Always There

Chapter Twenty

Songs for this chapter:
• Easy - Camila Cabello

Chapter Twenty:

Bryce's POV

"I can't believe you just said that," Blossom sighs as she takes a seat down on the edge of her bed. I watch as she crosses her legs beneath herself, brushing her hair past her shoulders as she directs her gaze down at the floor.

I shut the door to the bedroom behind us, rolling her suitcase over beside her dresser. I gently place her backpack on the floor beside the bag before I make my way across the room, taking a seat beside her on the bed.

Though I leave a couple inches of space between us, Blossom doesn't hesitate to ask me, "Can I sit in your lap?"

She shyly refuses to make eye contact with me, and I watch as she nervously twiddles her thumbs like the adorable girl that she is.

"Of course you can. Why would I ever say no to that?" I reply, which just makes her scramble to settle herself in my lap with her arms and legs looped around my torso.

"I don't know. I just like to be sure," she responds, her voice sweet and soft.

We stay here like this, silently, for a little while. I toy with the ends of her hair as she clings to me, seemingly breathing in my scent as she's got her face buried against my chest.

Eventually, I whisper, "I assumed that they already knew. I wouldn't have brought it up if I knew that they had no clue."

Blossom pulls her face away from my chest, then looking me directly in the eye. "Why would my parents know anything about my first kiss?" she asks, not in a snarky manner whatsoever.

I shrug at her. "I don't know. My dad knows about it. But he knows pretty much everything. Don't worry, I don't tell him anything about our sex life in detail, but he knows about the kiss. At dinner every night for over a year afterwards, I would always ask if he thought that you loved me back, considering that you didn't slap me in the face when I kissed you."

Her eyebrows furrow, and she strains up to kiss me gently on the cheek. "Of course I loved you back," she whispers. "I always have."

I feel my cheeks blush, which is fucking bizarre, and I'm pretty sure she notices too as she reaches up to take my face between her dainty hands.

"You're adorable," she replies simply, kissing each of my cheeks and then my forehead. She then stares at me for a moment before she giggles and kisses me on the tip of my nose as well.

"You're more adorable," I counter.

"You're the most adorable," she smiles.

"Nope. You're the most adorable," I reply, not giving her time to react before I flip us over so that her back is on the bed and I'm kneeling between her legs.

Her eyes darken, and I watch as she relaxes. I know what she must be expecting, but that wasn't my plan as I slip my fingers up underneath her sweatshirt.

She isn't wearing a shirt underneath, and so my fingertips immediately brush against the soft skin of her abdomen. She sucks in a sharp breath as I lazily trace a circle with just my forefinger.

And then I begin to tickle her.

She bursts out into a fit of giggles, squealing as she trashes out beneath me. I have to use my other hand to pin down her arms as she tries to shove me away, but I just continue to tickle her side as I fucking love the childlike sounds that she's making.

"Bryce! Stop it!" she exclaims before falling back into a fit of giggles, Her eyes are shut as she throws her head back and laughs, giving up on trying to move out from underneath me.