Forever Could Be Ours

Chapter 13. | Brewed Coffee

HAYLEIGH

The confusion written on my face is close to indescribable when my eyes flutter open to the view of a ceiling that doesn't share the same kind of pattern as in my bedroom.

Golden streaks of the morning sun bathe through the cracks of the drawn blinds, heating my cheeks.

For a brief moment, it feels like a brutal hangover pulsing at my temples. The same kind of hangover you get from waking up on the couch during a party, thinking it was a great idea to rest your eyes for a few seconds.

It's never a great idea.

Not even melatonin could knock me out of the way I'm feeling right now. Somewhere in between my confusion of the foreign sheets and my pounding head, the realization of my actual surroundings hits me like a brick wall.

Meeting up with Alexander. Thunder and rain. His friends showing up. Trapped inside his bedroom for the night. Being eaten out.

Being eaten out.

Last night's memories keep floating in my face like a tennis ball launcher, and I rub my hands over my face, trying to dodge the bad conscience I'm feeling - or the lack of it.

Last night was a blur but also the first time in months I've felt I was actually living.

I nearly knock over a glass of water on the nightstand I didn't even realize was there in the first place when I turn around to meet my own frown reflecting in the mirror across from the bed.

"Alex?" The white duvet pools on my chest when I pop up on my elbows, eyes scanning the bedroom in search of his tall shadow.

Nothing - there isn't even a spot of his clothes on the floor from last night.

Reaching over to grab my phone the power is close to zero. I haven't gotten any notifications since last night besides Matty asking to meet up later today. Tossing it away I scoop the sheets around my body and retrieve the otherwise warm bed.

My first instinct of insecurity tries to convince myself that he regrets everything that happened last night and wants me to leave without having to face the awkward encounter of saying goodbye.

But the insecurities melt out of my ear when I hear the sound of water running in his bathroom. I should have known better than to quickly assume things about Alexander Reid when he has done nothing to provoke those assumptions.

My face is met with a haze of shower steam and my nostrils the smell of apple and green tea when I slowly creek the bathroom door open.

"Alex?" In respect of his privacy, I keep myself from crossing the line of the threshold.

The tiny distance between the frame and the door gives me a peek at his reflection in the mirror hanging above the countertop. His back faces the reflection, droplets of water trickling down the skin of his back muscles.

The only thing preventing me from seeing him completely naked is the thin white shower curtain covered in... tadpoles.

"Hay, you don't need to hide behind the door." His crystal eyes meet mine in the misted mirror.

A tinted pink color spreads on my cheeks. "I wasn't hiding," Totally in denial, I push the door open to enter. "I'm just guarding your privacy. You know, in case you're embarrassed about your chest hair or something."

His lips curl into a smile. "My head was wrapped between your thighs last night. I think we've passed the point of privacy for chest hair."

My breath hitches in my throat at his words, my mind trying to barricade every audacious feeling of wanting to join the shower. "Yes, well, you know what I mean."