Over the Phone

Chapter Fourteen

The sun was blindingly bright when Adam woke up the next working. He squeezed his eyes shut against the intrusive beams of light and tried to fall back to sleep. He was warm and comfortable and he could feel Chloe's arm draped over his side, holding him close. He could hear her singing softly and thought this must be what it was like to find the right person... He slowly cracked one eye open and looked at her. She smiled and kept singing.

"This is the second time I've woken up to you singing to me. I like it." She laughed softly.

"Good. I was bored being the only one awake." He shifted so that he was propped up on his elbow, staring down at her.

"Well, ordinarily, you'd be on your way to class right now, but you need to stay home for a few days, so you'll just have to get used to being bored, young lady." Chloe raised an eyebrow.

"You're going to get boring on me already?! That's it, I'm outta here, Mister." She mae like she was getting ready to climb out of bed, but Adam pulled her back to bed so that she had her back pressed to his chest, laughing dangerously in her ear.

"I don't think so. I've got you now and I don't think I want to let you go. Bored or otherwise." He kissed her cheek gently. Chloe laughed and turned her face in his direction.

"I might be persuaded to endure it," she replied teasingly and, whether she'd meant it that way or not, Adam's thoughts turned toward the slightly less appropriate side at her words.

"Oh, and how might I be able to persuade you to stay, being as how I'm so boring," he asked her, his lips brushing her jawline. Chloe's eyelids fluttered closed at the soft touch.

"That's a good start... yeah, I kinda like that." Adam gave a short, sexy laugh. She liked it; she hadn't told him to stop... he suddenly wished simultaneously that she wasn't pressed quite so tightly against his body and that he could pull her somehow closer... It was like that one accidentally suggestive thing she'd said had turned his brain to mush. Wait... was it accidental? Or had she intended to make his blood start boiling?

"Good," he said, his voice growing husky, "I kinda like doing it to you." He let his teeth graze her neck as he laid soft kiss after soft kiss there. Her breath caught in her throat. Why did it feel that good? Was it supposed to?! She had no idea, but it really did and she loved the way it made her burn.He sucked gently on the place where her neck met her shoulder and felt her physically shiver. He smiled to himself, feeling his body react to her, but just gently kissed the spot with a sigh and pulled back a bit.

"I think we'd better stop there... you still have ribs healing and stitches that shouldn't be popped. Not that I don't want to keep going, but..." Chloe shivered again at the absence of his mouth on her skin.

"I know, you're right, but... is it always that exciting?" Adam laughed softly into her ear.

"I think it is when you're with the right person. To be honest, Chlo, I don't really have that much more experience than you do. I've only actually... ya know... twice. And it was okay, but when you don't love the person, the satisfaction fades and you just feel weird. That's why I told you that I really wish I had waited. It didn't mean anything to me and left me feeling really awkward in my own skin." She turned over slowly to look at him, her lip between her teeth. They'd never really talked about his past exploits before, so to hear it so openly, now, in bed, was strange.

"I'm not sure I'm even going to be any good at it," she said quietly, her insecurities getting the better of her. Adam's eyebrows jumped.

"What do you mean 'not be any good at it'? Chlo, sex isn't some kind of competitive sport where you'll be judged on form and technique! It's about physically expressing your feelings for another person, even if those feelings are temporary. It's about caring enough to please the person you're with, not just yourself. I really don't think you need to worry about that, love." Chloe bit her lip again.

"I guess so. I mean, I know that what you're saying is probably the truth, it's just that I've been avoiding...sex," she said the word quietly, "for so long now that it's kind of just become this fear of mine that without any past experience, I'll just disappoint my partner." Adam tried not to laugh; it wasn't funny, really, but she was just so adorable in that moment that he couldn't help it. He chuckled.

"Oh, Chloe, you worry about all the wrong things. I love you, and you love me, which means that when it happens, we will be focused on that, not on if we're doing it right or not. Okay? Don't stress. Sex isn't supposed to be a stressful experience. It's supposed to relieve stress!" Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, I could do with some of that," she mumbled under her breath, feeling her cheeks go pink a moment later as she realized she'd said that out loud. Adam kissed her lips softly with a smile on his own.

"Yeah, you and me both. But you probably aren't really healthy enough for that, and I'm pretty sure you're not really ready for it yet, either. No rush, Chlo, I mean it. When we're both ready, and only then, that's when the magic will happen and you'll feel so silly for having worried this much about it." She sighed and dragged herself into the seated position.

"Maybe... but in the meantime, I need coffee," she said, climbing gingerly out of bed and away from the conversation that was making her more and more nervous with each comment.