Falling into Summer

Chapter 20

Haley

"Is this ok?" he asks in a whisper and I can feel his breath at the back of my neck.

"Mm hum," I sigh loving the feeling of his fingertips tracing lines across my stomach, and the warmth from his body hugging me from behind.

After turning off his alarm this morning, Carter resumed his position beside me in bed. When I asked if he needed to get up, he informed me that he wasn't feeling good enough to go to work, so we stayed in bed a little while longer before I had to head home to get some things done before class. After walking me to the front door and hugging goodbye, he asked me to come back after class, but I insisted I'd have to check in with my mother first and would let him know, which he understood. However, when I got home from class, hours later, my mother wasn't even home yet. When I called her, I learned she had to work late, and after catching up a little over the phone, I headed back over to Carter's. When I got there, his family was home, so I visited with them for a little bit as Carter seemed to be feeling better. After eating dinner, Carter wanted to lay down since he was starting to feel drowsy after taking more medicine, so we went back to his room. As it started to rain outside, we lay together in bed for the next hour, listening to music wrapped in each other's arms, while watching it rain outside as the daylight gave way to the darkness. With the music playing softly in the background, the sound of the rain against the roof, and each other's breathing, it was so relaxing and peaceful that we both drifted in and out of sleep a couple of times. Before I knew it I had to head back to campus for lab, but we both knew I'd be back later tonight.

As Carter continues caressing my stomach and I'm almost asleep, I feel his fingers start to trace a wider area. Slowly, he runs his fingers from my stomach to my hip, and draws invisible lines along my side, making his way around to my back. Continuing, he drags his fingers up the center of my spine, and even though I can only lightly feel it through the fabric of my shirt, it still sends a shiver up my back and gives me goose bumps. Noticing, Carter stops, and scoots closer to my back, closing what's left of the small space between us. "Lift your head," he whispers, and when I do so, I feel his arm slide under my pillow. With this quick movement, our bodies become flush against each other, him in just his boxers and me in my underwear and a t-shirt. With his head resting on the pillow behind mine, I can feel his breaths at the back of my neck. Although I'm expecting his hand to return to my bare stomach, I'm surprised when I feel his palm flatten against my belly button and the warmth of his breath against my shoulder blade. That's when I realize that the fabric of my t-shirt is the only thing keeping his lips from touching the skin of my shoulder... and suddenly I wish it were gone as I'm eager to feel his lips on my skin. Not willing to disturb Carter's journey, I anticipate his next movement. When his hand begins to caress my stomach again, I feel my body relax against his, as I become aware I had tensed for a moment. As Carter continues this silent flirtation, I become so relaxed I'm almost asleep when I feel him suddenly pull back, cold air erasing his warmth.

"What's wrong?" I whisper, still dazed from almost being asleep. When he doesn't answer, I roll onto my back, feeling his shoulder next to mine, and I look over at him in the dark. Awaiting his answer, I notice he's breathing has become heavier. "Are you ok?" I ask, starting to get concerned as I'm becoming more awake.

"What do you think?" he whispers but it sounds snarky.

"Huh?" I question totally confused, and I try to recall if I did something wrong.

Surprising me, Carter reaches down between us and grabs hold of my hand. He guides it over towards what I think is his stomach, but when I feel an obvious bulge, I realize why he suddenly pulled away from me. He releases my hand, and quickly I bring it back to my side of the bed, not sure what to say. "Sorry," he whispers, but I'm not certain what he's apologizing for.