Always There

Chapter Fifty-Two

Chapter Fifty-Two:

Lexi's POV

By some miracle, I wake up before Bryce.

I find myself wrapped up in his arms as I lay across his chest, my head tucked under his chin. The huge, fluffy blanket I had been hiding under last night is draped over us too, making me feel warm and cozy and giving me virtually no reason to ever get out of bed.

And so rather than getting up, I drape my arms around Bryce's neck and snuggle my face closer to his chest.

"Don't fall back asleep, baby. We need to get up soon anyway."

I blink a few times before looking up at Bryce's face to find that though his eyes are still shut, he's smiling now.

Dammit. I'm never going to be able to wake up before him.

I huff and shut my eyes again. "But I'm still sleepy and you're so warm."

Bryce chuckles, and I love the way that his chest rumbles beneath me.

"My alarm is going to go off soon. You can fall back asleep until then," he compromises.

I hum in response, shutting my eyes once more.

As soon as I do so, there's a knock on our bedroom door.

I groan.

Bryce smoothes down my hair before calling out, "Come in!"

I keep my eyes shut as I hear the click of the bedroom door opening. Bryce sits up slightly in bed, adjusting the blanket so that it covers our bodies completely. He then wraps one arm tighter around my waist, bringing his other hand up to gently caress the nape of my neck.

"Hey, Bryce. John and I were just wondering whether or not you and Lexi have any plans for breakfast. Would you like us to cook something?" my mom asks from the doorway.

Bryce gives my hip a gentle squeeze before he answers my mom by saying, "I was thinking that maybe we could go out for brunch. We have time before your flight."

I can sense my mom smiling. "Perfect. I'll go tell John and Charlie."

As simply as that, the bedroom door clicks shut after her.

"All right. Time to wake up," Bryce says, sitting up completely in bed.

"What?" I ask with a scowl. "You just said that I could sleep for longer!"

Rather than giving me a verbal response, Bryce annoys me further by standing up from bed and then dropping me back onto the bed.

I scowl. "Bryce!" I hiss, standing back up.

Bryce chuckles, turns on his heel, and heads straight into the bathroom.

"Could you disable my alarm, Blossom?" he asks over his shoulder. "I'd love if you would join me in the shower."

He doesn't wait for my response before he stalks into the bathroom, leaving the door wide open.

I watch him walk away until he's out of my line of vision because he's still naked, and his back is quite glorious.

Then, with an agitated huff, I grab Bryce's phone off of the bedside table, input his password, and then open the clock app to shut off the alarm he had set for this morning.

I then hurry into the bathroom after Bryce, making sure to shut and lock the door this time.

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