chapter 29

~caelus~

       "You know what we haven't done yet since we've gotten back together?" I ask, resting my chin on Sullivan's chest so I can look at him.

       Sullivan runs his hand through my hair. "What would that be?"

       "We haven't gone on a date," I say. "And we didn't really go on dates when we got married either, and I think that's an important part of a healthy marriage."

       "Hmm, that's true," Sullivan says. "Katrina and Quinn still try to go on dates even after they had Joseph, and their marriage is very healthy. We don't even have kids to try to find babysitting for so it should be easier to find time to go out."

       Kona pushes Sullivan's bedroom door open since he purposefully left it open a crack for her to come in whenever. She walks over and places her chin on the bed, staring at me and Sullivan as if trying to remind him that she counts as Sullivan's kid.

       Sullivan reaches over and scratches Kona behind her ear. "You'll be fine on your own for a few hours. We can't take you on every single date."

       Kona barks, then walks out of the room. She doesn't exactly throw a fit when Sullivan and I leave the house without her to go to work, but I can tell she isn't happy about it. 

       Sullivan looks back at me, continuing to run his fingers through my hair. "How about we go on a date tomorrow night?"

       I smile. "I'd like that."

       Sullivan smiles back, moving his hand to the back of my head and gently bringing it closer to him. He presses his lips onto mine before flipping us over so he's hovering over me. I can't help but smile through our kiss. I've just been so happy now that I'm back together with Sullivan.

       I thought I was happy when we got divorced. I was for a bit, but then I felt as if something was missing. As it turns out, Sullivan was. We just had to spend time apart to realize how much we mean to each other.

       Kona walks back into the bedroom, this time jumping on the bed. Sullivan pulls away from me and sits up. "Alright, we'll give you some attention."

       "No, don't cave into her," I say. "She doesn't always need to get what she wants."

       "Fine, then you have to tell her to leave the bedroom," Sullivan says.

       I take one look at Kona, about to tell her to leave, but I realize I can't say no to her. She just looks so adorable.

       So I just have to sigh as I sit up. "Guess this is going to have to wait until later."

       "You know, until Kona decides to interrupt us then too," Sullivan says.

       "We can always lock the door."

       "She will just scratch at the door until I let her in. She's usually fine when I'm in my bedroom and she's not, but I think she has been jealous that I've been giving you a lot of attention." He kisses me before he gets off the bed, following Kona out of the bedroom.

       I lie back down on the bed for a bit. Honestly, I don't even mind that Kona interrupts me and Sullivan a lot. I'm still very happy with how things are going. Sullivan makes me very happy and honestly, even more happy than when we were first married.

       I feel even more strongly than I did when we were married. I don't know if it's the resentment from how our wedding was thrown or if my feelings just grew stronger for him over time. But there is one thing I know.

       I love him. I am so madly in love with him.

       I get out of bed and leave the bedroom where Sullivan is now playing tug of war with Kona. They look like they're having a lot of fun, and seeing the sight just makes my heart flutter. He just looks so happy having Kona.

       Kona soon gets bored from playing tug of war, so she releases the rope toy and jumps onto the couch. "Oh, now you're fine just relaxing on the couch?" I ask. "You couldn't have been fine a few minutes ago?" I walk over to Sullivan, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. "So... I have something very important to tell you."

       Sullivan's hands wraps around my waist. "Does it have to do with culinary school, perhaps?"

       "Not yet," I say. "I'm still thinking it over, or at the very least seeing if I can save money more for it. What I want to tell you is... that I love you, Sullivan. I really love you."

       Sullivan smiles widely. "I love you too, Caelus. So damn much."

       I smile back before pressing my lips onto Sullivan's. Sullivan's lips leave mine and trail to my cheek, then down to my neck. "You know," I say as he continues to kiss my neck, "this is probably too soon to talk about, but if we ever get married again, what do you feel about eloping?"

       Sullivan rests his chin on my head. "Mmm... I think I like that idea. No pressure from our families. Just us."

       "And Kona."

       "And Kona."

       "And lemon cake."

       Sullivan laughs. "And lemon cake." He pulls away, gently stroking my cheek with his thumb. "That sounds like it would be perfect. Just what we want. Just what we need."

       "Yeah," I say softly. "Just what we need."

       Sullivan gives me a soft kiss before pulling me into a hug. We've already been married before, so it's not wrong for us to talk about possibly getting married again in the future. We just have to make sure everything we do is for us, not to please our families. And that's what we've been doing so far. Making sure our relationship is what we want it to be, not what others want it to be.

____________________

i'm glad i was able to update because my city is in a heatwave and i do not do well with the heat at all. it's so bad that i willingly went into a pool and i'm not really a pool/swimming person lmao.