Falling

24

Vinny Taylor

I let out a heavy breath as I sat in my car in front of Carson's house Saturday night. I had been sitting outside for the last five minutes, willing myself to just get out of the fucking car and go inside. My head was telling me to move, but my body wouldn't let me.

I hadn't let myself be stressed over spending the night at Carson's since he invited me, but blocking all that stress out made it come at me with full force the very moment I pulled up to the house. I was worried about what I would do, how I would handle being alone with him for the whole night and how he would think about me after. This was a bigger deal than I thought Carson realized.

My eyes had been focused straight ahead while I was lost in my thoughts, so I hadn't noticed someone walk up to the car until they tapped on the window.

My heart nearly pounded out of my chest at the noise and my head shot toward the window to see Carson standing outside with a look of concern plastered on his face. That was enough to finally move me out of the car.

"Are you okay?" Carson asked as soon as I opened the door, stepping out of the way so I could get out. "You've been sitting  here for, like, ten minutes."

"I'm fine," I told him, pulling my pack of cigarettes from my pocket and lighting one I placed in my mouth. "I just zoned out."

Carson's eyes flickered to my lit cigarette and he pressed his lips together tightly like he was holding back from saying something.

When I finished my cigarette, Carson led me inside to where he had blankets and pillows set up on the couch in the living room with food placed out on the table. The lights were dimmed and a few candles across the room were lit, setting a fresh and outdoorsy smell to the room.

"Did you make all this food?" I asked him with raised eyebrows.

Carson sent me a sheepish smile, glancing at me then at the table.

"Hopefully my cooking is better than Logan's," he said with a nod.

I snorted. "I'm sure it is. He's not hard to beat."

Carson chuckled and briefly placed his lips on my cheek before leading me over to the couch and pulling me onto it with him. I tried not to let it show just how much he affected me. I felt like I was blushing like a little kid any time he showed me any affection. It was nauseating.

He didn't seem to notice as he gestured toward the food laid out before us.

"I hope you're hungry," Carson said with a grin. I nodded, looking toward the table.

The two of us ate the food, which was much better than Logan's, while Carson flipped through different movies trying to find one we agreed on. I didn't really care what we watched, knowing I had very little intention to actually watch it, but he was intent on finding something I wanted.

About ten minutes into the movie, after both of us finished eating, my hand found its way into Carson's hair. It started out with my hand on the back of his neck, causing him to lean into me, then my fingers buried themselves into the hair at the base of his neck. After a few minutes of twisting it through my fingers, I pulled on it, causing him to look at me, then my lips were on his.