•Cassidy

It has been just over a week since the surgery, and I am finally feeling much better and almost fully recovered. My cheeks no longer resembled a chipmunk that was storing acorns in its mouth, and my jaw no longer hurt when I pried it open to speak or eat.

Calum told me all about the funny things I had said. I remember my face flushing a bright shade of pink and feeling utterly embarrassed by the way I acted. He also kept repeating the question of whether or not I remembered anything right after the teeth extraction, but I honestly couldn't remember any of it. It was all a complete blur.

Michael and Bree had come over today, one of the many visitors who had sneaked inside with a bowl of sherbet for me. Calum was sitting in the living room with them, and I could hear their chatter but couldn't decipher any of the words they spoke.

After I finished climbing out of bed and changing out of my pajamas, I stepped out into the living room to join them. Their heads all snapped to me, the conversation they were in the midst of quickly coming to a halt.

Michael coughed, as if he was covering up something, before plastering a sincere smile on his face. "Hey, how's the road head girl feeling?"

"Shut up," I whined, pushing him gently. He laughed, scooting over on the couch so I had room to sit down. "I told Cal not to tell anyone about that."

"Come on, it was hilarious," Bree interjected, smiling at me.

I grinned back at her. I knew the whole thing was funny and I truly wish he could have recorded me in this state so I could watch it over and over again. "I know."

Calum beamed at me from across the room as he sat on the sofa, taking another sip of the soda can he was drinking.

Michael's eyes flickered between the two of us, a smug smile etched across his features. He clapped his hands together loudly. "Well, we better get going."

I furred my eyebrows together in confusion, feeling suddenly disappointed. "What? But you just got here!"

Bree shrugged innocently. "Sorry, we'll stop by again tomorrow. We have lunch reservations. Just, um, enjoy some alone time with your boyfriend."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Bree, we live together."

"See you later!" Michael called, grasping onto Bree's hand and tugging her out of the house before I even had time to protest.

It seemed like such a waste of time for them to drive out here if they had no intention of staying to hang out with us. I huffed, turning my attention to Calum who was staring at the floor, inspecting every detail of it.

"What was that all about?" I asked, referring to Michael's sudden exit.

He merely shrugged.

I sighed, getting up from the couch to join him on the other one. I sat down on his lap, wrapping my arms around his body. Calum pulled the two of us down so we were both laying on the couch, my head resting on his chest with our legs tangled together in an intricate pattern.

"At least I still have you to hangout with," I teased, giggling softly as my finger extended out to trace heart shaped designs on his stomach.

His arm clutched me tighter to him, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "I'm glad you're feeling better now, baby."

"Me too," I agreed, nestling my head further against his chest to snuggle up against his warm body. I always felt better when I was cuddling with him. It made me feel safe and secure, as if Calum was my home.

His palm trailed against my back, rubbing small circles continuously. I glimpsed up at him through my lashes, viewing that his eyes were closed and that his lips were curved upwards into a small smile. He looked adorable and peaceful and happy and I wanted to kiss him and hug him and tell him how much he meant to me.

"You're really cute," I blurted out, making his eyelids flutter open as an amused smile spread on his gorgeous face. I giggled softly. "Thank you for taking care of me this week."

"Anything for my girl," He stated proudly, making my chest bubble with happiness just from hearing him call me my favorite term of endearment.

"What do you want to do today?" I asked him, changing the subject before my cheeks would rise with heat from blushing so hard. God, he made me so giddy.

Calum's brown eyes that I adored gazing into widened again. He sat up instantly, making my body fall upwards as well. He licked his lips, swallowing a big gulp. "Uh, actually I need to talk to you."

Crap.

I tried to remain calm and not to start worrying. It could just be something minuscule. "Um, okay. What is it?"

He hesitantly rose to his feet, leaving me sitting on the sofa alone. Calum paced back and forth, his hand running through his own hair and tugging on the ends of it. "I don't want to freak you out-"

"It's alright. Just tell me," I assured him, reaching out to grab his hand and give it a tight squeeze to convey that I would always be here to listen to him.

Calum sat down in front of me, his eyes locking on my own. "Cassidy?"

"Yeah?"

He cleared his throat again, pausing for a moment. "I love you."

"You do?" I repeated, instantly cursing my self for reacting with so much shock.

Sure Calum and I have told each other we loved each other before, but this time it was the real thing, not just friendship love. This time it made my heart pound against my chest to the beat of a drum.

I never expected the words to come out of his mouth. He was always so against the idea of falling in love. I thought I was going to be the one who would say it first, especially since I have been feeling myself have similar thoughts to the fact that I did love him. He made me the happiest girl on the planet, and I wanted nothing more than to reciprocate that feeling with him.

Calum nodded. "Yeah, I do. I love how you are so funny without even knowing it. I love how I can speak to you about everything and you won't judge me. I love how you always support me. I love how you kissed my fingers to make me feel better even when you were drugged. I love how you make me so happy. I love how you wake up with a smile on your face. I love how you're my best friend. I love how I am finally learning what it's like to care so deeply about another person. And that person is you."

I felt like I was about to melt right then and there. His words filled with so much passion made me weak at knees. It was such a wonderful feeling.

"Oh my God," I whispered, before lunging forward and wrapping my arms around his neck. "I love you too, Calum. I mean it. I love everything about you."

"I never thought I'd hear you say that to me ever again," Calum joked, laughing to himself as I tilted my head back to collide our lips together for one of the most passionate kisses we have ever shared.

It felt like everything was moving in slow motion. This all felt so right. Falling in love with Calum was so magnificent. I couldn't imagine having this feeling with anyone else. We were destined to be together and it was so overwhelming to be able to feel how much he loved me and how much I loved him through our kisses.

I pulled away, a permanent grin on my face. "You know how we should celebrate?" I suggested, cupping my hands around his chubby cheeks and running my thumb along his sharp cheekbone. I leaned forward to press a kiss onto his lips. "By making love."

Calum's bubbly mood diminished instantly. He stared at me, his eyes scanning across my face to read every expression I was giving off. "What?" He repeated for clarification, his thick brows knitting together. "Are you sure? Cass, I- I didn't say this just to get you to sleep with me. That's not all I want. I genuinely love you."

"And I love you. So let's go and prove it to each other," I nearly purred, since my body's reaction to being in love must have somehow turned the dial on the horny scale to the maximum.

Calum stood up abruptly, shaking his head back and forth. "I don't need to prove it to you by having sex. That doesn't matter to me anymore. I just told you I love you. And I do. I don't want you to think I'm just saying that for one reason!"

My face fell, as embarrassment for being so eager sunk in. I broke eye contact, shifting my gaze to my fingernails that were coated in a layer of chipped polish. "Oh."

Calum sighed, bending down on his knees to be at the same height as me. "Baby," He whined, lacing my hand together with his. "I just don't want to mess things up again."

"I get it," I mumbled, still not bearing to glance up at him.

"It's not that I don't want to, okay?" Calum reassured me quickly, as if he was reading my secret thoughts. "I just don't want you to regret it again."

"That's sweet, Calum. But I've moved on from what happened between us. You don't have to treat me like a child," I stated with a small huff. My stubborn side was slowly breaking through.

He tilted his head in a puppy-like manner. "I just don't want to ever lose you again, Cass."

"You won't," I promised him, coming closer to him and placing my hands on his large biceps. "Wanna know why?"

My lips trailed up his neck, planting kisses along the way as I approached his ear. "Because I love you," I whispered in a seductive tone, making goosebumps appear on the surface of his skin.

Calum's arms rapidly pulled me into his body. "Screw it," He grumbled, lifting me up and carrying us towards the bedroom. He kicked the door closed with his foot as he gently dropped me onto the soft mattress. His body towered over mine as he yanked his shirt over his head, throwing it to the floor without a care in the world as to where it landed.

Our lips connected again, as Calum's body was in between my legs as he propped himself up with one hand pressed into the mattress. I slid my own hands up his bare back, feeling every inch of his toned muscles.

His large palms travelled underneath my shirt, tugging it upwards. We stopped kissing, both of us panting and out of breath, so he could peel the shirt off of me. Calum's brown eyes stared at my chest in awe, practically drooling. I reached behind my back to unclasp my bra, flinging it across the room, and guiding his hands to my breasts.

"You're so beautiful," Calum gushed, his thumbs moving in small circular motions as he massaged them, making sure to touch every single curve of them to make sure he knew every detail covering my body.

My eyes were closed due to how good it felt, but I still reached for the button of the skin tight jeans always smothering his muscular legs. It was as if this was all second nature to me, and this time I wasn't even nervous. Everything felt right.

I finally managed to get him out of his pants, laughing slightly at how much of a struggle that was, leaving him in only his patterned boxers. Calum kissed down the valley of my breasts, all the way to my lower stomach, and stopped at the hemline of my underwear. "You sure?" He questioned in a concerned tone.

"I'm sure," I reassured him. I wasn't sure where this new bolt of confidence came from today, but maybe it was because I finally realized how much I trusted him.

His thumbs hooked underneath my underwear, gliding them down my legs slowly, making me feel slightly vulnerable and completely exposed. Thank God I remembered to shave.

Calum's finger ran across my slit one time, causing a shiver to race through my body. He rapidly leaned over my body to kiss me again, before finally leaning backwards and taking off his boxers. He was already hard just from viewing me, which had to be a twisted compliment in itself.

"Wait," Calum said suddenly, stopping himself before he got any closer to me. His nude body wiggled over towards the nightstand and he opened up the drawer, reaching inside to grasp a shiny package.

I used this as an opportunity to grab his butt, feeling it without any clothes covering it for the first time. It was very firm. And the pinching of it made him chuckle loudly as he rolled the condom on.

Calum lined himself up at my entrance, a genuine smile laying on his face when he made eye contact with me. I mirrored his expression. This time I wasn't wincing or anxiety-ridden. This time I knew would be different since it was both of our first time ever having sex with a person we are head over heels in love with.

"I love you," Calum spoke as he gently pushed into me. I wrapped my legs around his waist to react to the shift in pressure. He moaned instantly. "Baby, that feels so good."

"Yes it does," I agreed, then giggled at the fact that I was talking like it was a normal conversation while in the midst of doing the dirty.

"I love you, I love you, I love you," Calum repeated over and over again, in sync with every thrust he made.

I closed my eyes, enjoying the pleasure I had got from not only the physical act, but the emotional aspect of this whole thing too. This was a new chapter in our relationship and I couldn't be more thrilled to see what this new life of fully trusting each other and overcoming the dark past would entail.

After we had both reached our climax, Calum collapsed on top of me, his naked and sweaty body clinging on top of mine. We were both exhaling heavily and I enveloped him in my arms to hold him even closer to me.

Calum lifted his head off of my breasts that he was currently using as a pillow to laugh at the exhausted state we were both residing in. He kissed me softly on the lips before rolling onto the spot next to me.

"Guess what?" Calum spoke after several minutes of silence, the two of us both staring at the ceiling at reliving the recent events.

"What?"

"We just did the deed."

I immediately burst into a fit of hysterical laughter at how much of a dork he was. Calum joined in on the laughing, but I think he was being completely serious, and only laughing because it was contagious when we were together.

He scooted closer to me, his pointer finger running up my stomach. "But guess what's even more exciting?"

"What?" I asked again, with much more amusement this time, as I turned my head to get a complete glimpse at his beautiful face.

Calum grinned at me. "I'm in love with you, baby girl."

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author's note: so that just happened

sorry to you youngins i didn't go too in detail but i still hope i didnt scar anyone lmao but for all u horny fangirls out there i hope u finally enjoyed some good ol smut

thank you guys soo much for reading there is still so much to come in this story even tho cass pretty much just had her epiphany there will still be more to come i promise and im so happy that you guys are always supporting every chapter & eager to read more its so amazin i love you all

if u follow me on twitter (@calumfridge) u prolly know that i was on a bit of a calum strike recently (its a long story hahah) but i think i am off of it now thanks to this chapter so woo peace has been restored

thanks again i really hope you all have a gr8 day bc i love you all so much and cant thank you enough for taking time out of your day to read this

dedicated to fluffychastxn for saying that my updates are amazing and make her day and are so well written and that just means the world to me thank you for being so sweet it makes my day