We’d Never Leave

By the time the two of you finally settle back into the bedroom together, the beach house feels calmer than it has all day.

Night has started settling in outside the balcony windows while warm amber light from the bedside lamps fills the room softly. The ocean beyond the glass has turned dark now, waves crashing steadily somewhere below while quiet music hums faintly from the speaker near the dresser.

Jane sits cross-legged near the middle of the bed wearing your oversized hoodie again, one towel draped loosely around her shoulders while she slowly brushes through her damp hair. Every few seconds she winces dramatically whenever the brush catches another knot.

“Ow,” Jane complains quietly while pulling the brush through her hair again.

“You say that every single time,” you laugh softly while pulling on a clean shirt.

“Because my hair is actively fighting me,” she says seriously.

“That sounds unlikely,” you reply.

“You don’t understand my struggles,” Jane says dramatically.

You shake your head while climbing onto the bed beside her. Almost immediately she shifts closer without even thinking about it, one knee bumping lightly against your thigh beneath the blankets while she continues brushing her hair.

The oversized hoodie hangs loosely off her frame while damp strands of hair rest against her shoulders, and combined with the warm lighting and quiet music drifting through the room, the entire evening feels softer now than it did earlier.

“You know,” Jane says while glancing around the room, “if we lived somewhere like this, I genuinely don’t think I’d ever leave.”

You laugh softly. “You’d absolutely still leave,” you reply.

“No,” she says immediately. “I’d become one with the couch.”

“You already almost did earlier,” you tease.

“That’s because the couch here respects me,” Jane replies confidently.

Outside, ocean air drifts through the cracked balcony doors while waves continue rolling steadily onto the shore below.

Then eventually Jane leans sideways until her head settles comfortably against your shoulder.

“Okay but seriously,” she says more softly now. “Imagine having a place near the beach someday.”

Your fingers drift absentmindedly along her arm beneath the oversized sleeve of the hoodie.

“That’d be nice,” you admit quietly.

“We’d never leave,” Jane murmurs dreamily.

“We’d go broke immediately,” you laugh.

“That’s future us problem,” she replies.

You smile while she cuddles closer against your side beneath the blankets.

Then after another second, her eyes drift around the room thoughtfully again.

“If we ever live together,” Jane says, “I’m getting a giant couch.”

You immediately laugh. “You already steal all the space on normal couches,” you reply.

“And I’ll steal space on the giant one too,” she says proudly.

“That sounds inconvenient for me.”

“You’ll survive,” Jane replies casually.

“Debatable,” you tease.

She snorts softly before pulling the sleeves of your hoodie farther over her hands.

“And we’re getting plants,” she adds confidently.

“That’s dangerous,” you reply immediately.

Her head lifts slightly. “Why?”

“You kill every plant you touch,” you laugh.

“That is completely false,” Jane argues.

“You murdered a cactus.”

“It had emotional problems,” she says defensively.

“It was a cactus,” you reply.

“You weren’t there,” she says seriously.

You laugh harder while she lightly hits your chest.

“Okay fine,” Jane admits dramatically. “Maybe YOU can take care of the plants.”

“That sounds safer,” you tease.

“Mhm,” she says proudly. “And I’ll handle interior decorating.”

“That sounds significantly less safe.”

“Oh my god,” Jane laughs softly. “You’re rude.”

“You’d make everything beige,” you reply.

“Beige is calming,” she argues.

“Beige is depressing.”

“Wrong,” she says confidently. “I have vision.”

You grin while brushing damp hair gently back behind her ear.

“What else is in this imaginary apartment?” you ask softly.

Her expression brightens immediately.

“Ooh okay,” Jane says while sitting up slightly now. “Big couch. Plants you’re responsible for. String lights somewhere.”

“That tracks,” you laugh.

“A record player,” she continues.

“You don’t even own records,” you point out.

“That’s future me problem,” she replies immediately.

You shake your head while she keeps getting progressively more invested in the fake apartment.

“And,” Jane says proudly, “we’re absolutely getting a dog.”

“A dog?” you ask.

“Mhm.”

“You realize YOU are the reason we’d need the giant couch then,” you tease.

“That’s fine,” she replies casually. “The dog can sleep on you.”

“Interesting how none of this inconveniences you.”

She grins smugly. “That’s because I’m built different.”

Warm light spills softly across the blankets around both of you while the conversation drifts lazily between teasing and half-serious future planning. Nothing about it feels heavy or overwhelming. The entire conversation feels easy in the kind of way that only happens when being together already feels natural.

Eventually Jane yawns quietly before collapsing sideways against you again.

“Okay,” she murmurs sleepily. “I’m officially starving now.”

“Same,” you reply.

She immediately reaches for her phone.

“What are we feeling?” Jane asks while opening a food delivery app. “Pizza again? Tacos? Something unhealthy and spiritually healing?”

“That last category feels dangerously broad,” you laugh.

“It’s an art form,” she replies confidently.

You lean closer while she scrolls through restaurants beside you, her shoulder pressed warmly against yours beneath the blankets.

Outside, the sky has darkened almost completely now while warm light and soft music continue filling the room around both of you.

Then finally, after changing her mind three separate times, Jane points triumphantly at her phone.

“This one,” she announces proudly.

You glance down at the screen while she smiles smugly beside you.

“Good choice,” you admit.

“I know,” Jane says confidently. “I’m incredibly talented.”

A few minutes later, the food is finally ordered, leaving both of you curled comfortably together on the bed while waiting for it to arrive.

And honestly?

After everything from today, nowhere else in the world sounds better than staying right here with her tonight.

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You spent the evening relaxing and talking with Jane:

Relationship Status: +1%

The quiet domestic energy between you and Jane makes the relationship feel more emotionally comfortable and naturally long-term than ever before.

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