Emmerdale : Bleeding Love (Ross Barton/OFC fanfic)

That Time When... The Morning After

Just before eight the next morning Ollie woke up, stretched, and tried to remember what it was she'd been dreaming about. She was in a state of peaceful happiness. Which was a rare thing for her. Often enough she'd fall asleep and wake up feeling everything was all right, that she was whole and nothing was missing; but then she remembered her Dad was gone, they were all gone, and nothing had been the same since.

But not this morning.

This morning the bed was cosy and her grief wasn't the first thing on her mind. She sighed and turned onto her left side. The dark head, softly snoring on the pillow beside her, came into her line of vision and just like that her mind was instantly alert.

Ross.

I slept with him.

Although, technically speaking, there hadn't been much sleeping. It had been after four am when, more out of exhaustion than anything else, they'd fallen asleep in each other's arms. She rolled last night around in her head, the things he'd done to her, the things I did to him, and the heat throbbed low down in her abdomen at how amazing it had been. She had never experienced a connection like the one she had with Ross. The physical attraction had been apparent from day one. But it had gone deeper than that. There was mental chemistry, too. But being so very different it should never have worked. Yet it did. On paper they were perfect for each other. So why was she lying there thinking last night had been a terrible mistake?

I wanted him. There was nothing terrible about it.

She had ignored the little voice in her head and walked into last night with her eyes wide open. Knowing it was just sex. Knowing his type. That he was exactly like Mark. Albeit in slightly less sophisticated packaging. Not that there was anything wrong with Ross's packaging. She ran her eyes over his broad shoulders and the muscled planes of his chest.

Nothing at all, she mused.

No, she had known what she was doing. She was a grown woman and needed to accept responsibility for her choices. But what did this mean for their friendship? Because this was all so new to her - friends first and then sleeping with a guy. What was the proper protocol for something like this? Was there even a protocol at all? Either way a line had been crossed. Surely there was no coming back from that?

Guess this means we're not friends anymore.

So he said. Could they still be 'just friends'? He wanted her in his bed, of that much she was certain. But was she willing to get tangled up in a messy 'friends with benefits' type thing? More to the point, could she? She knew she couldn't. It wasn't who she was. She wasn't adverse to the occasional one night stand but when it came down to it Ollie was most definitely a committed relationship kind of girl.

Picked the wrong guy for that, she mused as she watched Ross sleep. His naturally curly hair was all tousled - mainly her doing, she hadn't been able to keep her hands out of it - and his bearded face was softened by sleep. The man lying next to her looked boyish and peaceful, so far removed from the sarcastic charmer he was. She wanted to run her fingers through the front of his hair, but decided against it, because she didn't want to wake him. But mainly because she didn't want to do the whole awkward 'morning after' conversation thing. Instead, she lay with her head on the pillow, listening to his gentle snoring, watching his eyelids flicker and going through everything they had said and done, until she couldn't do it anymore. The cold light of day hit hard.

They had slept together and everything would be different now.

With a sigh she slipped out of his bed. The air was a little chilly as it hit her skin, reminding her of last night's snowstorm. She looked around for her clothes, picking up her jeans and underwear that had been tossed carelessly about the room. She dressed quickly and quietly and then tiptoed toward the bedroom door. Glancing back at him, she paused. He hadn't moved. Still snoring. And God, he was gorgeous. She felt the sharp tug on her heart and left, the door quietly clicking shut behind her.