New Horizon [Morganville]

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Claire woke to the smell of pancakes wafting upstairs from down in the kitchen.

She woke to the buzzing from her phone on her bedside table, and the feeling of something being brushed against her nose.

She scrunched up her nose and rubbed her hand against it.

The tickle stopped for a short few seconds, and then it was tracing her lips.

“Stop it,” She whined as she turned over onto her stomach and buried her head in her pillow. She knew it was immature, but she was still tired.

One side of the bed rose, and whoever had been sitting down next to her had moved. She sighed and put her head to the side, her eyes still closed and her mind still half-asleep.

She felt the tickle at her foot and she jerked up, suddenly wide-awake.

As she started to twist around, her bed shook violently, and she was tossed at least thirty centimetres off the bed and into the air. When she landed back onto the mattresses with a few slowing bounces, she jolted up and gripped onto the blanket as if the mattress were about to fall down a waterslide that started on the moon.

“Phew,” Shane said as he sprawled out next to her with his hands placed behind his head proudly. “For a minute there I was scared that I was going to have to get the bucket of cold water.”

“What are you –” She started to yell but her voice died down when she got her first proper look at him. He was wearing grey cotton sweats and his feet and chest were bare. His hair was in its typical shaggy mess, but it was damp and darker than usual, meaning he was fresh out of the shower. He battered his eyelashes at her and his golden-brown eyes silently teased her, begging her to continue with her lecture. “What are you doing?”

“Contemplating,” Shane smirked and looked up at the ceiling above the bed. It was decorated with little glow-in-the-dark stars and a few constellations. She’d always wanted them when she was a kid, and she couldn’t hold herself back when she saw them through a shop window on the way to TPU.

“About what?” Claire raised her eyebrows as she slowly fell down next to him, replicating Shane’s position. She felt him shrug and he tilted his head to the side, causing his head to touch Claire’s.

“You naked,” He said finally. Claire groaned and rolled her eyes.

“Way to ruin the moment Mr Walking Hormone.”

“I’m kidding,” Shane said as he barely dodged a pillow. He smiled as he kissed Claire on the top of her head. “So how are you? Over your rebellious steak?”

She sighed, “It’s too tiring. I’m thinking that maybe I should just be like you.”

“Hm?” Shane said as he smoothed back her hair. “What am I?”

“A slacker,” She grinned and rolled onto her side to face him. He looked down at her and raised an eyebrow. She giggled and kissed his smooth chest.

“Remember when I told you I was kidding? I’m not anymore.”

She rolled her eyes and stretched, pulling her body out as far as she could go. “What’s the time?” She asked as she started to kick off the blankets.

Shane glanced over at the digital clock that was set up on the bedside table closest to him. “Just gone nine,” He smiled.

“Nine?” Claire repeated as she draped Shane’s arm over her eyes. The warmth from his skin seemed to seep into Claire’s eyes, and she wasn’t sure if it was making her sleepy or just plain cosy. “Why so early?”