Years in the Making

Chapter 11

One more chapter! Thanks for your patience!

Becky might not have had the largest bed imaginable, but she knew it was big enough to fit two people comfortably, even if they weren't touching. And yet somehow, even under her bundle of blankets, she still managed to end up sprawled beside Seth. She had started out on the other side of the mattress, as far away from him as she could be while still being polite, and had her back to him, which meant she had stared at the numbers on her bedside clock for quite a while. Now, though, she was hugging his arm like a teddy bear and had her head on his shoulder—and she had managed to wake up just a fraction of a second before he did.

"Hey." His voice was as crumpled as the blankets around Becky's legs, but Seth still managed to reach over with his free hand and push some hair out of Becky's face. "Want to switch pillows?"

Becky tried to raise herself up on her elbow so she could scoot back, but her arm had been pinned beneath her for too long and the pins-and-needles feeling was buzzing from her fingers to her shoulder. "Shit. I'm sorry." She struggled to untangle her arm from Seth's, but he certainly wasn't helping. "I didn't mean to—"

"Becky. It's okay. I don't mind." Seth grabbed her wrist to stop her from pulling away, and that was how she noticed that she wasn't the only one who had gravitated towards the centre of the bed. Seth hadn't moved over as much as she did, but he was definitely closer to the middle than he had been last night. "Just... come back here, okay? You were warm and comfortable...."

TOO comfortable, Becky thought, trying to turn onto her other side. I should have stayed on the couch. "You don't need me stealing all your warmth," she mumbled. "I'll go back out to the living room—"

When the mattress shifted beneath her, Becky's first thought was that Seth was getting out of the bed, leaving her to the warmth and the blankets while he would suffer on the sofa. But then the mattress moved again and she felt a whisper of breath across the back of her neck. "If you leave, I'm going too," Seth replied.

His voice was eerily close to her ear, and Becky tilted her head just enough to see Seth stretched out behind her, not close enough to be spooning but definitely within touching distance. "Seth." Her voice nearly cracked on his name. "I don't think this is a good idea...."

Another squeak, another ripple of movement, and Seth was a bit closer, his arm loosely looped over her hips, his hand resting innocently on the bed. "If I asked you to kiss me again," he said softly, resting his forehead against her shoulder, "would you?"

As much as she wanted to run from the room, Becky was grateful she was already on the bed. If she had been standing when Seth asked that, her knees probably would have turned to jelly and dumped her to the floor. "Seth...." Even saying his name felt like a risk.

Seth curled a hand around her shoulder and gently tugged until she was on her back. "Ask me. Please."

Becky scrambled to get back on her side. Even if she was facing him, it was better than being on her back with him so close. It was hard enough to meet his gaze. "Seth, I don't know what you—"

"Ask me," Seth repeated, voice as soft as his fingers sliding up her neck, "please."

What is he DOING? Becky didn't think Seth would purposefully flirt with her only to reject her again, but no other scenario made sense either. "I—I think we both need some sleep. And some space. I'll take some of the extra blankets and—"

When Becky started to move, trying to find a graceful way to turn back to her side of the bed without being on her back again, Seth moved too—but quicker, smoother, and with more purpose. One second Becky was on her side, the next Seth was on his back and pulling her on top of him. "Kiss me again," Seth said, pinning her in place with both his gaze and his hands, her fingers curled around her hips.