“Whitley, I’m so happy for you. You deserve your happily ever after more than anyone I know.”

She looked up at me, and tears filled her eyes. “So do you, Courtney.”

I let a small smile play across my mouth as I nodded in agreement. I ignored the familiar sick feeling in my stomach that I’d been feeling for the last couple of days. I’d been waiting to wake up to find this all had been a dream.

“We can talk about the honeymoon later. Court…you and Reed?”

I shook my head and then dropped it back as I let out a long sigh. I pulled my head forward and looked into her eyes. “I love him so much, Whitley, and that scares the shit out of me, but when we’re together…” I slowly smiled bigger. “My God, when we’re together, I feel so…so…”

“Safe? Loved? Peaceful and content?” Whitley asked with a smile.

“Yes! He makes me feel all those things. I never felt that with Mitch or any other guy I dated. Reed’s touch…it does things to me and makes me feel like a horny teenager.”

Whitley giggled and sat back as she nodded her head for me to keep going.

“I feel this connection with him, and a part of me is so scared by it, but the other part of me wants to just take off running with it and never look back.”

Whitley raised her eyebrow and whispered, “Tell me about the first time.”

I smiled and wiggled my eyebrows up and down. “Well, two words—wall sex!” I said as I began bouncing up and down on the bench.

“Oh my God! You finally got your wall sex!” Whitley screamed.

I slapped her across the head. “Jesus, tell the whole damn countryside, why don’t you?”

She gave me a look and asked, “Was it good?”

I closed my eyes and pictured the moment when Reed had called out my name as he came. Opening my eyes, I slowly nodded. “It was beyond good. It was amazing…wonderful…magical.”

I felt myself beginning to choke up as I remembered Reed whispering in my ear how much he loved me and how I felt like heaven. I looked down at my best friend, and her smile made my stomach take a small dip as I thought about Reed’s love for me. I began chewing on my lower lip.

Whitley got up and sat down next to me. She grabbed my hands and turned me, so we were facing each other. “Why do you look worried?”

“I, um…I just don’t want it to end, and I’m scared he will leave me, or something will happen, and I’ll mess this up. Whitley…Reed is the second guy I’ve ever been with, and well—”

She let out a gasp and pulled back. “What? You mean, Mitch was your first?” She shook her head and looked confused. “But…you’ve dated, and…you were a virgin when you began dating Mitch? Courtney…I thought…”

My heart started pounding. Shit! Shit! Shit! How did I let that slip? Son of a bitch.

Just then, I heard Layton and Reed talking and laughing as they rounded the corner. I instantly felt better when Reed looked at me and smiled. I went to stand up, but Whitley pulled me back down.

“Courtney, what’s going on? The look on your face just then scared me.”

I tried to smile. “Maybe we can talk later, okay?”

I quickly stood up and walked toward Layton. He smiled bigger, so I was pretty sure Reed had already filled him in on what happened between us. I walked into Layton’s arms and welcomed him home.

He whispered in my ear, “It’s about damn time. I’ve never seen him this happy before, Court.”

I pulled back and grinned. I stepped back and looked at Reed, who was smiling from ear to ear. I walked up to him, and he pulled me into his arms.

He quickly kissed me before pulling back and saying, “I had to tell him.”

I chortled and said, “I had to tell Whit, too!”

Layton slapped his hands and made his way over to Whitley, who was still looking at me with a puzzled expression. I knew she was confused because I had always talked about having sex with guys I dated. I tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it didn’t work.

“I picked up a bunch of steaks for grilling, if y’all are hungry,” Reed said as he pulled me closer to him.

Being in his arms made every fear and doubt just melt away. I looked at Whitley. She was trying to smile but doing a shitty job of it.

“Oh, hell yeah, I’m starved,” Layton said.

Reed kissed me on top of the head before he began walking out of the barn with Layton.

“You must be starving and tired from the long trip. You want me to make a salad, too?” I said to Whitley as I began to follow Reed and Layton.

“Courtney?”

I stopped and closed my eyes. I can’t do this right now. I slowly turned around and gave her a weak smile. “Whit, give me a couple of days, and we’ll talk, okay?”

The concern flooding her eyes made me feel terrible. I knew she was wondering why I’d never told her about my sex life, or lack thereof, but right now, I just couldn’t tell her, not when I was so happy.

She slowly nodded her head. “Okay.” She smiled and walked up to me. “So, tell me about this whole Reed-running-around-the-cows-naked thing.”

We both began laughing as we walked out of the barn. Reed turned around and looked at me with so much love that it caused my heart to skip a beat. He winked before turning back around, and then he slapped Layton on the back.

I put my arm around Whitley and began telling her about last night with Reed and how he had done all the things I liked.

“I knew it! I knew he would be romantic like Layton!” Whitley said with a giggle.

We made our way into the kitchen where all of us talked about the honeymoon, Reed’s new job with Layton, and how happy we all were.

When I glanced over at Reed, he mouthed, I love you.

There goes my stomach again…and my heart…and the blush on my cheeks. I got up and walked over to him. I leaned against him, and I could feel his hard-on as he pulled me closer to him. I instantly smiled.

“I love you, Courtney,” he whispered.

I reached up on my tippy-toes and kissed him on the lips. “I love you, too, Reed.”

I just wanted to stay in this bubble forever.

But something was telling me that my bubble was going to be popped…and sooner than I wanted.

A couple of months had passed since Layton and Whitley came back from their honeymoon, and tonight, Mimi and Frank were finally throwing them a barbeque. I decided to get a cup of Court’s favorite coffee for her before heading over to her house to pick her up.