The small, silver scar on her baby toe, where she’d told me she gotten two stitches as a child; I’d forgotten that, too.
I hadn’t appreciated how right, or how perfect her head felt, when tucked in the crook of my arm, or the softness of her hair against my chest.
Her skin felt like silk, and smelled like strawberries.
Never again, would I forget the little things.
Lee stirred, and I prayed for her to stay asleep. I wasn’t ready to give her up.
Since I’d-rather belatedly-told her how I felt last week, we had been spending time together, a lot of time together.
She was trying, and I was respecting the hell out of that.
We hadn’t done much of anything, besides kissing, but that didn’t bother me in the slightest.
Well, it bothered my dick, and I’d had to take a lot of cold showers, but this, spending time with her, lying with her; it made the whole blue-balls deal, completely worth it.
“Hi,” she whispered, stretching out her body, before curling back into my side. “I guess I’m never going to get to see the end of that movie.”
I grinned, and pulled her closer. “Ah, you know what they say, third times a charm.”
This was the second night in a row we’d watched The Notebook.
Well, I had watched the film; Lee had fallen asleep half way through, both times, thank god, because I’d wept like a pussy when old-Ally died, both times…
“I should go back to my room,” she said quietly, and I tightened my arm around her.
This was the moment I dreaded each night.
“Don’t go,” I whispered. “Stay with me tonight.”
“Kyle,” she sighed, pulling herself up on her elbow, to look at my face. “That’s not a good idea. We’re supposed to be taking this slow. Baby steps…”
“I won’t touch you,” I promised, cupping her neck. “I won’t lay a finger on you, if you don’t want me to. Just sleep in my bed with me, I need you close right now.”
Lee groaned. “I want you to touch me. That’s the problem.”
Shaking her head, she kissed my forehead, before throwing off the covers and climbing out of bed. “Goodnight, Kyle.”
Groaning, I twisted onto my stomach, pressing my weight down on my hands, in a bid to bury my raging hard on, and keep my hands from grabbing Lee, and dragging her back to my bed.
*****
Lee
Drawing on all my courage, I made my way down the corridor of the hotel, towards Kyle’s office.
I’d been hoping to speak to him about going back to work, with a few days.
I was feeling good, my feet were a little puffy from the extra weight, but I was certainly well enough to be working.
And considering we were on much friendlier terms-boyfriend and girlfriend terms- I figured now was the time to strike.
Unfortunately for me, Kyle had been away for the past four days.
There had been an emergency with the hotel in New York, and he had flown out last Sunday to deal with the problem.
He’d called me on my new phone, countless times each day, but I hadn’t been able to work up the nerve to ask him. He’d told me he was coming home on Thursday, so here I was.
Bracing myself, I smoothed down my blue, flared, knee-length dress, and knocked on the door of his office. I heard some shuffling, before his familiar voice beckoned me inside.
“This better be important,” Kyle muttered, leaning over, studying the paperwork on his desk.
“Hey,” I said when he made no move to look up.
Kyle’s head snapped up. Surprise encompassed his features.
“Princess, what are you doing here? You okay?”
He pushed his chair back and made to stand.
“No, sit please,” I urged, as I walked on wobbly knees to his desk, lowering myself awkwardly into the chair on the other side of his desk. “I’m here on business. I have a proposition for you.”
Kyle frowned for a moment, his brow creasing, as he stretched his back. “Okay…Shoot.”
I inhaled a steadying breath, before speaking.
“Firstly, I would like to thank you for your hospitality in having me stay with you, and for your generosity in paying my hospital bills. But I feel…”
“Hold up,” Kyle interrupted, holding up a hand. “You want to thank me for my what?”
“Your generosity and hospitality,” I repeated, wanting to get on with my proposition.
Kyle pulled at his tie and shook his head. “Yeah, I thought that’s what you said.”
Standing up, he ran a hand through his hair before rolling his shirt sleeves to his elbows. “Why?”
Why?
I was puzzled, unsure how to answer him. I thought I’d told him.
“Um, for letting me stay at your house, and for paying my bills.”