It Begins With Us

18.

I leave the dress in it's black bag, on the couch and walk to the room. I crack the door open and peek in making sure she's still asleep. Once I confirm it I tip toe in and over to her, staring down at her I feel the need to wake her up just to see her blush.

Getting into bed with her I feel my body react to her heat, I hadn't realized how cold I was till now. I wrap her up in my arms and she shivers trying to pull away. Uncharacteristically disheartened, I try to distance myself from her when she mumbles in her sleep making me freeze.

"Don't." She sounds pissed beyond my expectations and for a moment I think she's tricked me and has been awake all along.

But almost instantly she reverts to a snoring sleeping beauty again.

"Ok-kay." I press my lips together and settle in again.

"I'll warm up soon enough." I whisper to her, and press my cheek to her forehead.

-

Alba's been pissed since yesterday.

 She's been trying on all three of her 'so many' dresses, trying to figure out what her look is for the party. She'd get all dressed up, strut into the living room and twirl for me, then I'd say 'No' every single time.

After all, I already have a dress picked out for her.

She eventually gave up and went to sleep last night inrage, and refused to cuddle. And now she's trying to ignore me and sleep past wake up time, fuss about bathing and getting dressed.

'What a rebel.'

I grab the hem of Alba's pants as she teeters on the edge of sleep.

"Come on Alba, if you won't do it yourself, I'll have to do it for you." I threaten and she grunts and shrugs.

"If you say so." I smirk and pull her pants down her legs.

I watch, amused to the max, as she turns red. Then she blinks her eyes open to watch me through half lidded and hazy eyes.

"Don't look at me like that, I'll eat you up. Right here and now." I threaten leaning in and pressing my lips to her neck.

"Or I could eat you." She whispers her voice an octave lower with sleep.

"Try." I challenge and she turns her head to face me head on, pressing our foreheads together.

Alba watches me as her hands slowly slide up my stomach and then back down to my waist. She wraps them around me pulling me down and tightly against her.

'She's not playing around.' I think pleased.

I wait restlessly, running my tongue against the back of my clenched teeth as she brushes her lips against my collar bone. I push closer giving her the warning and she ignores it. Instead she presses her lips to the underneath of my jaw, then the edge, then snapping the last string, she press them right off the corner of my lips. I jerk back yanking her shirt off and stare down at her, her head leaned back and her eyes now wide awake, but still half lidded and smug as ever.

'If that how she wants to play.'

I get off of her and a victorious smirk starts to surface. I grab her up into my arms instantly smothering her victory. I carry her shell shocked self to the washroom in her underwear.

"Wait! Ryle!" Alba shrieks, sleepy voice almost all gone.

I carefully drop her into the bath tub and press my forearm to her chest keeping her back firmly pressed against the wall as she threatens and laughs in disbelief, a mess of emotions. I turn the tap on cold and let it run and she shrieks like a pterodactyl and tries to fly off the chilling surface of the tub.

"NO!" She shouts eyeing the tap and then me.

Suddenly, she breaks into a horrible mix of shivering and chattering. I turn the water on warm and grab the shower head. I hover it over her, worried that I might have gone a little too far.

"Next time let's just... get up?" I suggest and she huffs.

"We'll see about that when it's you who's sleepy." She mutters and I grin back, sheepishly.

"Warmer?" I ask and she nods.

I turn the knob a notch to the hotter side and turn back to her. That's when I notice that she's sitting in my bath tub, wearing just her soaked underwear. I lower the shower head subconsciously, entranced. 

She's flushed, is it because of me? Or the water? I can't tell. I reach in and press a hand to her cheek, she sighs tiredly and leans into it pressing her hand over mine.

'I want to see her in the dress.' I can't help but hope, I've been waiting since yesterday.

"Welcome." She says flashing me a hundred watt smile out of nowhere, snapping me out of my trance. I frown at her confused. "Welcome to Alba's mixed bath!" She exclaims and before I could react, her hand tightens around mine and pulls me in.

"Alba!" I growl and she snorts falling over, she gasps and reaches for my shoulders and ends up taking me down, right on top of her.

"Damn it!" I lean closer to her and shake the water out my hair, spraying her, making her laugh.

"It's just water!" Alba smiles up at me and lays under me in the water.

Her dark hair flowing out around her like rich ink, and wrapping around my wrists. Water sparkles on her skin and her eyes pull me in.

'Can't even be mad.' I think carefully trying to figure out how to get out without pulling her hair and hurting her.

"This is fun." She tilts her head and her hair shifts around her making me swallow.

"Come here." I say my voice low and soft.

She pushes her head back raising her lips and the air is knocked out of me at the sight of her opening up for me. I lean down the rest of the way and kiss her with my most gentle might. After a while I pull away and leave her there in the water, flushed and dazed.

"Get washed up, we need to go soon." I shake my head and yank my shirt off over my head.

I walk over to the closet and carefully dig out the dress. I leave it on the bed with the rose, and lipstick that I'd bought this morning.

"Great." I frown dissatisfied.

'Doesn't feel like enough.' I think though I don't think anything I could ever give her will be enough.

I grab my own clothes and sprint to the other washroom. I clean up and pull on my black dress pants and a soft pink dress shirt to match her dress. I attach my black suspenders and pull them over my shoulder.

'My jacket's on the sofa.' I remember and walk out to get it.