His lips were soft at first, before a roughness took over and he pressed his body to mine. My hands instantly go to his hair as he cups my cheek with his hand as the other turns into a fist next to my head.
A sigh leaves his mouth, like this is som...
"She had not known the weight until she felt the freedom." -The Scarlet Letter
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Despite the commotion that had just occurred, Preece was pretty calm for a guy who just beat someone up. I had seated him on the toilet- with the lid down- and wet a cloth.
He had a deep cut on his lip and a bruised eye. His hand was busted up and I'm pretty sure his ribs had some pretty bad bruising on it. I gotta hand it to Daniel, for the smaller guy, he managed to get some pretty good hits in.
It was stupid. The whole thing was absolutely ridiculous. I could sense the tension and that's why I wanted Preece to leave.
I lift his chin up, making him look at me. I applied rubbing alcohol to his lip, causing him to hiss in pain and grab my hand.
"No, you deserve this small amount of pain for starting a fight." I say, getting slightly distracted when he starts rubbing his thumb over my knuckles. "Think of this as revenge for making me miss ten seconds of the football game."
I changed my position, trying to get comfortable but Preece's legs were open and his knee was digging into my thigh. Preece obviously notices because he moves his thigh next to my own, trapping me in between his legs. Woah.
I feel his hard thighs pressed against my own and I take a minute to appreciate his workout routine. I end up wondering what it would feel like to run my hands over his abs- no. I won't think about that. I have just gotten over this intense need to see the guy naked and I will not allow myself to be pulled back under.
I rub the cloth over his plump lip again, his eyes bore into mine. He had hauntingly green eyes. Full of wonder and despair. I felt an urgent need to know his history, to know everything behind those eyes, every emotion and craving and need and desire. They were like the forest, easy to get lost in.
His mouth parted slightly, his face relaxing under my soft touch under his chin.
I wanted to say something to break the tension but no words came out. I just stared. He stared back. My thumb unconsciously stroked his skin and his body shivered slightly.
There's a knock on the bathroom door.
"Is everything okay in there?" Prima's voice penetrated through us, causing me to take a few steps back but Preece's hand was still on mine. He doesn't let go. Instead, he pulls me closer and whispers, "Finish."
"Hello? Did you kill each other?"
"Everything's fine, Prima. I'm just cleaning him up." I manage to speak, even if my voice comes out hoarse.
"Okay. Daniel's left so it's clear to come out." She says, her voice fading as she walks away.
I don't reply. I finish cleaning his cut, dabbing a couple of times before soaking the cloth in water. I wasn't touching him anymore but my fingertips tingle and every cell in my body was on fire. They were reaching out for him like he was a drug and I was slowly becoming addicted.
I didn't want to feel this... attraction. Preece is a dick. A huge asshole. But he has a nice face. And I can't deny that I'm sexually attracted to him.
"Alana-"
"You're all cleaned up, Prick. I think it's time you go home." I say, not turning around to face him.
I didn't want him to see the pure vulnerability in my eyes.
There's a beat of silence before Preece speaks up.
"Don't you wanna know why I hit him?" I did.
"Not really." I gathered the courage to turn around to face him. Preece was now standing up and a lot closer to me.
"You do want to know, don't you?" He chuckles quietly, taking another step towards me.
"I don't." I do. I really do.
"Okay. I won't tell you."
Just as I'm about to open my mouth, another knock thunders through the room.
"Seriously guys, have you killed each other in there?" Prima's worried tone shrills into the room, forcing me and Preece apart.
"No, we're done." I say, pushing past Preece and unlocking the door to the bathroom.
"Why'd you lock the door?" Preece asks, trailing behind me.
"Are you seriously asking me that?" I refuse to turn around and look at his stupid face.
"Yeah. I just did, didn't I?"
Now I turn to face him, putting my hands on my hips and glaring at him. A small smirk plays on Preece's face.
"Because I didn't want Daniel to come in and finish what you started." I state, rolling my eyes in annoyance.
"But I'd have you to protect me." Preece pouts, a weird glint in his eyes.
"I'd never kick someone's ass for your benefit, Prick. I'm not that nice."
Prima waves her hand in my face, catching my attention.
"Um... who are you? The Leona I know isn't this sarcastic." She crosses her arms over her chest and raises her eyebrows, looking from me to Preece and back again.
"I bring that side out of her." Preece says, smugly.
Prima scoffs at Preece and retreats to her room, slamming the door behind her. Then it's me and him alone, once again. He looks at me and I look away, not allowing the small feeling in my belly to settle.
"You should go home, it's getting late." I say, walking into the living room and sitting on the sofa. My eyes flicker to Preece's textbook and I chuckle before picking it up, inspecting it lazily.
"You have a weird connection to this book." I say, holding it to him. He steps forward and takes it from my hands, cradling it close to his body.
A small laugh escapes from my mouth and I cover it with a cough, folding my arms over my chest.
"Books are great. You can't go wrong with a book." His words make me reminisce on when I used to read. My dad would buy me books, and I would read till the crack of dawn, being captivated by the simpleness of words on paper.
"Yeah, books are pretty great." I repeat, walking to my door. I open it for him. Turning around, I see Preece look at the ground before he lifts his head up and stalks towards me.
"You read?" He asks, as he slips out of the door, turning to face me.
"I used to. Goodbye, Prick." Just as I'm about to close the door, I hear him tut and say, "Damn, still with that nickname? I thought we bonded."
Stifling the laugh that crawled up my throat, I closed the door in his face and turned around, walking away.
