Surrender

Chapter Twenty Eight

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

I can hear Louis talking, his voice sounds far away like he's in a tunnel and I know once I open my eyes every sound is going to hit me fast and hard. And sure enough as soon as I peek open my left eye, the sound of his voice echoes harshly inside my head, my ears immediately ringing. I groan and roll onto my side, burrowing my face in the pillows.

"How many seats can I get together on that day?" Louis says, his voice loud and commanding, sending my head spinning. He sighs, something like a chair creaking and keys on a keyboard clicking rapidly. "What about the week after that?" He pauses. I slowly sit up and squint at him. "No, never mind. Alright it'll have to be next week. Read those times again for me." He coos into the phone. It's probably a woman on the other end. I stretch slowly and rub my eyes, sick of this constant lingering exhaustion. I need to get in the shower and wake up. I'd been sleeping in my clothes a lot lately and I felt like a homeless person, never changing and never showering. I wonder how Louis stands to sleep next to me, I have to smell. He sees me out of the corner of his eye and looks over at me, smiling sweetly. His hair is still messy from sleep and he's in a pair of long grey sweat pants and nothing else. My travel greedily over his tan, lean body, swallowing down my intense feeling of longing. If I married him, this is what I'd be waking up to every morning for the rest of my life...hopefully. He holds up his index finger and turns back to his call.

"Okay, can you book that flight? Yes, for three passengers." A flight? Where? When? I start to feel panicked, wondering that whatever he's planning isn’t what I think he's planning.

 "Wednesday at 5 PM. Alright, beautiful. Thank you so much." He hangs up his phone and closes out a couple windows on my laptop that I left sitting on his desk and turns in his chair to face.

"Hi you." He says with a huge grin. I love that smile, I love the way his lips stretch over his teeth, I love how delicious his bottom lip looks every damn day.

"Hi back." I say, smiling back at him despite the growing pain in my head. He slides off his chair and kneels in front of the bed, resting his elbows on the plush comforter.

"How are you feeling?" He asks. He's surprisingly chipper after last night. I shrug, reaching up to rub my temples.

"I'm...alive. I really need to shower." He nods, looking me up and down.

"Yes you do." My mouth drops open and I grab a pillow and throw it at him.

"Hey!" I say in an offended tone, the pillow hitting him square in the face. He tosses it aside, amusement in his eyes.

"I understand, you're a busy woman, showering is the last thing on your mind. Although, I have to say, you in the shower is usually the first thing on my mind." He almost purrs. I grab another pillow and throw it at him, this time he catches it and lets out a loud laugh. That too, I love that laugh. The longing feeling intensifies and I have trouble looking away from his lips. I roll my eyes and throw the covers off of me, standing up slowly and taking deep breaths through my nose. I squat in front of my backpack and look inside, already knowing I've ran out of clean clothes. Louis senses my hesitancy and kneels in front of me.

"What are we looking for?" He asks in a whisper. I snort and drag the zipper slowly closed.

"Something that isn't there, unfortunately." I say in a flat voice. Now what was I supposed to do?

"Rae, if you need clothes you can always borrow some of Gemma's." I look up at him skeptically.

"Gemma's?" I say in an overly dramatic tone.

"Just make sure you burn them when you're done." He says in a humorous voice, as if the fact that she hates me is funny to him. I stand, slowly straightening my legs.