Instantly, Callie felt her breath turn ragged. She was sure that, if Arizona touched her, she would combust. Already, after that massage, she was incredibly turned on and, now, the most beautiful, sensuous, woman in the world was asking to touch her.

Callie shook her head, attempting to chuckle. "We're really awful at moving slow."

Arizona smiled softly, her voice a whisper. "No funny business, I promise. You're just warm." She reached out, pushing on Callie's shoulder just enough to encourage her to turn onto her other side.

Callie obliged, her heart beating in her ears.

Arizona scooted closer. And closer.

And closer.

Finally, her body molded around Callie's: thighs pressed to backs-of-thighs, knees pressed to backs-of-knees, stomach and breasts pressed to a strong back.

Callie had to force herself to keep breathing.

Carefully, Arizona draped her arm around Callie's middle beneath the blankets, her fingertips accidentally brushing over a bare strip of skin. Her stomach lurched. So did something else.

And, at that touch, and the realization that every part of their bodies was in contact, Callie squeezed her thighs together. "Are you, um, warmer now?"

Arizona nodded against their now-shared pillow, her nose nuzzling against Callie's neck. "Much warmer." She pressed her thigh between Callie's, wanting to be even closer.

Callie held back a groan. "Arizona."

"Hmm?" Arizona hummed.

Callie could feel the vibration against the back of her neck.

Again, Arizona's hand moved lightly over Callie's t-shirt-clad stomach. "You okay?"

Callie could tell from Arizona's voice that she genuinely wanted to make sure she was okay with this. And so, to reassure her, under the comforter, she lifted her own arm, dropping it over Arizona's so that she could wrap her hand around hers. She let herself melt back into Arizona's protective body, squeezed her hand.

Eyes shut, Arizona smiled as she squeezed back. She felt so warm—and not just physically.

Callie smoothed her thumb over Arizona's. "I really like you." She was still afraid to say the stronger word.

Half-asleep, Arizona just pressed her lips to the nape of a caramel neck. "I really like you, too."