Your Mark on Me

Chapter 34: Lovers

When I opened my eyes, it took me a few seconds to register where I was. My drowsy brain was trying to convince me that I was still in my old room back home, but was violently contradicted by the unfamiliarity of the surroundings.

It all came back to me in an instant when I turned around and saw Mark's face. He was leaning on his elbow, looking at me with big, blue, fresh morning eyes. His hair was messy, giving him an air of youth and playfulness which in my eyes made him look even more attractive.

"Good morning", I said, suddenly wondering about the state of my own appearance. "Did you wake up before me?"

"Yes. Not too long ago though."

I felt my cheeks blush at the thought that he must have been watching me sleep. It was the strangest thing, waking up next to him, after having slept in his bed so many times, alone. Not that I was complaining.

"It's nice waking up next to you", Mark said softly. "I didn't know what I was missing."

I pulled myself up in a seating position and, still self-conscious, attempted to smoothen my hair with my palms.

"You don't need to do that, you look cute."

If earlier I had slightly blushed, I could tell that my face was now bright red, not entirely sure if because I was embarrassed or because he'd complimented me. "Thank you", I mumbled, only realising after saying it how dumb it sounded.

Mark chuckled. "Since when are you so shy around me?"

He shifted in bed and put his head on my lap again, just like the previous evening. Now the room was filled with bright midday light and I could see clearly his dark blue eyes, pupils dilated, looking up and straight into my eyes, piercing through to the very depths of my being. His head was warm on my thighs and he looked young and in love, only the beginning of wrinkles in the corners of his eyes giving away his age. I felt a heatwave working its way up from my belly to my chest and then, like a tickling electricity, to the end of my every limb.

I wondered if he could tell.

Mark reached out his arm and stroked my cheek. "I'm sorry. It was a stupid question".

Of course I was shy around him, now when reality was exceeding my imagination and my fantasies of waking up next to him and being called "cute" in the morning had become reality. It was too much to cope with at once. I couldn't shake the feeling that it was all too good to be true.

"Scarlett? What is it?"

I hesitated. When trying to put it into words, it didn't really make sense.

"I think I'm... just a bit scared you might change your mind. If you... disappear, like before... I don't think I could go through something like that again. And that time we weren't even this close, I mean we weren't kissing and..."

"Shh, I won't do such a thing." His forefinger blocked my lips, but I wouldn't have said anything more, anyway. I didn't want to be the clingy, insecure teenager that I was.

"Surely you understand why I did what I did. I wanted to give you a chance to live a normal teenage life and date kids your age. I thought you just had one of those crushes that go away as quickly as they come... I know, I know, I was wrong. Now I believe that... we do have something special. Even though I still don't completely understand it, I'm not fighting it anymore. So I promise that if it ends, this time it won't be because of me. Okay?"

His blue eyes was fixing me intensely, as if he was trying to convey the honesty of his words through them. I stared back at them, transfixed.

"If it ends, then I want to make the most of it while it's here", I replied.