An Unexpected Girl

chapter forty-nine

Iris woke up the next morning feeling warm arms around her. It didn't take long to realize they were Adi's arms. Toned and nurturing as ever, holding her close, and keeping her safe.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty."

Iris glanced up to see Adi smiling down at her. The red-haired girl had a lazy smile playing on her lips.

"Have you been awake for a while?" Iris asked, suddenly aware of the fact that they were nude beneath the covers, with their naked bodies pressed up against each other.

"Kinda," Adi replied, "my body clock wakes me up."

"Oh," Iris said, unsure of what to say. A part of her wanted to apologize for keeping Adi in bed, but from the look on Adi's face, it didn't appear she minded much.

"I enjoy watching you sleep," Adi said as if reading Iris' thoughts. "It's a shame that I didn't get a good morning greeting back."

Iris rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the smile that broke through. She loved and hated that Adi could have such an effect on her so easily.

"Good morning, my dearest Adi," Iris said, teasing, "did you sleep well?"

"Oh, I slept more than well. I was knocked out." Adi had a sly smirk on her lips and Iris felt herself grow hot. She shouldn't still be getting this nervous around Adi, but all it took was one sly comment from the girl, and Iris felt butterflies all over.

Adi brought her hand up, softly caressing Iris' face. "I really enjoyed last night. You have no idea how badly I've been wanting to be with you in that way."

"Me too," Iris said, a fuzzy feeling overtaking her.

"It's even better waking up the next morning with you still in my bed," Adi said, bending down and placing a kiss on Iris' forehead.

Iris wanted to say something, but couldn't trust her voice right then. She was feeling so many feelings; Adi invoked so many feelings within her.

But Adi continued on, expressing herself.

"You know, after transferring from my previous college, I really wasn't expecting to find anything here... I had just planned to keep my head low, finish my last two years of college, and just get out." She paused then, and Iris intertwined their fingers beneath the covers. "But then you came around, and all of my plans just seemed to go out the window."

Iris laughed, tracing patterns in Adi's hand with her thumb. "I think I could say the same for you. You weren't exactly the girl that I saw myself with at the start of the semester..."

Adi smirked, and a shy smile spread across Iris's face.

"I had been clinging on to something for a long time. It took me a lot longer to realize I was clinging onto an idea and not a reality when everything I needed was right here."

Iris shook her head as she thought back to Niki and all the time she had spent with her. It was crazy that Niki once had such a powerful impact on her life. With Adi, nobody else mattered. Everything else was non-comparable. Adi was real; she wasn't an idea.

"You literally came out of nowhere," Iris finally said. "It's funny because we didn't have a romantic meet-cute moment or anything. In fact, it was basically the opposite."

Adi was looking at Iris as she spoke, her soft eyes taking her in.

"You know how when you're falling asleep, it's gradual, then all at once? Sometimes you don't even realize you've fallen asleep till the next morning," Iris said, turning her head up slightly to look at Adi. "I think that was how I fell in love with you." The words had left Iris's mouth before she realized it. She froze for a few seconds, looking at Adi with wide eyes.