Thank you for your patience! The USA is a disaster. I've just been trying to get through the day. Let me know what you think of this chapter!

The next morning, Callie awoke slowly, stirring to stretch and then instantly becoming aware of Arizona, still wrapped around her, a muscular leg tucked snuggly between her thighs.

She shut her eyes and let herself become soothed by Arizona's breath—slow with sleep—warm against the back of her neck. Settling back against that familiar body, Callie absentmindedly began tracing patterns on the porcelain hand that rested on her abdomen, relishing in how soft her skin was.

The room felt surprisingly bright, though, so she popped an eye open and looked toward the clock on the side table. Somehow, it was already after eleven. When was the last time I slept in this late? she wondered. And this well? She couldn't even remember.

It was then that Arizona stirred, slowly waking. Her slim leg shifted between curvaceous thighs and Callie gasped, surprised by how sensitive her clit was to even the smallest movement. And then she reminded herself that, really, she shouldn't have been surprised. I mean, this is Arizona. Still, she felt her cheeks heat up in response to the involuntary sound.

Arizona stilled at Callie's gasp, her voice bleary with sleep. "Are you okay?" Concerned, she sat up a little so that she could see Callie's face, palm smoothing over her ribs.

Forcing herself to maintain a neutral expression, Callie met her eyes and nodded. "I was just, um, worried that I'd woken you up."

"Oh," Arizona breathed, lying back down, their bodies flush again as hers molded perfectly around Callie's. She shut her eyes. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Best I have in years," Callie admitted with a low chuckle.

"Me, too." Her nose to the back of Callie's t-shirt, Arizona inhaled a deep breath, lungs filling with the scent of her. "So: what do you want to do today?"

Callie ran her fingertips over Arizona's smooth hand, her lips curling up into a smile. "I kind of just want to do this for a while."

Arizona laughed, pulling Callie tighter against herself. It felt good to hold her this close, to wrap an arm around her and protect her from the world, maybe, even if, really, she'd never needed any protecting. "That sounds good."

"What should we do later, though?" Callie asked. "It's already after eleven, so we mis-"

"What?"

"We missed breakf-"

"It's after eleven?" Arizona asked. "Oh, we need to get going." Without another thought, she extracted herself from Callie and donned her prosthesis before heading to the bathroom.

Still lying on her side, Callie instantly missed the warmth of Arizona's body wrapped around hers. She felt a little slighted—she had already waited years to cuddle with Arizona and, now, as soon as it had begun, it was over. With a sigh, she sat up at the edge of the bed and looked at the notifications on her phone. Nothing but a few emails from work.

Arizona strode back into the room with a towel in hand. "Do you mind if I shower f-" She paused, noting the small frown on Callie's face. Exhaling a breath, suddenly feeling tender, she dropped the towel and strode over to where Callie sat on the edge of the bed. Standing between her legs, she smiled down at her. "Hey."

Callie looked up, dark eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

In response, Arizona leaned down, pressing her lips to a tan-colored cheek. When she pulled back, she brushed her thumb over a soft jaw—let it linger there for a few seconds, relishing in that warm skin. A long moment passed as she and Callie just looked at each other.

Then, Arizona dimpled, her voice pure affection. "Good morning."

The sweetness of that smile left Callie dumbstruck, frozen-in-place, and she had hardly even registered Arizona walking away until she heard the shower turn on in the bathroom.

She exhaled a dreamy sigh. Arizona was the only person on the world who could merely smile at her and leave her feeling like this.

After a late brunch—or, really, lunch—Callie and Arizona drove to a local family-run orchard Arizona had been to back in college. There were so many orchards around them that she hadn't been able to locate the exact address, and so they drove south along the winding road for over thirty miles before Arizona finally recognized it.

"There!" she squealed, pulling over to the side of the road by a sprawling rural property.

Callie looked out the window. "Are you sure this is it?"

Arizona pointed to the colonial house in the distance, mostly obscured behind the fruit trees. It was painted lavender with a dark purple trim. "I'd recognize that anywhere."

Side by side, equipped with a bucket to store their fruit, Callie and Arizona picked plums, apricots, and nectarines. A few times, they reached for the same piece of fruit, froze awkwardly, then hurried their hands away.

Arizona bit her lip. "We're back to not touching, huh?"

Callie offered a helpless shrug. "I think we should try, yeah."

Arizona took in Callie's heat-flushed face, the sheen of sweat above her upper lip. Just looking at her made her heart beat faster. "Okay," she smiled.

On their drive back to Morro Bay, they stopped at the market for dinner food: deli sushi and a bottle of Peach Bellini—the taste of summer.

As they walked to the car with their bag of groceries, Callie inspected Arizona's face. "You're smiling," she accused. "What are you up to?"

Feeling coy, Arizona pursed her lips, refusing to give anything away. "I want to take you somewhere."

Callie raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? And where's that?"

Arizona shrugged as she opened the door to the driver's seat. "You'll see."

Callie settled into the passenger's seat. "Give me a hint."

Arizona shook her head, smiling devilishly. "No."

Callie laughed. "Fine. I guess I'll just have to trust you."

They headed back onto the highway, driving past fields, and then sprawling hills, and then the ocean on their left side, pastel-colored beach houses on their right.

Then, a few minutes later, without warning, Arizona turned left into an unmarked parking lot at sixty miles an hour, and Callie slammed against the window.

Arizona gave Callie a sheepish smile after she parked. "Sorry. The turn sneaked up on me."

"No kidding," Callie chuckled. "You know, in case I were to ever forget you're gay, your driving would remind me immediately."

"Hey!" Arizona defended, opening the door to the backseat to grab a bag. "That's just a stereotype."

Callie shook her head as she grabbed their bag of food. "Not when it comes to you," she maintained. "You are not a good driver."

"Fine," Arizona surrendered, laughing. "But we made it here in one piece." She locked the doors and began to walk toward the path.

"This time," Callie joked beside her, her voice low.

Bumping against her shoulder, Arizona tried to fix Callie with a glare, but she couldn't hide her smile.

Callie threw back her head and laughed, endeared by her facial expression.

Arizona's smile instantly bloomed at the sound, unable to play offended any longer.

And then Callie looked at where they were: it was a wide hiking trail with mustardseed grown tall on both sides of them, the steady hum of insects almost deafening. She turned to Arizona. "Can you tell me where we are now? A trail?"

Arizona nodded, then amended: "Well, the destination is the exciting part, not the trail."

Callie raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Somewhere pretty," Arizona offered vaguely.

Callie waited, hoping for more details.

"It's one of my favorite places."

"In Morro?"

"In the whole world," Arizona clarified. "So I want to share it with you."

They kept walking: past the mustardseed, past the trees, into a flatter area with grass growing high on either side of them.

And then Callie squealed, stopping mid-step. She pointed at the trail. "What are those?"

"Oh!" Arizona giggled. "I was hoping this was the right time of year."

They watched as schools of field mice—hardly larger than their thumbs—scurried off the trail and into the grasses on either side.

"They're they cutest things I've ever seen."

Arizona took another step forward, and another group of mice scurried out of her way. "A lot of them are babies."

Callie laughed, overcome with a childlike glee because the little mice were just so cute, so small and polite to hurry back into the weeds.

Arizona grinned in response, pleased that Callie was enjoying their little field trip thus far.

They kept walking, careful to step around the mice. Eventually, there was a clearing in the distance, and Callie stood up straighter, trying to get a better look. They walked past the final bend a minute later, and she finally discovered their destination, a sudden clear view of the ocean, sparkling blue. "Wow."

Getting a closer look, Callie saw that they were on a small cliff that overlooked the ocean, the cliff soft with grass—green and lush despite it being late June.

Arizona smiled. It was just as she had remembered it. She inhaled the air's clean scent as she stood beside Callie close to the cliff's edge. "Do you like it?"

Mesmerized by the water, Callie just nodded.

They lay out the sheet Arizona had borrowed from the hotel and unpacked their sushi, fruit, and Bellini. It was only them and the ocean breeze, the cricketcall, the sound of waves washing over the rocks.

Callie pried apart her wooden chopsticks. "I can't believe we're the only ones here. How does no one know about this place?"

Arizona shrugged. "It's a well-kept secret."

"Clearly," Callie chuckled. "I never knew this was one of your favorite places, even. Why didn't we ever take a trip here? You know I love California."

Her hair windblown, Arizona tucked a strand behind her ear. She met Callie's eyes. "We're here now."

A few minutes later, she uncapped the Bellini, watching the sweet alcohol effervesce. She offered the bottle to Callie. "We forgot cups."

Callie accepted it and took a long swig before handing it back. She licked the liquid off her top lip. "That's pretty good."

Arizona turned the bottle around in her hand before pressing her lips to the very place Callie's had touched and taking a sip. "Mm," she moaned. "Yeah." She recapped the bottle and then placed it in the space between them.

After they ate and drank their fill, Callie and Arizona sat side-by-side on the sheet, facing the water.

Callie snuck a look at Arizona: those bright blue eyes, pink cheeks, sharp jaw. Those soft arms, smooth skin…

Arizona, feeling Callie watching her, turned her head.

Knowing she was caught, Callie's cheeks flushed. "Sorry."

Arizona smiled. "Don't be. What were you thinking about?"

Callie rolled her eyes at herself, ever wanting. "Temptation."

"For what?" Arizona pressed. "For me?"

Callie didn't answer. And, really—judging from the thrilled smile on Arizona's face—she didn't need to. But, wanting to communicate, she conceded to going into more detail. "It's just…It's been so long since we've been together, like this. And with you now, so close, so here, I just…" she trailed off.

Instinctively, Arizona leaned closer. "You just what?"

Callie looked at her for a long moment, weighing her options. Then, shaking her head, chuckling a little, she admitted, "I just can't help but want to touch you. All the time."

Arizona's stomach fluttered at Callie's shy admission. And then she nodded. Because she was equally desperate to eliminate the space between them, to wrap her arm around Callie's shoulder and pull her close.

"I only have this compulsion with you," Callie continued. "It's crazy—this overwhelming urge to, like, hold you constantly—to keep you safe from everything, even though I've learned that I can't. Even right after the divorce, and, now—after all this time—when I'm around you, I feel like if I don't touch you I might explode."

Arizona's bit her lip, her eyes soft.

Callie smiled, shyly admitting, "Going slow with you is excruciating."

Arizona nodded, and Callie waited, hoping the blonde would make a confession of her own—to reassure her that she wasn't alone.

Arizona looked down at a tan hand, wanting to trace it with her forefinger, to draw light patterns on that impossibly smooth skin. Instead, she met big brown eyes. "I think I missed you before I ever met you."

Callie eyes widened. She felt her bare legs line with goosebumps. And it wasn't because of the breeze.

Arizona smiled at her expression. And then she just kept looking and looking at her.

Finally, feeling insecure—how long had it been since she'd been looked at like this?—Callie asked, "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're looking at me like you're never going to see my face again—like you're trying to memorize it."

"I am trying to memorize it," Arizona confirmed.

Callie lifted an eyebrow.

"You're so beautiful."

Callie's hands twitched at her sides—she was so desperate to reach out. She was full of words, too, but she and Arizona had always shown their feelings best with their bodies. And she wanted to show Arizona how she felt—to press their lips together, run her hands through her hair, down her sides, worship every inch of her.

She clenched her fists, forbidding herself from giving into what she wanted. Instead: "Tell me a secret."

Playfully, Arizona pursed her lips. Then: "I kind of have a crush on you."

Callie instantly smiled, her cheeks flushing with pleasure. "Were you always this cute?"

Arizona dimpled. "Yes."

Callie laughed and felt the sudden urge to caress her cheek, kiss her. She sighed, and they fell into a comfortable quiet then, looking out at the water as if it would distract them.

Then, wondering if Arizona felt equally frustrated, equally stymied—equally desperate to touch—Callie turned to her, prepared to ask.

And then, instantly, her words caught in her throat. Because Arizona's eyes were already on her face, her lip quirked up, her hands tucked beneath her thighs, forbidding her her baser desires.

Sensing Callie's incoming words—knowing, instinctively, that the brunette had wanted conformation that she wasn't alone—Arizona nodded softly. "Yeah. Me, too."

Callie just kept looking at her, hoping she might expand further.

Arizona's voice came out almost pained. "Callie, I want you so much I can hardly bear it."

Releasing a long sigh, Callie looked back out at the water, a smile teasing at her lips. This is real. She wanted Arizona, and Arizona wanted her, and they both wanted it to last enough to force themselves to go slow, despite their natural tendencies and, well, bodily urges. This time, they were doing something different, and different was good.

"Well, we're in this together," she vowed. She tucked her hands under her thighs and met Arizona's laughing eyes.