For Elise ✓

Chapter Thirteen

"Wanna take a nap?" Red asked when we walked in the front door.

"Yeah, let's go to my room." I said with a frown as we walked past the kitchen, where Elise had had her meltdown.

Things are shaping up.

"I've never been in your room before." Red observed.

"You've never been in my house before." I said with an eye roll. "I've only been inside yours once, and like, three times I've stood on the front steps, but that's it."

Red slipped his shoes off and flopped onto my bed.

"What are you doing?" I asked with a blush.

"We've slept in the same bed before, Chance. And that was when we barely even liked each other."

"I guess." I mumbled.

"Do you not want to? If it makes you uncomfortable then I'll go downstairs and sleep on the couch." He said, concern in his eyes.

"I don't want you to sleep on the couch. It's just a small bed, that's all." I said, rolling my eyes and crawling into bed next to him. "So stay in your half and don't hog the covers."

Red scooted over toward the edge of the bed.

I couldn't sleep for several minutes, despite my tiredness.

"Red?" I asked.

"Hmm?" He moaned, rolling over onto his side and facing me.

"I can't sleep."

"Sorry." He sighed.

"Stop staying on your side of the bed! It's annoying, alright." I huffed, crossing my arms in frustration.

Red's arm reached out and snaked around me, pulling me closer to him. His body was radiating heat, and I let myself peacefully drift away, letting go of everything I had worried about. Elise, my mom, school. Everything. Right now, all I had to worry about was sleeping well for the first time in a while.

I drifted off in Red's arms.

*******

The last time I slept with Red was the day we skipped school. That day I had a dream about him and Charley, if you remember.

Today I had a very....different dream. Let's just say it's not appropriate to put in writing.

But I woke up in a sweat, and, as carefully as I could, I lifted Red's arm and climbed out of bed.

As I walked past the window, I saw that the sun was just setting. We had been asleep for about three hours already.

I entered the bathroom and turned the shower onto a cold temperature, to uh... calm myself.

Stripping my clothes off and stepping inside, I regretted my entire life when the cold water hit my skin.

My mind wandered to the dream I had. What if Red had noticed, or woken up before me and seen? How embarrassing would that have been?

I finished rinsing off and turned the water off, stepping inside and wrapping a towel around my waist.

There was a knock on the door.

"Just a minute." I said, almost slipping on a puddle on my way to the door.

I opened it to Red standing on the other side, blushing.

"I need to take a shower." He rushed out.

A smirk slipped onto my face as I realized we were in the same boat.