I lift my eyes to meet Blue's and I hope she can see both my understanding and relief. This isn't like the hookups I've had in the recent past. It's closer to the kind of thing I used to want and used to think I'd have with Tobias. Not that there's any real comparison between them, just a similar sense of wanting. Permanence.

"It would be," I say. Reaching down, I take both of her hands and intertwine our fingers, squeezing her hands. Then I step backward, tugging her along the short distance to my bed.