Forest Grove Institute

Rafael's POV:

Her breath hitched at my words, and I saw her knees falter just slightly. Two words—just two—and she was already melting for me. Her eyes never left mine, wide and dark and full of heat, her lips parted like she'd forgotten how to breathe.

I smiled as I reached up, brushing a strand of hair from her shoulder. Careful of her makeup, I pressed a kiss to her forehead. Reverent. Possessive. Grounding.

Mine.

"The things I want to do to you, Treasure..." I murmured. "I'll never get enough."

She shivered—God, I felt it—and I let the words hang there, suspended between us, heavy and real. I didn't push. I didn't need to. Her body told me everything.

Leaning against the doorframe of my childhood room, I reached for her, tugging her to my side. My hand drifted up and down her back—slow, grounding strokes. Just to remind her she was here. With me. Safe. Wanted. Claimed.

"There's more of the house I want to show you," I said, voice quieter now, "but first... I want you to see this room."

She glanced at the door, then back at me. "Your room," she said softly, almost reverently.

I nodded, watching her closely as I turned the handle and pushed it open. She didn't know just how much this moment meant to me—or maybe, somehow, she did. I imagined she'd feel the same showing me her space—her world, carved out in color and clutter and comfort. A little sanctuary no one else got to enter.

She stepped in slowly, eyes roaming across the room with cautious awe. The movie posters I'd never taken down. The bookshelf, sagging under the weight of dog-eared paperbacks I'd read a dozen times. A few old trophies and medals from high school football, still gathering dust like forgotten relics from a life that once felt bigger than it was.

"Looks like you haven't changed a thing since high school," she said, glancing over her shoulder at me with a smile.

I returned it, softer. "I haven't. Even when I went off to university... I never felt the need to. It always felt like... coming back to myself."

She turned back to the room, taking a few more steps inside. Her fingers skimmed the edge of the desk—the surface scratched and faded from years of use. Homework. Scribbled lyrics. Secret sketches. Late-night thoughts I never showed anyone. She touched everything like it was sacred. Like she knew this wasn't just a room. It was a memory, frozen in time. A place I hadn't let the world touch.

"I like it," she said finally, voice soft. "It feels like you."

"That's the point," I said, stepping up behind her. My hands slid to her waist, fitting there like they'd been molded for this exact moment. "This is who I was before the world got louder. Before I had to prove anything."

She leaned into me without hesitation, head tilting back just enough to rest against my chest. That simple motion—so trusting, so instinctual—made something shift in me. Something old and deep and impossible to name.

"I wish I could've known you then," she murmured.

"You do," I said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "You know the best parts of me. The parts that started here."

She looked up at me, eyes shining. "And now you're showing it to me."

"I don't bring anyone in here," I said, my thumb tracing a slow line along her hip. The words came out low, quiet, but they carried more weight than most people would understand. "No one. Not ever."

"I know," she whispered, somehow hearing everything I hadn't said out loud. "That's why I'm trying not to cry like a little girl."

That pulled a quiet laugh from me. I turned her gently, cupping her face in both hands, thumbs brushing lightly along her jaw. "You can cry," I murmured. "You'd still be the most beautiful thing that's ever stood in this room."

Her smile trembled as she bit her lip, trying to hold it all in. "You're not playing fair."

"I never said I would."

She let out a soft, breathy laugh, then blinked rapidly, a tear slipping down her cheek. I wiped it away carefully, mindful of her makeup—she'd want it intact, and I knew it. I knew her.

"Thank you..." she whispered, voice tight as she swallowed hard.

I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, slow and gentle. "For what, Treasure?"

She lifted her eyes to mine as I tilted her chin, coaxing her to meet me fully.

"For letting me in. For bringing me here," she said quietly. "For stepping in with that note... back when I was running from the bleachers, already late to class."

I chuckled at the memory, soft and full. That day felt like a lifetime ago now—like the prologue to everything we'd become.

"The start of us," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

And God, I was so glad I'd chased her that day.

She hummed in quiet agreement, and I pulled her gently into my arms, pressing a kiss to her forehead. It was soft—deliberate. The kind of kiss that said stay here a little longer. The kind that meant you matter.

"You're so very welcome, my Treasure," I whispered, holding her just a few seconds more before finally letting go.

I stepped back slightly, eyes scanning hers. "You ready to keep going? Or do you want to head back down and talk to my parents?"

She drew in a breath, still a little unsteady. "I should see if your mom needs help with anything."

That made me smile as I shook my head. "She won't let you lift a finger—but you can try. Come on."

I laced my fingers through hers and led her out of the room, down the stairs—back into the house, back into the world.

But something between us had shifted.

Subtle. Unspoken. Real.

And if I hadn't known it before, I knew it now—without hesitation, without doubt:

I loved this woman with everything in me.

Authors Note:
Not quite the continuation you might have expected from the cliff hanger (sorry not sorry for the hanger lol)
On another note! I did a "Which Forest Grove girl are you?" Quiz on Instagram - please go check it out and comment which one you got! :)
Becks.4life is my Instagram! :)