Spring [Completed]

TWENTY-NINE

┌─────── ∘∘∘❁∘∘∘ ───────┐

HER

└─────── ∘∘∘❁∘∘∘ ───────┘

ma•nip•u•late

verb

1. control or influence (a person or situation) cleverly, unfairly, or unscrupulously.

∘∘∘❁∘∘∘

I stir in my sleep when a gentle hand softly smooths over my hair. I hum, my eyelids fluttering slightly as I awaken. Ethan's kind gaze is the first thing I see when I open my eyes, and immediately I blush at the way he looks at me.

He smiles lazily, as he pulls me closer to his body. Heat smolders between the sheets as he presses a light kiss to my forehead. "Morning."

I groan, shutting my eyes, once more as I nuzzle up against his strong chest. "Does it have to be morning already? Can't we just lay here forever?"

Ethan's soft laugh, vibrates through me as his fingers dance across my shoulder. "Mani, you don't know how hard it's been to lay here still and not wake you."

His suggestive tone coupled with the lack of clothing either of us possess takes my mind to dangerous places. "Well," I say, draping a leg across his torso. "I'm awake now..."

"Yes you are," Ethan mumbles, his voice deep and gravely as he pulls me on top of him. His stare is insatiable, fueling my boldness as I bite my bottom lip. He smiles at the action, before grabbing a fistful of my hair and pulling me in for a passionate kiss.

Flashbacks of last night fill my mind and when Ethan palms my behind, pressing my hips against his, I know he's thinking of it too.

My thighs ache in the best way as I wrap them around his waist, ready for another round. I think the new saying should be fourth time's the charm...

The thin sheet between us is a merciless temptress, begging me to succumb, yet taunting me with the distance it puts between us. We're so close, and yet...

Ethan tugs on my bottom lip with his teeth at the same moment his phone rings.

He groans, reluctantly rolling me off of him as he checks his phone. He stares at it for a long time, and it's as if every emotion from last night comes flooding back as he remembers why I was at his apartment in the first place. "It's Kelly," he says after a moment, his voice distant and dejected.

I frown, placing a hand on his shoulder as he sits on the edge of the bed. His phone shakes in his palm as he stares at her name on the screen. My heart aches as I wrap my arms around him and hug him from behind. I peck his cheek gently before resting my chin on his shoulder. "You don't have to answer it if you're not ready," I murmur against his skin, and he nods, sighing in relief when it eventually goes to voicemail.

I wrap my legs around his waist and hug him tightly, and his arms grab onto mine as one would grab a rescue buoy, desperate and frantic and scared. "Imani, I know you have to go soon...but...but could you just be here with me for a little longer?"

I peck his shoulder, nodding before he can finish his sentence. "Whatever you need, Ethan, I'm here," I say and he nods appreciatively. "I've got you," I whisper as he lets out a shaky breath and rests his head against mine.

∘∘∘❁∘∘∘

It's about noon when I finally make it home. I'd hoped the house would be quiet with the girls in school, but to my dismay, Josh's car is in the driveway.