Her Eyes

Chapter 76: BORDERLINE

It was late when they finally climbed into bed—it was a hassle getting her to stay, but she did. She seemed a little distant after dinner. Alex assumed it was because of Norman and the events of the day, deciding it best not to pick at it.

She sat beside him on the bed, a growing distance between them, eyes looking every direction but his. She was clearly thinking about something—something that would keep her up for hours if he didn't ask her about it.

"Is something wrong?" he asked carefully. She still wouldn't look at him. She probably didn't even hear him. "Norma."

"It's nothing," she stated quickly, her voice faltering a bit as she spoke.

Alex sighed, reaching over to turn off the light before pulling the covers over himself and turning on his side. He could hear her thinking. She was still sitting up, eyes glued to the wall in front of her. He wanted to say something to calm her anxiety but he didn't know what. So he closed his eyes, his heart beat slowing down with each breath.

But of course she never let him sleep peacefully when her mind was running amuck. "You didn't ask," she whispered after a good ten times.

He barely even registered her words. "What?"

"You didn't ask me," she clarified more confidently.

Alex groaned, reaching over to turn the lamp back on before giving her his full attention. "What are you talking about?"

She fumbled for a while. Her mouth dropping open, but only unintelligible sounds came out until finally she breathed the breath calming the irrational side of her brain. "I—I saw it and I thought that you were going to ask, but..."

Alex's heart sank a little. He'd thought he'd been a bit more discreet than he actually was. "You saw it?"

"You left it on the nightstand," she shouted, despite herself. "I saw it when I was getting dressed." She seemed to realize that her tone of voice affected him. So she tried a different approach, her eyes searching his. "Why didn't you ask?"

He could drown himself in her eyes and die a slow and painful death—but he'd never stop coming back to her. He was a moth to her flame. Her eyes were unavoidable, her love irreplaceable. "Now didn't seem like a good time. I mean, we just dropped your son off at a mental institution, I thought you might need a day or two to recuperate." His hand wandered over to the box he'd left carelessly on the nightstand. His eyes memorized the age of it, fingers stroking the soft velvet covering. "Besides you didn't seem too keen on the idea a few hours ago so I thought I'd wait a little while. And it's not like we've ever made anything official so I wasn't sure if you wanted...you've been married two times before maybe you've given up."

Her fingers wrapped around his wrist pulling his arm to meet hand to hand. "Do I ever give up on anything?"

His eyes met hers, a smile creeping across his face. "Is that a yes? Or do I still need to ask?"

The smile fell from her face as she let go of his hand and reached over him to turn off the lamp. "Now's not really a good time, maybe you should try again tomorrow."

He scoffed feignedly, pulling her down on top of him before he began tickling her. "How bout now?"

"Don't, Alex," she squealed, desperately trying to squirm away from his grasp. "Okay, fine, I'll marry you."

But he continued with his game, his fingers never ceasing their brutal assault. "I don't know if I trust you," he groaned in her ear.

She sucked in a breath as her eyes met his. "I can take care of that." She kissed him gently at first, causing his heart to burst. But the feeling of his hands traveling down her sides to grip her bottom was too much. Her heart rate escalated. Her breathing picking up, blowing erratically against his neck as her lips trailed to his collarbone.

He'd never expected himself to be a married man. He was never popular in high school. Girls didn't really seem to appreciate him back then. Nowadays he could never tell if the women he'd slept with were with him for him or because they wanted their parking ticket revoked or their boyfriend out of jail. With Norma the story was only slightly different. He was constantly caught between the thought that she was using him for her son or the thought that maybe she actually did love him. But maybe he was using her to. Maybe he couldn't get over the need to save someone. And Norma seemed the perfect damsel. Broken, not completely shattered. She seemed fixable...savable.

"Alex," Norma muttered, pulling him out of his thoughts. She was still breathing heavily, her curls falling from the sides of her face. "You all right?"

He gazed up at her, the smile returning to his face. "Yeah. I just got a little distracted."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, don't."

He watched as she undid the tie on the front of her nightgown before attempting to pull the whole thing over her head. She got stuck and sat there with her arms above her head, wobbling blindly. He chuckled softly, his hands reaching to help her finish the task.

She gazed back at him, her hair now a mess around her. "I love you," she told him.

He nodded appreciatively. "I know."

A grin formed on her face as she made to remove the rest of their clothes. "I mean it," she articulated, laying her body flat on top of him as her lips moved across his jaw.

He laughed with a smile. His heart warm and ready. "Well, I love you too."

She smiled against his cheek before giving a peck and sitting up slowly, her fingers tracing the outline of his chest. "I already know."