paper rings (l.h.)

42

Tw:// blood/knives

I woke up to Luke's body moving closer to mine, arms wrapped around my body and his body heat against mine. His embrace, pulled me tighter as if I was going to float away had he not. I grumble, sleep still dancing in my voice as I whisper, "M' sore."

"Sore?" He asks, looking down at me as I turn to lay on my back, in his arms. My eyes only opened just enough to see curious blue eyes grasping for a glimpse into mine. I tried to open them, but couldn't, I was so tired... "What is sore?" He asks although I'm sure he already knew.

We went hard last night, probably the mixture of emotions that had been shaken out of both of us the night before. We were in a celebratory mood, although Luke didn't seem convinced his accomplishments were worth celebrating. He still partook in the festivities.

He chuckled when I must have fallen back asleep in his arms, although I wasn't, and I felt his soft kisses across my brows, down the side of my face, to the tip of my nose. I couldn't help but smile as he did so, prying my eyes open wide enough to give him the connection he seemed to so desperately need. "I'm sorry," was all he said, taking my hand off from where it lay above my head to be kissed by his lips, down my arm, down my wrist... I watched as he did so. "You started it, though, wearing that dress."

"Stop," I giggle with a whisper of sleep still in my raspy voice. I turned away from him, on my back, the air from the cold room around us and the ceiling fan spinning above sent shivers down my spine. Luke didn't listen to me.

I felt his kisses across my shoulders, down my neck, down my spine. He kissed the dimples in my back, each dip of my skin as I turned my head towards him.

"I would wake you up like this every day," he said under his voice, his bare hand tracing circles across my shoulders.

"Mmm," I said, purring like a cat under his every stroke.

"Coffee?" He asks, lying directly beside me, on his back. He seemed energized like he'd been waiting for me to wake up. He stares at the ceiling fan, whirling cool air through the room.

I shake my head, smiling up at him as his hands move above his head. He was nude, too, I tried not to pay attention to what lay beneath his waist and he tried to do the same with what I was not covering from him. This was an act of revenge, of reclaiming my body after hiding it all my life from eyes that shouldn't have been looking in the first place.

"You don't like coffee, do you?" He asks, lying on his side to face me. "Tea. I remember."

I smile, my grin hidden by half the pillow as I watch him run his hands across his forehead.

"We should go grocery shopping," he lets out a soft breath. "Might be cool to pretend we are living together, even if it will only be two weeks."

I look down at his lips, then into his eyes.

"Fuck, I have that meeting," he begins, sighing deeply before moving to his bottom.

"I can go," I look up at him. "During your meeting. Just point me to a grocery store."

"Tanner can drive you," he pulls himself out of bed, leaving nothing but the lingering warmth on his side of the bed, and the faint scent of him stuck in my hair. "There's an Erewhon a few blocks down."

I watch as he pulls on a shirt, and then a pair of pants over his gray boxers. I watched as he did so, realizing he is going to leave me to my own devices soon. "Okay," I nod, putting on my best mask to try and convince him that I'm okay with him leaving.

"Maybe you could write," he kisses my brow as I lay in his bed. "Start planning your debut."

"Ha," I said under my breath. "That's a lot of thinking."