Chapter 14 #3
As turned on and ready for more as I still am, my eyes flutter shut, a feeling of exhaustion creeping up on me. I must have drifted off for a moment, because when I open my eyes, he’s sitting on the bed beside me with a cup of cold water.
“Hydrate,” he murmurs.
Sitting up slowly, I accept the water, chugging nearly the entire glass.
“Didn’t realize how thirsty I was,” I say softly.
He sets the glass on my nightstand and disappears into the bathroom, returning with a small towel to clean me with. My heart flutters as I feel the warmth on the tender skin between my legs.
“Can I get you anything else?” he asks, his boxers hung low on his hips. “You want a snack?”
“We don’t really have anything here.”
“No worries,” he replies easily, searching through his bag. “I bought you a few things at the airport.”
“Are you serious?”
Once he lays out several options of snacks and candy on the bed beside me, my mouth drops.
They’re all my favorites. What a thoughtful gesture.
A part of me can’t help but swoon. Maybe it was the great sex we just had, or maybe it’s the fact he makes me happy.
Whatever it is, I can’t ignore the butterflies.
“You’re so sweet.”
“This is the bare minimum,” he states.
I smile. “I’ll take the sour gummy worms.”
He hands them to me before pulling down the sheets. I snuggle into them and he climbs into bed beside me, staring into my eyes with admiration.
“Thank you for trusting me,” he tells me.
“Of course,” I reply happily, offering him a piece of candy.
With a crooked grin, he accepts, opening his mouth. With a playful giggle, I drop it in.
He snakes his arm around me and lightly grazes his fingertips across my arm and shoulder. “I don’t want to intrude,” he murmurs. “If you’d rather I head out now, I can do that.”
“No way. You just got off a six hour flight.”
“If anything I could crash on the couch to give you some space,” he offers, accepting another piece of candy from me. “I know your room is your oasis.”
“That’s sweet of you to offer, but I really don’t mind sharing my bed. I want to.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure. I don’t want you to leave,” I confess, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep beside him. “I love our video calls, but waking up to you in real life sounds nice for a change.”
He grins in return. “I'll stay, then.”
We sit in a comfortable silence together while sharing the gummy worms, content as ever. Nothing ever feels awkward with him.
After I set the empty bag of candy on my nightstand, I meet his eyes.
“You said you’re a big cuddler,” I point out.
“I am.”
“Prove it.”
He brings me closer by wrapping his thick arms around me lightly, his firm chest warm against my back. After all these years, I expected that seeing him in person might feel a bit awkward, but I was so wrong. With him comes comfort, safety, friendship, and obviously a little more than that.
“This feels nice,” I say quietly, pulling his arms around me tighter.
He pushes himself closer, intertwining his fingers with mine. “Whatever you want from me, it’s yours,” he whispers.
“I’ve missed the feeling of being in someone’s arms.”
“Nights get lonely for sure, but being on calls with you makes it easier.”
“Nothing beats this, though.”
“True.” Nuzzling his nose into my hair, he breathes me in. “When I first met you in college, I thought you were the most beautiful person I’d ever seen.”
“I never would’ve guessed that. You were always so quiet.”
“Well, we were friends, and I didn’t want to be one of those guys who switch up and make you feel weird,” he explains. “Plus, I thought you and Kaelum might’ve had something going on.”
“We were definitely flirty,” I agree. “But we never talked about catching feelings or anything. You two are best friends…didn’t you ever ask him?”
“Yeah. He felt the same way I did.”
“Then we all graduated, and I moved,” I murmur, sleep starting to take over me.
“And you started dating someone, so I wanted to be respectful to your relationship. I knew I had lost my chance to explore something with you after that.”
“Look at us now, after all this time, exploring,” I lightly joke.
“I’ve always known you were one of a kind, Nora, but I didnt want to fuck up our friendship, so I never gave it much thought. You know?”
“I get it,” I say, understanding him completely because I’ve always felt the same way. Occasionally, I’d wondered if there was something there, but I was too scared to ever explore it.
“You make me feel things I’ve never felt before. It’s wild,” he whispers.
With a sheepish grin, I nuzzle the back of my head in the crook of his neck. “You make me smile and laugh.”
“I’m glad, love. You do the same to me.”
“You make me feel like I can do anything,” I explain.
“You’re sweet. That’s all you, though. You’ve been doing the work. You should be proud of yourself.”
“Yeah?”
“Absolutely.”
“Thanks, Luce. It’s really nice to hear that.”
He brings me closer. “I’m glad I came. I love the way you feel in my arms.”
“Mm.” I smile. “Can I wake you up in the middle of the night?”
“Please do.”
“I don’t want you to go easy on me,” I press. “Treat me like I’m yours to toy with and use.”
“Yeah?” he questions, carefully. “You going to act like a good little sub for me?”
“Yes.”
“Mmm. Get some rest, love.”