The day I wrote a song about you

Chapter 31: Canvas

My eyes wouldn't open. I was so comfortable, warm and cozy. It also smelled really good. An scent that felt familiar. A mixture of cologne, aftershave and fabric softener.

I made a low sound as I stretched myself when I felt something hard pressed against me. I opened my eyes slowly, finding the torso of Nico beneath me.

"Good morning." Nico chuckled in a sleepy voice.

"Oh my god." I jumped at the realization that I was hugging him. I wasn't even resting an arm around him innocently, I was fully wrapped around him like a koala. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You looked comfortable. I didn't wanna wake you up." He half smiled, raising his arms to stretch up. Just like yesterday, his T-shirt lifted up, showing part of his stomach. I lowered my eyes and quickly gazed up, feeling the warmth spread all over my face.

"How long have you been awake?"

"I don't know." He rubbed his face. "Five minutes? Maybe more."

"What time is it?"

"Are you in a rush?" He asked amused. "Calm down, Cara. You look stressed."

"I'm fine." I tried to relax my shoulders.

"It's still early." He showed me the time in his phone. 9 am. I never slept that much in the mornings, but last night I was so comfortable. I hadn't slept like that in years.

I blamed it on the bed. It was surely pretty expensive.

"Wanna go have breakfast? Maybe go for a walk? It's cold but the sun is out." He said glancing outside the window.

"I think you should save that money." I suggested. If anyone knew about saving and economizing it was me.

"Well, there's nothing to eat in here." He said, as if there weren't other options.

"Let's go grocery shopping, it'll be less expensive." He looked at me weird. "Come on, you guys need to start cooking. Eating out is super expensive. That money you have now could last a little longer if you'd make an effort."

"Okay, mom." He smirked. I rolled my eyes. "I still wanna walk though, I need to move my legs."

"Sure."

"I'll have a call with the manager of the magazine I've been working for these past few months, I think they'll have something for me while I keep on looking." He rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Great. See? We have plans for the future. That's good. Come on, let's move." I stood up from the bed and approached the window, watching the beautiful day ahead of us.

"We?" He asked with a smile. "Okay, bébé. Too much energy for me, let me have a shower first."

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Nico noticed the little things. He was thoughtful. He payed attention to details like that. When I got something on my shirt, he unconsciously took it off. He sometimes pushed my hair gently out of my face, and helped when I was wearing a hoodie and the hood was inside out.

Right now, it was my pendant. He turned it so it faced him and smirked. "You know, you talk in your sleep."

"What did I say?" I asked, honestly terrified. Sometimes I said incoherent things, but I was too embarrassed to have said something I could regret. Last night I fell asleep with a burning sensation down my core and maybe I dreamt something too steamy to have been sharing a bed with a friend.

Nico chuckled, still looking at me. We were in the middle of the fruit and vegetable aisle. People passed us by and we were just there staring at each other. Nico was leaning on the cart when he cocked his head pensively. "You were saying something about a plane ticket. I think you were dreaming you were at the airport." He narrowed his eyes. "Although you were saying something about a really cute and tall guy with dark, curly hair." My eyes widened. "You wanted to go to Paris to see him but you had the wrong ticket. I think you wanted to see me, Cara Belinsky." He said in a teasing tone.