Running Out of Time

Chapter Ten

Later, we climbed out of the pool and wound our way back to the heart of the gardens, where we sat on the benches and talked about everything and nothing. Lia began getting a little drowsy, and we began walking back up the school. Once I found a place with reasonable cover from cameras or anything else, I grabbed fistfuls of Lia's shirt and covered her mouth with mine. She grabbed at me eagerly, pulling me tightly at the waist, telling me, this is real for me too. It's not just you.

When we finally separated, Lia took me by the hand and marched me up to the third floor, where she unlocked her dorm room and let me in. I looked around curiously. She had no roommate. I wanted to commit the whole place to memory—this was the special place where Lia lived, the special bed, the special walls, the special desk (which I didn't have, unfair), the special sheets.

She pushed me with her hands onto the bed, and I fell back onto the mattress. I stared up at her in wonder, watching as she gently sat down on the bed next to me. I followed her every movement with soft eyes. Her fingers traced my face, the curve of my jawline, before trailing down my neck. They stopped at the dip of my sweater, and I looked up at her. She looked almost scared, and I wanted to laugh.

I sat up and gently took my sweater off, looking up at her to tell her that she had me, that she could do whatever she wanted to me, that I wouldn't even complain, that I would take it because she gave it to me, and I'd like anything she wanted to do to me.

Lia's eyes were wide as she stared at all the new skin I exposed. She looked to me hesitantly for permission, and I returned the look with barely hidden amusement. She huffed and leaned over to cover her mouth with mine. I let my hands tangle into her damp hair, holding her tightly to me.

I tugged at the hem of her sweater, and she yanked it off quickly before pushing me onto my back on the bed.

After, we collapsed onto the bed, spent. I closed my eyes briefly, but when I opened them again, the sun was beginning to rise.

"Shit." I scrambled out of bed, clamoring to get my clothes back on. Lia blinked blearily next to me, her hand clutching at empty sheets with disappointment.

"Where are you going?" She asked, her voice still thick with sleep.

I gestured out at the sky, and when she looked at it, she sighed bitterly and lay back down.

"I'll see you tomorrow night?" She whispered just as I was about to leave. I looked back at her, savoring the image of her splayed out of bed, still hovering between the world of fantasy and reality.

"Tomorrow night." I promised softly, and then shut the door with a click.

I pressed my back against her door. Then, I grinned breathlessly, and dashed back down to my dorm.

Luckily, I was still early enough that I made it without being seen.

Days passed in a more relaxed manner, and every night, we snuck out and lived underneath the moonlight, and we always rounded out the night at her dorm. After the first night, I was careful not to fall asleep afterwards and always headed back to my dorm to sleep. I liked waking up in her arms the first morning after, but it was a risk we couldn't take.

In duet rehearsals, she seemed more alive than ever, and Lucille commented on it once with a surveying and suspicious glance towards me. I merely smiled with a 'what do I know' shrug and continued.

We grew more and more reckless as time went on, sometimes even venturing to kiss in empty hallways and stay the night. Aubrey gave me a suspicious glance and asked about Lia once, which I brushed off with an air of carefreeness. However, it shocked me enough to stop staying the night, despite Lia's bleary protests.