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But it was not just that feeling, that night. Moment after moment, with small gestures and simple phrases, it felt like we were building a future. Over the days and nights, my family of my child and his fathers and the family I hoped to make with Delphine grew closer. We took hikes together, and when Sevvy scraped his knee, Delphine pulled out a mini first aid kit from her bag and fixed it for him right there, clean, painless and protected. He began to run to her at every bump and scratch, even some imaginary ones. Teo gave us a dramatic rendition of a classic Spanish monologue, followed by an improvised scene from one of Sevvy's favourite cartoons that left us in stitches. Michael instructed Delphine on the art of the American cookout and we all benefitted by filling our tummies with enough grilled and barbecued food to leave us half-comatose for a couple hours. Members of the family started joining me in my daily yoga here and there until we were all together on the deck one morning, stretching on improvised yoga mats of towels and throws. The neighbour's cat came by and perched on the railing to view us skeptically, and Severo couldn't stop grinning when it let him pet its back. We went to the local fair, where Delphine enthusiastically agreed to ride the scrambler with Sevvy multiple times until they were both stumbling dizzily, red-faced and laughing. Teo stopped eating his funnel cake because he said just watching them spin and scream made him nauseated.

And every night, in my bed, my love and I tucked into each other's arms, twice more with Severo nestled between us.

It was getting close to the end of Delphine's visit with us when Michael and Teo took our kid out for the day so "Mommy and Delphine could do some grown-up stuff." Sevvy wouldn't rest with just that vague description until we told him we had work to do. Five minutes after we closed the door behind them, I had Delphine pressed against the kitchen counter, undoing her with lingering kisses, my mouth on her neck.

"Are you sure they won't come back soon?" she murmured, her hands pressed to my chest in some weak resistance.

"Don't worry about it. They'll text us in plenty of time if they have to turn around," I said, pressing my teeth lightly to her collarbone. After that it was all moans and kisses, stumbling to the bedroom yanking off our clothes. We didn't make it to the bed, and soon she had me under her on the floor beneath the ironing board, driving me crazy with her thigh between my legs while I lost myself in the soft give and rigid peaks of her breasts. I bit a little harder and she jerked, nearly knocking the iron on top of us, so we grudgingly paused for the five seconds it took us to shake off what clothing remained and take things to the bed.

She paused after kissing me deeply and examined my face for a moment.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm going to miss you until we can see each other again," she answered. I felt a pang at that, myself, but then reminded myself to live in the moment, and decided she looked way too serious.

"Me, too," I nodded, then: "We'll work it out soon. But in the meantime, maybe you should fuck me hard enough to remember until then."

She narrowed her eyes at my smirk and grabbed my ribs, making me laugh with the mild violence and tickle. But then she yanked and flipped me over onto my front, wrapping her arm around my hips and pulling me up to my hands and knees.

"Ohhh, fuck, yessss," I moaned, knowing what was coming, and knowing that it was one of our favourites. I could feel her eyes roaming my curves down to my ass and I swear my skin got hotter.

"Oh, you'll remember," she informed me in a low tone just on the verge of an order. My toes curled and goosebumps broke out down my arms. I let out a louder sound than I'd expected when her mouth attached to the nape of my neck, licking and sucking, giving little bites.

This was where I lost myself and became all sensation, her mouth moving down between my shoulder blades, tracing down my spine with her tongue, one hand twisting my nipple and the other stroking through the wet hair at the junction of my thighs. Time got wavy, bent by the flood of stimuli. Now she sucked at my hip, now she gave me a semi-playful bite right on the cheek of my ass, fingers weaving in through the folds of my sex until I was aching for her to press inside. She pulled my hips higher and I moaned, feeling like I was gaping for her, inviting her, would pull her strong fingers inside of me with suction, if I could.

And then, the shuddering relief of being filled.

She fucked me hard, like I wanted, knuckles pounding against my entrance, arm pumping forcefully as I arched my back, rocking back against her, trying to feel her thrusts through my entire body. When I got too close she would pull back, and I would bite the sheets in glorious frustration. When our rhythm built back again, she started talking to me in French. I could only pick out a few words, but they were the right ones, and I probably wouldn't have been able to concentrate on them even if she was speaking in english. Her other hand stroked my mons and lower lips, providing only slow presses and releases against my pulsing hood, until I started crying out wordlessly for stronger stimulation, for release. She picked up the pace of her thrusts and gave my ass a few nice, stinging slaps before moving her hand back to my front and beginning to rub my stiffened clit until all the sensations — the deep, bass judder of her slick fingers pounding into me, the low, alto command of her voice, the background pulse of my hips, her hips, our breasts swinging, and the building, jolting buzz as she vibrated my clit sent me out of my mind, my self-awareness, anything beyond the feeling of breaking in wave upon wave of pleasure, my consciousness frozen in time and my legs collapsing, causing me to buck her hands into the mattress below me, the final explosions of my orgasm nearly knocking me out.

Then, nothing. Quiet, save the sounds of our breath, the ambient resonance of the room bleeding in slowly, the soft sounds of the birds and breeze outside becoming once again audible as my neurons settled into normal patterns of firing, as my consciousness settled back into my body.

She held me from behind, her head nestled between mine and my shoulder, pressing gentle kisses to the juncture of my neck and back, the side of my head, breath ghosting across my ear. We rested like that for a while.

"Baby," I finally said, and she gave me a squeeze, then automatically slid up and off of me at the first nudge of my shoulder, allowing me to turn over and face her. My heavy eyelids lightened, and I looked at her. We studied each other, finding new colours in each other's eyes, limitless, tiny expressions of thought and feeling in shifting gazes, the dilation of pupils.

"Okay. I'm definitely going to remember that," I told her, and we both let out the breath of a laugh. I moved the hanging curtain of her hair from one side of her face, smoothing curls behind her ear.

"I'm going to remember all of it," she said after a moment, in a near whisper. "And I'm going to dream about what memories we'll make next."

I took her perfect, precious face between my hands as I thrummed with joy and anticipation.

"You are such a romantic," I teased her, not for the first time, but it was meant as praise. "Never change."

She kissed my hands and we relaxed together, warm and wonderfully nestled. After a while, small kisses deepened, bodies shifted on their own, desire built, and we made love again, gently, slowly this time. I moved inside her with my fingers and we flowed with each other, against one another, paying attention to little details of expression, brushes of skin and muscular shifts. I loved how her voice, so confident when she had pleasured me, rose higher and higher, growing louder and desperate, like a question without words. I curled my fingers against her g spot and stroked it in a fluid motion until she crested and broke against me. When she relaxed, we snuggled together, until I began to yawn.

"Mmm, how much time do we have before they come back?" she asked, touching her forehead to mine.

"A couple hours, probably. Long enough to take a nap," I told her, even my voice sounding lazy.

"We can do that," she smiled, and cuddled against me. "I can set my phone alarm, if you like."

"Yeah, I'm thinking nap, shower, eat," I mumbled, releasing a sigh. "And maybe then socialize."

"Okay," she said, and gave me a little squeeze.

"Del?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"I love you. So much. I'll find a place and some jobs close soon."

"I love you, mon coeur," she hummed, and kissed my head. "I will love spending more time with you."

We sighed together, relaxed, and within a few minutes I drifted into sleep.