Free Calm Like Home by Kaisa Clark Page A

tighter around me and I shift into him so my head is resting on his chest. Smiling eyes look down at me and he brushes my forehead with his lips before nuzzling closer to me. Our breathing begins to steady and I find myself drifting towards sleep, ensconced in Adam’s arms and feeling more content than ever.
     
    When my eyes blink open the sun is peaking over the horizon, sending the first rays of sunlight cascading into Annabelle’s living room. Adam still has me clutched against his chest and I can’t help but notice how peaceful he looks. His face has an expression of perfect calm, his dark lashes splayed out beneath his eyelids, his thick hair slightly rumpled.
    “Hey,” I whisper and kiss his cheek tenderly.
    “Mmmm,” he murmurs, nuzzling his lips against my temple.
    “It’s almost morning, Adam. We should go.”
    He mumbles into my ear, “Can I come with you? I don’t want to go back to my empty house.”
    I can’t decide whether he’s telling the truth or using this as an excuse to come over, but don’t really care either way. The entire drive back to my apartment I steal glances in the rearview mirror, thrilled at the knowledge Adam is coming home with me. He parks beside me and sleepily drapes an arm around my waist as we traipse up the steps to my door. I can’t help but notice how natural it feels to be this close, our two bodies fitted together, like this is the way we were always supposed to be.
     
    When I wake a few hours later, the first thing I see is Adam’s face propped on his outstretched arm, watching me. His lips rearrange into a slight smile. “Hey, blue eyes.”
    Rolling onto my side, I mimic his pose. My eyes rove over him, relishing the sight of him wrapped in my bed sheets, of my pillow beneath his skin. When I think where we were a week ago, how excited I was by the surprise of seeing him at the pool, I’m astounded. It feels like for once in my life, I completely skipped the middle, slingshotting from just friends to so much more.
    “Hey,” I reply softly.
    Every ounce of elation I feel seeps into the delivery of that one simple word.
    “I noticed something while you were sleeping.”
    “What’s that?”
    “Well you’re gorgeous,” he chuckles. “So maybe two things.”
    He extends a hand to where my tank top has moved askew and lightly fingers a flat, brown mole on the center of my chest, a speck of darkened pigment right above my heart. He’s grinning now, a full-blown smile, his fingertips still grazing the spot on my chest, and that’s when I notice he has one in the exact same place. With how he’s laying in front me, they line up perfectly. I reach out, brushing my fingers over the small fleck nestled between his pecs.
    “Huh,” I whisper, surprised by the odd congruence. I know it’s coincidence. It means nothing really. And yet it makes perfect sense that he would be marked for me. It makes perfect sense that our bodies were formed with one another in mind. His personality completely aligns with mine, why wouldn’t his body be the same?
    “Huh,” he repeats, still grinning that wide, satisfied smile.
    He closes the distance between us excruciatingly slowly, his lips finally finding mine. I let out a contented sigh and press my body closer to his, our matching moles aligning between us. His arms circle around me, folding me into his body. I feel so snug clutched in his arms, so safe, so sure.
    In one smooth motion he rolls over me, bracing himself above me with his arms. I snake my hands up, winding my fingers into his hair. I’m reminded of the comment I made to Annabelle that first day he came back. Little did I know how amazing it would actually feel, how much more it would be than just pulling hair when it finally happened.
    Despite him being spread out over every inch of me, I feel the ferocious need to be closer, to be as close to him as humanly possible. His hands glide over my body, removing the last remains of clothing until there’s nothing