never knew it'd taste so sweet

୨୧ - all day in bed

"Do girls really eat their lip gloss?"

It was a mostly warm Saturday afternoon in October. Every once in a while, a light breeze would waft through the air and tickle the trees or sweep the fallen autumn leaves off of the empty sidewalks. Though overall, the sun sat at its peak in the sky; beaming its golden rays onto any available surface and heating the Seattle avenues. While some wished for cooler weather—an excuse to pull on cashmere sweaters, and sip on pricey hot drinks— Carly Shay appreciated the last few bits of tepidness before frosty air and snowfall crept in and settled for a stay.

Carly had spent most of her day with her bedroom window open, while she lazily laid in bed with her boyfriend, Freddie Benson, cuddled beside her. For the most part, the two had been quiet, absentmindedly doing their own thing while silently relishing in one another's presence. Carly scrolled through clothing apps, adding just about anything that caught her eye for more than a second into her cart. Freddie mindlessly scrolled through tech forums while answering text messages from Millicent here and there.

There hadn't been much to say, and if there was, Carly didn't expect it to be a question about girls and their lip gloss, much less about them eating it. Carly's brows furrowed as she turned to look at Freddie, letting out a laugh before asking him what he was talking about. One scan of his face and she could tell that his inquiry was coming from genuine curiosity.

"It's Millicent," he explained, realizing how stupid and strange his question likely sounded, "she said she threw away the lip gloss I bought her—out of the kindness of my fatherly heart by the way—because it didn't taste good. That can't be right though, right?" His own brows were furrowed now, though he was sure this was something his daughter had made up as justification. He didn't purchase lipgloss or any form of makeup often, or at all matter of fact, but he knew Millicent collected chapstick and glosses here and there. He thought he'd done a decent gesture by buying one for her. Turns out, that wasn't the case.

"Ah," the confusion lifted from Carly, "flavor is an important factor in a lipgloss purchase." She confirmed with a nod, trying to contain her laughter when Freddie gave her a wide-eyed expression.

"You do it too?" He tried to recall if there was ever a time that he had seen Carly do this, but nothing came to mind. "Is that even good for you?"

"Don't judge me," she sat up, disrupting their close cuddle positioning, "every girl does it."

Freddie shook his head, "There's no way that's true."

Carly reached over to the small table that sat at her bedside. It was slightly cluttered; hosting a lamp, two almost empty water bottles, jewelry, several random pieces of paper, and other items she randomly dropped there when she didn't have the time to put them in their proper places. She ignored all of that and picked up a small red tube decorated with yellow lemons and pink strawberries.

"This one's strawberry lemonade," she said, turning back to Freddie. She handed him the tube and watched as he began examining it as if it were some kind of foreign object. It was amusing. He was such a typical guy.

"Does it actually taste like strawberry lemonade?"

Carly's head tilted in thought. The gloss had been new, she purchased it the day before and hadn't applied it until earlier that day. She didn't remember doing a taste test, though she did recall thinking it had the perfect scent, fruity and candy-like.

"Let's see," she took it out of Freddie's hands and immediately twisted the top off. It was one of the glosses where you could squeeze the product out then run it over your lips.

Freddie watched with spirited concentration as Carly covered her lips in the thick shiny pink coating. Suddenly all he could see were her pretty pink lips. He barely blinked when she ran her tongue over her bottom lip, back and forth, slowly and teasingly.

He bit down on his own bottom lip, feeling like he was narrowly holding himself together. He was a loose thread pulling out at the seams.

It was then that he noticed the pounding in his chest that came out of seemingly nowhere.

"I taste the strawberry, not the lemonade," Carly concluded as she shrugged. She almost laid back down until Freddie abruptly sat up.

"Can I taste it?"

Carly didn't think about it. She passed the gloss to Freddie, expecting him to either replicate her actions or squeeze the tube on one of his fingers for a small sample.

Instead, Freddie dropped it and reached out for her, gently pulling her into a soft kiss.

The kiss didn't last that long, though it did bring up the usual tickle of butterflies and sparks in both their stomachs. When they tore away Freddie took a moment to absorb his actions and the leftover confection on his lips. It did taste like strawberry. "You're right," he says, "the strawberry is there, but there's no lemon."

Carly didn't care.

At least not right now.

She grabbed a fistful of Freddie's t-shirt and pulled him over to her, their lips colliding instantly.

While the first kiss was soft and fast, this one was ragged and slow. It felt like their lips were pressed together forever and yet that still wasn't enough. Every kiss and every touch made them hungrier for more, the urge to satisfy burned in their chests.

It was like they couldn't get close enough.

Freddie pulled Carly into his lap without breaking the kiss.

Carly wrapped her hands around Freddie's neck while Freddie had an arm around her waist. His free hand ran up and down the exposed skin on her thighs.

They pulled away from each other, panting eagerly and breathing in as much air as possible. Breathing was the last thing on their minds. It was the second most important thing after skin-to-skin contact. Maybe the third most important thing.

Unwrapping her arms from his neck, Carly slipped her hands under Freddie's shirt. Feeling and tracing as much of his skin as possible.

He folded under her touch, causing yet another kissing break. The pair pressed their foreheads together with concentrated gazes. They felt hot and fuzzy all at once.

They both broke out into loopy smiles before Freddie started to pull his shirt off.

They had planned to spend all day in bed anyway.