R U S S O 18+

R U S S O 20

R U S S O 20

Anastasia has been up for a few minutes, the sound of Mateo's soft breathing filling her ears.

It was somewhere close to hitting seven in the morning, and instead of closing her eyes and getting the twenty minutes of sleep, she stared at Mateo as he slept.

The sun was peaking through his curtains and beaming lightly on them, and while exploring his features closely, she wondered what he was dreaming about. Because whatever it was, it had him sinking into the pillow and not moving an inch.

He looked so peaceful, and she fought hard to not reach her hand out to stroke his cheek or brush her thumb over his soft lips. Or maybe even lightly graze his eyelashes, making a few kisses to his nose.

Anastasia wanted to have this peaceful moment for a few minutes longer, but her alarm went off, and she watched Mateo's eyebrows knit.

Her eyes went wide, and while in his embrace, she carefully turned around to reach for her phone.

She didn't know what time he had to be up, but it was clear that it wasn't seven a.m. since his phone didn't ring.

Anastasia extended her arm to stop the alarm, but she felt Mateo tug her back to him. She managed to get her phone in her grasp, tapping the screen to silence the loud ringing.

She figured she could stay in bed for five extra minutes, solely focused on Mateo. She knew it would come off weird, so she hoped she didn't get caught, turning back around to face him.

Anastasia got comfortable, snuggling close to him while under his blanket. It was soft to the touch and warm to the body. She could lay in his bed all day.

It's been a very long time since she's stayed over at another man's place, and the realization had her all smiley.

"Why are you up?" Mateo mumbles, the raspiness in his voice evident from the slumber.

She whispers, "how did you know I was up?"

"I can feel you staring," Mateo answered.

"Well, go back to sleep," she says softly.

With his eyes closed, he asked, "what was the alarm for?"

"I have to get up for practice."

"What time do you have to be there?" Mateo asks.

"Eight," she answers, "but I can get there on my own. You look like you wanna stay in bed all day."

Mateo nods, "yeah, you should catch the bus." She beams softly because, even at seven in the morning, he was being sarcastic. "No, Anastasia. I'm gonna take you."

"Okay," she reaches her hand out and lightly brushes her fingertips in a circular motion on his cheek. She utters, "Good morning."

"Good morning," he said, slowly opening his eyes.

She looks into his eyes and whispers, "You're so cute when you wake up."

"I could say the same thing about you, beautiful," bonnet and all, and she smiles.

"You slept good?" she asks, and he nods. "I could tell. You were smiling a little in your sleep."

"Want me to show you what I dreamt about?" he asks her. "Because I could show you why I slept so good."

She shakes her head, giggling, and says, "You're nasty."

"No," he tapped under her chin, "what you did was nasty."

Time was moving quickly for her to get out of bed, and with the few minutes left to spare, they spent it staring at each other. It was the reality hitting them that they were the ones lying across from one another and not someone else.