JUST FRIENDS

24

The next morning, the sky gave way to cotton candy clouds, trees with Spanish moss hung down, down, down, and the breeze from the open windows flirted with the curtains, picked them up- dropped them- and picked them back up again. Ocean waves swept the shore, the air made fresh with sea salt. She could wake up like this every morning.

Blu's hold on Maze was enough to leave her breathless, though she didn't mind. She enjoyed it, someone there to hold her down until she could barely breathe. As a woman so stuck in her mind more often than not, or hanging upside down from a stretch of silver, she often forgot what it felt like to have her feet on the ground once more.

Cautiously, she glanced down at him, making sure his eyes were shut and unblinking before she brought her fingertips to run through his wild hair that was just winding in every which direction. Her hands got lost there, massaged his temple as he slept alongside her undisturbed. She let out a sigh of content.

Maze could remember last night- her confessions, her adamance to get him in bed, to do bad things, but the peace of this moment made everything so clear.

He had changed her into one of his wifebeaters, probably determining that a sequin mini dress wasn't sleepwear material and such a simple gesture, changing her clothes when she was half-crazy, made her soften with fondness. She glanced at her reflection in her phone screen checking that yup, he had even removed her makeup.

"I love you." She kissed his forehead because seeing him asleep, completely unaware of the things she was currently feeling tugged at her heartstrings just a tad.

"I love you too."

She jumped.

"Didn't think I was awake, huh?" Blu spoke, morning grogginess heavy in his voice. "You can't take it back, by the way." He unwrapped his arms from around her waist, allowing her room to finally breathe. His head rested comfortably with the rise and fall of her chest.

"How'd you sleep?" She asked, just so she could hear him speak more. Something about his voice when he first woke up.

"Like I was dead. These things right here are better than pillows." He brought his hands up to give her breasts an experimental wiggle as if he were researching the mystery behind what made them so comfortable. "Makes no sense."

"Blu!"

"Okay, alright, I'm stopping the groping." He rubbed sleep from his eyes before sitting up and stretching deeply. "You okay? How do you feel?"

"Fine, actually. I think it's all out of my system."

"Thank God. I was fighting for my life to keep you off of me. It really is a good thing Madison was there to help, because if she wasn't, we probably would've crashed."

"You're so dramatic,"

"I'm dead serious."

"Okay but I know for a fact that you had fun on your birthday. And better me climbing on you than anyone else."

"Better for who, exactly?"

"Better for the both of us. It's a package deal."

He shook his head, a contemplative expression back on his face before he lifted an eyebrow and watched her.

"What?"

"...Nothing."

Secretly she loved that despite the many years they'd known one another, despite the fact that he was so much taller and stronger than the boy he used to be, a part of him was still shy around her. Not only was it a great confidence boost, but she physically wanted to mount him if only to make him blush deeper.