wanderlust | m.m.

sixteen.

eventually, the two of us fell asleep. i had to endure a little bit of pestering from mat beforehand, though. at first, he was poking me and trying to get my attention, but that ended when i had grumbled enough to make him think that i was mad. so then, he was apologizing, explaining that he had been just messing with me, and i had to tell him that i already knew that, but i would rather not be poked when i'm trying to get to sleep.

"oh," he had said, sounding relieved. "um, is cuddling okay?"

and that was how i ended up sleeping with my head rested on mat's chest and his arms wrapped loosely around my body. when i woke up, we were still in the same position. i wasn't sure how long i had actually been asleep, but i could see that as the sun had risen higher in the sky, and more of its rays had begun to shine into the room. they fell right on to my face, and i assumed they were the reason i had woken up.

i titled my head so that i could see mat's face. he was still sleeping, the sunlight falling across the lower half of his face, highlighting the slight stubble he had there. his lips were slightly parted and his eyelids fluttered a bit as he slept. i smiled to myself as i realized how cute he looked when he was asleep and how i didn't mind waking up to the sight of him. i allowed my mind to begin to wonder about what it would be like to do so every morning as i started to slowly trace the lines of the tattoos on his chest.

my thoughts were interrupted when i felt a change in mat's breathing. i glanced up at him to see that his eyelids were open just enough so that i could see his green eyes looking at me. "sorry," i apologized, letting the hand that had been tracing the ink in his skin to lay flat. "i didn't mean to wake you."

"don't be sorry," he rasped. "it felt good."

"yeah?" i asked, suddenly getting an idea. "you know what else might feel good?" i asked, and before i could give a second thought to what i was doing, i moved so that my legs were straddling his waist. i grabbed both of his wrists and placed his hands on my hips. his eyes held mine the whole time.

"luci, what are you doing?"

"i don't know," i replied. and that was the truth. something had just come over me. maybe it was how sexy his morning voice sounded or the fact that he was half naked in bed with me. whatever it was, there was no going back now. i took a deep breath and shifted slightly as i reassured myself that this was a good idea. i felt mat's grip on my hips tighten when i did this, and a small smile appeared on my face. i leaned down so that my mouth was close enough to his ear that when i spoke, my lips brushed against his skin. "but do you want to me stop?"

i barely heard him say "no" but i didn't really need to, because the next thing i knew, mat's lips were on mine. it didn't take long for my mind to register what was happening, and i firmly returned the kiss. without pulling away, mat sat up. one of his hands moved to my lower back while the other stayed on it's place on my hip. "do you want me to stop?" he echoed, his lips still close enough to brush against mine as he spoke.

a single shake of my head was all mat needed to put his lips on mine once more. his lips moved easily against mine and he leaned in, deepening the kiss.

i opened my eyes to see him looking back at me, but the look on his face was not one i was expecting. mat's brows were pulled together in a look of concern and his hand was on my shoulder. what was happening? "mat? is everything okay?"

"i should be the one asking you that question," he replied. "you were being really fidgety and groaning in your sleep. i think you were having a bad dream or something."

what? a dream? that had to be a joke. there was no way that could have been a dream. it had felt so real. "are you sure i was dreaming?"

"um... yeah. pretty sure you weren't awake, so you had to of been dreaming."

and suddenly i wanted to disappear. it's not like mat knew what i was dreaming about, but he knew i was dreaming about something. and knowing him, he would want to know what that something was. would i tell him? or would i go on letting him think i was having a nightmare? if i did tell him, how would he react? i would probably never hear the end of it. and how would i explain myself? it's not normal to dream about kissing your best friend.

"luci, what's going on in that head of yours?"

mat's words pulled me back to reality and i silently scolded myself for getting lost in my thoughts. mat had the uncanny ability to know when i had mentally checked out of a situation, and now he probably wasn't going to let me leave his house without telling him what was going on. still, i was going to try my best to act like nothing was out of the ordinary.

"i don't know what you're talking about mat. i'm just laying here. what else would you expect me to do considering i just woke up?"

"i dunno." he shrugged. "maybe tell me about what had you so fidgety and shit."

i knew he was going to ask me to do that. and so i told him... sort of. "it was just a dream, mat. you know, that thing that happens when people go to sleep and they're brains come up with random shit."

"okay, but what kind of dream?"

• • •

hi guys! i'm so sorry it took me so long to update again. i got moved into college and then just got really busy with homework and classes and making new friends so i honestly didn't have much time to write. still, i hope you enjoyed the chapter. be sure to tell me your thoughts by leaving a comment and vote if you want to!

thanks,

maren