Taste | Changbin

Chapter Thirty-Two

"Can you move your arm? My fingers have gone numb." Changbin wiggled the fingers of his right hand trying to get some feeling back in them. 

Lennon moved her arm slightly. 

"Can you just..." Changbin stopped himself. "Can you come up here into the bed? You'd be a lot more comfortable up here than on the floor." 

"I don't want to intrude." 

"Come on," Changbin gently tugged on the handcuffs. 

She shoved herself up off the floor. One look at Changbin and she wanted to go back to the safety of the floor. He was in a pair of gray sweatpants. His shirt was off, so she could see his bare chest. She quickly pulled her eyes away from him. "I don't think that thi-" 

During the night, Changbin had kicked the blankets off of himself. They were bunched into a ball at the end of the bed. "Grab one of the blankets and hand it to me. I'd get it myself, but I'm kind of stuck."

Lennon leaned over to grab one of the hotel's blue blankets and gave it to him. He grabbed the blanket with one hand and kicked it with his feet. Soon, it covered his whole body. She stared at the floor trying to process everything that had happened within the past five minutes. 

"Okay, you can climb up here now." 

"On top of you?" Lennon's voice came out in a squeak. 

"I don't bite. Come lay down. It'll be a hell of a lot more comfortable than that disgusting carpet." 

She swallowed, praying that he couldn't see the bright red flush that filled her face. She hesitated for a moment. He gently gave the handcuffs another tug. Carefully, she eased herself onto the bed. She held her breath, afraid to make one wrong move, and waited for him to yell at her. 

Because he was handcuffed to her and to the headboard, he couldn't move. She covered his body with her own. She shifted for a moment before slowly laying her head down on his chest. His body was too warm for comfort, but there was nothing she could do. She just had to suck it up. 

His heartbeat thumped quickly in his chest. She closed her eyes and pretended like she wasn't lying on the guy who hated everything about her. As if he didn't just yell at her for almost dying the night before. What an awful position to be in. 

After a few minutes of silence, Changbin was the first to speak. 

"Lennon, I don't hate you." 

She stiffened trying to process his words. 

"I've never hated you." 

She scoffed, "somehow, I find that hard to believe." 

Changbin let out a sigh. He was a little annoyed at her reaction, but he deserved it. He had treated her poorly for weeks. She tried her best to apologize to him for everything, but he kept ignoring her. He had been nothing, but an asshole." 

"I know I've been a jerk to you. You don't have to forgive me, just hear me out, please. That first day I walked into the makeup room, I was mesmerized. You're very beautiful, you know." 

"Are you being serious right now?" 

"Yes. I know you didn't mean to spill coffee on me and I know you didn't mean to crack my phone. JYP has strict rules, so we're not allowed to date staff members. I figured that if I could get you to hate me, I wouldn't have to worry about falling in love with you." 

"You've got to be joking. You supposedly liked me, so you were mean to me?" 

"...Yes?" 

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. Who said I ever liked you back?" 

"Believe me, you like me back." 

"I do not!" 

"Lennon, you just turned as red as a tomato when I told you to get into my bed. You do my makeup and look into my eyes and then you look away blushing. Not to mention, you say things around the guys and then you look at me. You look like you're waiting for my reaction. Don't pretend like the feeling isn't mutual." 

"Okay, so what if it is? That doesn't excuse you constantly being an ass to me! Do you think I'm just going to forgive you for implying that I'm a whore? For screaming at me last night because I almost died?" 

"You're not a whore, I just got jealous. When I saw you curled up on that couch with Hyunjin and Han, I was filled with rage. Why couldn't it have been me? They had known you for like two days and you already felt comfortable enough to sleep around them. As for last night, I got scared." 

"Oh, you got scared?" Lennon rolled her eyes. "Try being the one to almost die while doing bench presses." 

"I almost did, at one point. The exact same thing happened, but Han happened to hear me when I called for help. If he wouldn't have been there I would have died." 

"Oh.." 

"So you like me and I like you so..." 

"So what? JYP said no dating and I'm still pissed at you. You didn't have to be such a jerk. You could have told me how you felt." 

"I'll make it up to you, I swear." 

"Uh-huh," sarcasm laced her voice. 

There was a part of Lennon that didn't believe him. It was too good to be true. She had a crush on him and had been trying so hard not to like him, especially after he had been an ass time after time again, and yet here she was. She was laying on top of him while he admitted that he was only a jerk because he liked her. None of it made sense in her brain. 

"Really, I meant it." 

Lennon picked her head up to look at his face. "I want proof." Her brown eyes stared into his own. 

"What?" 

"I want proof that you'll make it up to me. Words mean nothing without actions. Prove that you'll make it up to me." 

"I don't know what you mean." 

"Figure it out." 

Her eyes trailed down to his lips. Realizing he was watching her every move, she quickly looked away. She started to drop her head back down to his chest. 

"Lennon?" 

She picked her head back up. Before she could utter another word, he moved his head forward. His lips met hers instantly. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Without realizing what she was doing, her uncuffed hand found the side of his face. After a few seconds, she pulled away. 

"Do you believe me now?" He asked. 

"I suppose it's a start."