❛ 𝐒𝐓𝐘𝐋𝐄 ❜ ✓

27

          THE ALARM GOING ——— off from my phone woke me up, jarring me from the cozy embrace of sleep. I groaned, blinking sleepily as I tried to remember where I was. The warmth beside me and the gentle rise and fall of Ken's breathing reminded me that I was still in my bed with him.

I carefully tried to disentangle myself from Ken's embrace without waking him. His arms were still wrapped around me, and I could feel his steady, rhythmic breathing as he remained peacefully asleep. I reached over to silence the alarm, my fingers grazing his chest as I fumbled with the phone.

The screen finally dimmed, and I sighed in relief, glancing at the time: 9:00 AM. It was later than I'd intended to sleep in, and I had a few things to get done.

I gently shifted, trying to take the covers off to avoid waking him, but his arm tightened around me, pulling me closer even as he stirred awake.

"Come back," Ken mumbled, his voice rough with sleep as he nuzzled closer to me.

I froze, caught in the gentle pull of his embrace. Ken's voice, still thick with sleep, made my heart flutter. "Ken," I whispered softly, "Get up,"

"No,"

"You have to leave,"

"No,"

"I can't let my mom see you,"

"No,"

I scowled and hit his head, "Stop being so stubborn!"

Ken let out a soft groan as I hit his head, his grip on me loosening just enough for him to shift and face me. His eyes fluttered open, revealing a sleepy yet amused expression. "Okay, okay," he muttered, rubbing his eyes. "I'm getting up."

However, his actions said otherwise...

"Seriously, get up."

Ken groaned again, but this time he slowly extricated himself from the bed, stretching with a satisfied sigh. "Fine, fine. I'll be out of here in a minute. But just so you know, I was enjoying the view," he teased, his gaze lingering on me with a playful glint in his eye

It was then that I realized he was staring at my chest the entire time.

I blushed, quickly covering myself with the blanket and glared at him. "You perv," I muttered, trying to hide my embarrassment.

Ken's smirk widened as he stretched his arms, the muscles of his back flexing, clearly unbothered by my reaction. "What? Can't a guy appreciate the view?" he teased, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Besides, you're not exactly making it easy to look away, sweetheart."

I rolled my eyes, pulling the blanket tighter around me. "Well, you're making it harder for yourself to leave," I retorted, my eyes widening at the sight of his scarred back, wincing slightly.

Ken's gaze swept around the room, his playful demeanor giving way to a more distracted one as he searched around. "Damn, where are my boxers?" he muttered, scratching his head.

I stifled a laugh, watching his antics as he rummaged through the covers and peered under the bed. "Seriously?"

Ken crouched down, his head disappearing momentarily. "You know," he called out from his awkward position, "This is definitely not how I imagined my morning."

I raised a brow at him, averting my gaze from him as he stood up in my direction with his boxers in his hand, "And how did you imagine it to be?" I asked, trying to restrain myself from catching a glimpse.

Ken pulled his boxers up and adjusted them, "Well, definitely not like this," he replied, as he picked up his tee shirt and slipped it on, "Ideally, I'd have imagined waking up next to you in a much more relaxed way, maybe with a little kiss or even a quickie," he winked at me as he pulled up his pants.