Chapter Eighteen
Sophia
Waking up in Axel's arms was divine. Sophia laid there watching him sleep, but soon enough, her bladder was screaming at her. Shifting in the bed, she tried to extract herself from his arms without disturbing him.
Unfortunately, it didn't work. She felt his arms tighten around him and she squeaked.
“Where do you think you're going?” Axel asked, voice gruff with sleep.
“I'm running away,” she said and rolled her eyes. “To the bathroom. Where do you think? Now let me go. I have to pee. Unless you want to explain why the bed is wet?”
“Nope, nope, nope,” he replied and let go.
Sophia laughed softly before she crawled out of bed and scurried to the bathroom. After taking care of her business, she washed and dried her hands and returned to the bed.
When Axel pulled her into his arms again, she rested her head on his chest.
“You know, this isn't fair.”
“What's not fair?” he inquired.
“I'm laying here completely naked while you're still fully clothed.” She stuck her bottom lip out and pouted.
“Yeah, well someone fell asleep on me last night before I could even remove my shirt,” he countered.
“Sure, sure. Blame the poor, defenseless blissed out woman,” she said with a dramatic sigh.
“Poor and defenseless? Hardly. But I'll give you blissed out. Are you complaining?”
“No, I am not.”
His arms tightened around her and she lifted her head to kiss his jaw.
“What time is it, anyway?”
She lifted her head even further to look at the time. “A little after eight.”
“Too damn early, woman. Check out isn't until eleven,” he grumbled.
“Don't blame me. Blame my bladder,” she responded.
He groaned. “I guess since we're awake we might as well get up. I should feed you before I drop you off at your car.”
“Mm, yeah, you probably should,” she quipped.
He chuckled. “All right, cheeky woman. Get dressed.” He emphasized it with a light swat to her ass that made her squeak.
Sophia dressed quickly, dampened her hair to smooth it a bit, and they went and checked out.
They stopped at a little cafe for some coffee and a breakfast sandwich before he finally took her back to her car.
Standing there against the car with his arms around her, Sophia sighed. “This has been wonderful, but I guess I should get home.”
“Don't sound so forlorn, babygirl. I'll see you at Elysium. And don't forget to ask for next Saturday off.”
“I won't.” She leaned up, pressed a kiss to his jaw, and finally reached for the door handle.
“I'll be right behind you in case of any issues,” he told her.
All the way back to Cornwall, Axel stayed close to her, and only veered away when she turned down the street leading to her father's house.
“Hey, Indi. I know I'm supposed to work next Saturday, but is there any way I can get it off?” Sophia asked the following night at work.
“I could probably move things around. Why do you need it off?” Indi inquired.
“Um, Axel wants to take me out. For my birthday.”
“When's your birthday?”
“Saturday,” she admitted. “I'm surprised you don't know, since it's in my employee record.”
“I don't memorize that stuff, girl,” Indi responded. “Why haven't we had a party for you before now?”
“I don't want to make a big deal of it. Birthdays and holidays weren't really celebrated when I was growing up.”
“Yeah, well, your mother is a raging cuntasaurus rex. We're celebrating you, whether you like it or not. You can have Saturday off, and be prepared for a party on Sunday,” Indi said, the tone of her voice brooking no argument.
Sophia saluted her. “Aye, aye, Captain!”
“Go get ready, smartass. You've got a show to do,” Indi groused, making Sophia laugh.
Despite the fact she only had a little over a week to get it organized, she knew the party Indi threw for her was going to be amazing.