Two Masked Hearts - ✓ #WattysShorts

Fourteen

I had never felt such a consuming attraction to someone in my life.

Miles lay on top of me, kissing me with an aggressive fervor. Our lips moved together, begging for more. He put his hand on my chest, squeezing gently. A soft moan escaped my lips, and he stopped kissing me. He laughed by exhaling air through his nose, and I got embarrassed.

"You okay?" he asked, and I nodded. Miles slipped his hand under my shirt then started to raise it. He paused and asked, "Good?"

Again, I nodded. "Yes. Please."

We both sat up, Miles straddling my hips. I lifted my arms, and he pulled my shirt off in a smooth motion, discarding it off to the side of the bed. His eyes fell on my hot pink bra—one that I may had carefully selected in case we did this—and he smiled. He took off his shirt, too, then gently pushed me back down.

We kissed for a while longer, and then Miles's hand started to slip lower. My heart raced with excitement and fear of the possibility of that movement. But he stopped moving his hand, pulling it off of my warm skin.

"We shouldn't," he whispered and got off me.

"Okay," I said, slightly relieved. I didn't think I was ready to go all the way, especially not with a boy I'd met less than a week ago, no matter how strongly I felt for him.

Miles rolled off of my body to lie next to me in the bed. He smiled, looking longingly into my eyes and pulled me closer. "It's not that I don't want to," he assured me. "You're beautiful. I just think we should wait. I don't want to push you too far."

"Thank you." I appreciated him respecting me and my body, and also the gravity of the act itself. "I think that's good."

"Okay," he whispered, his eyes beginning to close. It was late, I suddenly realized.

"Hey," I said, not wanting him to fall asleep quite yet. This was the last real chance to spend time together before I left the next day. His eyes fluttered open, fixing on my face. "Thank you. I had an amazing week."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," he mumbled, a smile creeping across his lips.

"I did. So much. And I know I'm leaving tomorrow, but I don't want this to end. You're the best thing that's happened to me in a long time, and I don't want to lose that now."

"I don't want to either. But let's talk about this tomorrow, okay?" His eyes were already closed, and mine felt heavy, too. So I turned off the light and snuggled closer to him. He wrapped his arms around me and didn't let go the whole night.

* * *

Miles gently shook me awake.

I squinted against the bright morning sun peeking through the windows and smiled when I saw his face.

"Good morning, sunshine," he greeted me and playfully stuck out his tongue.

I sat up, and he leaned in to give me a kiss. As he pulled away, my lips tingled, anxious to feel his again. I frowned, sad we weren't having a repeat of last night.

"Sorry, Ev," he said, obviously wishing he could hop into bed with me. "I have to go home and sign into a class. But I promise I'll come by afterward to see you before you go."

"I wish I didn't have to."

"Me too." He sighed heavily. "But I know you do. It'll be okay."

"I hope so. I'm gonna miss you."

"I'll miss you, too. Hey, I made you breakfast. Come up and have some."

I smiled, nearly forgetting the fact that I wouldn't see him for potentially forever, and Miles pulled me by the hand upstairs into the kitchen. Still, the fear of leaving crept back into my mind.

"Oh my God," I said in awe, staring at a huge platter of pancakes in front of me. He had drizzled chocolate on them and topped the stack with the last of the maraschino cherries I had for ice cream. "This looks amazing." I was practically purring like a cat over the delicious breakfast feast.

I sat down at the counter and dug in, the buttery pancakes melting in my mouth. I took another bite and shoved it at Miles's face. He grinned and ate everything on the fork.

"Damn, that's good."

"Mm-hmm," I agreed, another forkful already in my mouth. "Thank you," I said with a smile once I swallowed. He leaned down and gave me another kiss, mixing into the chocolate syrup stuck to my lips. "So good." This time, I was barely referring to the pancakes.

Miles kissed my forehead, leaving sticky chocolate residue behind. "I'll see you later. Okay?"

"Promise?"

"Of course." I smiled, but it was mixed with sadness. I could only see him once more, and then I would be on the road. "Good-bye, Evelyn. For now."

"For now," I agreed, and he left me in the kitchen with my pancakes, tears filling my eyes.