That Stupid Little L-Word:

Chapter Thirty:

WE'RE HALFWAY THERE!

(Whoa, livin' on a prayer) 

Sorry, I just couldn't contain myself. You guys have no idea how excited I am to have hit the halfway marker for this story. Thirty more chapters and it will be completed (and ready to edit so I can at least attempt to publish it.) I would love to walk into Target one day (or Wal-mart, or Books-A-Million, or anywhere, really) and see this book on the shelf. 

Gah. 

Alsdjfisji. Okay, I'll control the excitement so I can start writing and give you an actual chapter. Thanks so much for the 50,000 reads/2,000 votes too, you guys! All the support is greatly appreciated :D 

Story Start: 

"Leave the door open," my mother instructs as we enter the house through the front door and book it toward the staircase. She shoots Blue-Eyes a narrowed look for extra measure and he smiles cheekily as he assures her that we'll leave it wide open. I avoid her gaze when it shifts toward me and inch up the stairs. 

We walk into my bedroom, and Blue-Eye's signature eyes flicker around as he examines the room. "Want to watch some movies?" I ask as I grab my laptop and toss it toward the bed. It lands against the mattress with a thump, and Blue-Eyes shrugs in response to my question. I lean my crutches against the wall beside my bed and then slump down onto the mattress. I shove some pillows between my back and the headboard. 

And then arch an eyebrow at Blue-Eyes because he's still standing in my doorway like a creep. 

I pat the free space beside me and wag my eyebrows at him suggestively. His slender lips stretch into a million dollar grin and then he walks over to the bed. He pauses beside it and folds his arms across his chest. "Mind if I join you?" he asks in a pompous, over exaggerating tone.

"I would not have left you any room if I didn't want you to," I gesture to the miles of space between us, "Nor would I have tried to coax you into my bed with my eyebrows." 

Blue-Eyes crawls onto the bed beside me and the mattress dips with his added weight. I twist awkwardly so that I face him. He faces me as well, and we snuggle closer until our faces are only an inch apart. "I was just teasing you," he grins at me.

I snicker, "As was I."

He kisses my nose, "You're so cute." 

"I know," I scrunch my nose up and grin. 

His laughter reminds me of a bowl of cereal; it's beautiful, and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside when I realize that it's mine. His gaze flickers down to my lips and I, in an unnatural surge of confidence, take the initiative. His lips are smooth against mine, like silk, and his tongue dances across my bottom lip. Automatically, my lips part.

His tongue brushes against mine, and gently massages. All I can comprehend his taste --he tastes like mint bubblegum mixed with chocolate and something dangerous. 

I squeeze my eyes shut as his hands slide beneath the hem of my shirt, palms flat against my bare skin. The contact sends tiny bursts of electricity sizzling through my veins. His hands grip my waist, wrenching my hips flush against his, and then suddenly, he's on top of me. 

We pull apart, panting heavily. I feel drugged. I struggle to blink through the haze that has filled my mind, and he makes it worse as his lips trail sweet kisses down across my jaw to my neck. My head tilts back as his tongue tickles the skin of my neck and my fingers tangle in his feather-soft hair. 

"Shit," I gasp in shock as he presses a kiss to the hollow of my throat. 

All coherent thought flies out the window as Blue-Eyes moves back, face hovering mere centimeters from mine. Our bodies are pressed against one another; the only thing that separates us is a thin veil of clothing. He lets out a breathy chuckle and murmurs, "Did you like that?" in a husky voice. 

"I think my underwear just willingly removed itself," I giggle before I can stop myself, and yank his lips back to mine. He laughs into the kiss and we almost miss the squeak of a step. 

With the grace of a lion and the skill of a ninja, Blue-Eyes is suddenly stretched out beside me and there is a furry, gray colored body pillow between us. My eyes are wide --the size of Jupiter-- and I'm  a little miffed because his delicious lips are no longer touching mine. He grins like a naughty kid and sticks his tongue out at me as he opens my laptop, "What movie did you say you wanted to watch?" 

My mother appears in the doorway, "Do you two want a pizza?" 

"What?" It takes me a few moments to realize that she exists, and that both she and Blue-Eyes are waiting for my response. I shake out of my stupor and shoot my mother a sheepish grin, "Sure. Pepperoni sounds good." 

I get a suspicious 'I'll-be-listening-though-the-walls-and-setting-up-cameras' look in response. "I'll go order it," she says ominously as she disappears. 

Blue-Eyes and I share a look, and then burst into a fit of laughter. "I guess we'll have to be a little sneakier," he grabs my chin and plants a sweet kiss onto my lips. We grin into the kiss, and then giggle so much that we're forced to break apart. 

I feel like I'm floating on butterflies. 

We snuggle up under the covers, our legs tangled, feet brushing, and our arms are wrapped around one another. My cheek rests against the smooth material of his t-shirt --he'd been kind enough to remove his leather jacket so I don't have to deal with the metal zippers trying to cut into my skin. His chin rests on top of my head and, every now and then, he'll press a kiss to my forehead. 

The laptop sits on top of the body pillow, which stretches across our legs. It plays the most romantic movie in all of history: The Terminator. 

I know, I know, the sappiness just kills me. 

Though I think my boyfriend was very pleased to discover my hatred toward anything super-gooey and that my guilty pleasure was watching kick-ass action movies.

"Pizza's here, kids," I can hardly hear my mother's shout over the sound of laser beams and gunfire. 

"Damn," I pout, "I don't want to move." 

But then my stomach betrays me with a feral growl.

Blue-Eye's chuckles, and his chest moves up and down beneath my cheek with the sound. It makes me giggle and we pause the movie, reluctantly untangling ourselves so we can please my impatient stomach. We rush down the stairs and I grab several slices before sliding into my seat at the kitchen table. Blue-Eyes sits beside me and my mother claims the seat across from me. She arches an eyebrow and lifts a slice of pizza to her mouth, "So how was school today?" 

"Seth made a speech about how wonderful I am in art today," I rat him out, snickering when he shot me a wide-eyed look. 

My mother glares at him, "Why would you do that? You're only feeding her ego!" 

Blue-Eyes laughs nervously, "Sorry, m'am. I just wanted my ex-girlfriend to leave her alone. She was trying to bother Alice." 

"I could have handled it myself," I grumble around my pizza.

"Still," Blue-Eyes mumbles. 

"You guys are cute," my mother cracks a smile only for it to fade seconds later.

Then the slice of pizza in her hands slips, falling back onto the plate with a greasy splatter. We stare at her, shocked. An awkward silence envelops the table as we wait for her to say something. Her eyes meet mine and a twisted, creepy devious version of her usual smile returns to her features. "Mom?" I ask, unsure of her sudden mood change. 

"I still have those naked baby pictures out," she whispers, "I forgot to embarrass you last time he was here."

"Mom. No."