20

*Joe*

At first, when I woke up, I couldn't believe it. But I knew that it was real and then the most ridiculous smile stuck onto my face and I knew that it wouldn't leave, no matter how hard I tried. Katelyn was lying in my arms, under the covers. There were remnants of her makeup on her face and her hair was a little messy, but she was still the most beautiful woman in the world.

I couldn't help but remember last night. Hearing her admit her love for me and then giving herself to me all over again. Making love to her again after so long of aching for her…

I felt perfect. Everything in my life at that moment was just perfect.

And then, she stirred slightly in my arms and her eyes opened slowly. She blinked a few times and then smiled sleepily at me. "Hey."

"Good morning, love," I replied, kissing her forehead.

She sighed in content. "I love you."

I couldn't help but grin. "I love you, too. So much."

She snuggled closer to me and I rubbed my hands over the bare skin of her lower back. She moaned. "You're going to put me back to sleep."

"That wouldn't be a bad thing," I murmured against her hair.

She sighed and then said, "I decided something. Last night."

We hadn't really talked about anything too serious, other than our love for one another. We'd made love three times, and in between, we just whispered to each other. And then, we'd fallen right to sleep, both of us exhausted. "What's that?"

She tipped her head back to look at me. "I want to be with you."

"You are with me," I told her and pressed a light kiss to her lips.

She smiled as she pulled away. "As more than that. I want… I want this to continue. I want to find a way to get away from Rider and my parents and be with you."

"You mean it?"

She nodded and smiled. "I do."

I grinned and kissed her once more, passionately this time. "Then will you do something for me?"

"Anything," she replied, confused.

I kissed her again. "Go get ready somewhere. Wear something nice. We're going on a date."

"A date?'

I nodded. "A real date. A good one."

"Where?"

"I can't tell you that," I smiled. "But you'll love it, I pinky promise."

"What time?"

"Be ready by seven."

She smiled and leaned closer to press her lips to mine again. I could taste myself on them, and I loved it. I wanted it to be like that forever. "Okay; I trust you. Where should I show up when I'm done getting ready?"

"You'll know," I promised her. "You'll know."

She sighed and moved off of the bed to get dressed in the clothes she'd worn yesterday, putting on the necklace that I had always kept so that she wouldn't leave it again. Then, she gave me another kiss and a promise to see me later before she left.

Frantically, I dressed myself and grabbed the phone. I had a lot to get done and not enough time to do it. But, I'd been in tight spots worse than this before. And it had always come out okay. And I knew for a fact that it would come out this time too. Because I would make it perfect.

For her.

*Katelyn*

I was practically skipping down the road. I was filled with this intense happiness that gave me too much energy to keep it bottled up inside. I did force myself to skip the coffee, though, and I went straight to my hotel room instead. I used room service to order lunch, a simple sandwich and fries. Then, I had about eight hours until I had to be ready, and it absolutely killed me, all the waiting.

I knew that spies had to wait a lot, and that was always hard, but this seemed even harder. I was so curious that once, I considered going to find Joe to tail him. But, I refrained. I knew that it would be greatest if it was a surprise, so I just let it be. Surprises could be fun, after all.

I turned on the TV, but I wasn't really watching anything. I was just thinking about how amazing last night was. How gently Joe had held me and the sweet words that he had whispered over and over as he moved above me. I remembered his fingers trailing over every inch of my body and how it had felt when we'd finally joined as one. I remembered the slight discomfort at first, and how it had melted away to complete ecstasy, until all I could feel was that happiness, that feeling that it was so totally right to be with him.

"I love you, Joe," I whispered softly as I laid back against the pillow and stared up at the ceiling, an irreversible smile on my face. I thought about my decision to be with him no matter what, and I knew that it was right. It was time to choose to be happy, and I knew that Joe would make me happy. He had proven that he could. And he cared about me more than anyone else ever had. That's all that I knew I needed. All that I would ever need, really.

And he would take care of me. I knew it.

Smiling with my new resolve, I picked out an outfit to wear and headed to the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for my date with Joe. When the water was the right temperature, I stepped in and sighed in satisfaction. Possibilities of the date began to run through my head and I smiled at each one, wondering what was really going to happen. But I knew that I would never know until seven o' clock.

Just the wait was killing me.

Joe was officially driving me crazy.