“Yeah.”
“I’m not sure it’s possible for us not to fight, at least every once in a while.”
“But about losing each other briefly.” He dropped his head so that his lips spoke against the top of my head, his breath hot and slow against my hair. “I don’t want to fight about that anymore. I won’t let it happen again, so there’s nothing to stay angry at me about.”
I couldn’t stop my amused smile- he was just so cocky!
“I believe you,” I whispered with all sincerity.
“Then you’ll forgive me?”
“Yes.” My eyes were misting again and I held on tighter to his waist. “And you’ll forgive me?”
“Yes.” He kissed the top of my head and then sighed for the perfection of our moment.
Everything was right again. And while I didn’t think either of us needed forgiveness and it was only our anxiety for each other coming out in the heated arguments and outrageous behavior, “I forgive you” felt a lot easier to say then, “Never leave me again.” That was too much, too soon.
Even if it was what I meant.
Even if it was whispered in every breath I took, in every beat of my heart.
I knew he saw beyond our easy words and casual statements. This was Hendrix- the boy had seen me and demanded I make a place in his life before I even knew his last name. He always saw beyond the surface, beyond my contrasting actions, almost beyond me- but not quite. More like all of me, every single, insignificant and significant part.
Pretty soon I was nodding off, asleep against the safety I found on his chest. I hadn’t slept in so long- not real sleep anyway. And he was more comfortable than anything I could remember recently. His body kept me warm, his arm held me securely and his steady breathing rocked me to sleep before I knew it.
Someone must have kept watch all night, or a few someone’s, but they let me sleep all the way through. I woke up yawning with a stiff neck and a pliant, relaxed body that felt like jelly since I hadn’t moved once on Hendrix.
I snapped my mouth shut as soon as I realized I was yawning right under his nose. I was pretty sure that my body should have evolved into a condition in which my breath didn’t smell like Zombie feet every single morning, but that was not the case. Apparently I was not the missing link.
This was maybe the first time in history that a person was actually upset they couldn’t claim that great honor. Oh, brother…..
I kept my mouth closed but continued to stretch out across Hendrix. I scratched my fingernails lightly up his side and arched my back, pressing my body into his. I was mostly trying to irritate him, but he grabbed my waist with two hands and flipped me over so that he loomed above me.
“Are you trying to kill me, Reagan?” he demanded in a husky morning voice that revealed he was just waking up too.
I shook my head and pressed my lips together. Someone would have to threaten to shoot me before I spoke to this man without brushing my teeth first.
“Then what are you doing with your body?” Hendrix demanded sounding a bit strangled. His hands lightened their grasp and his fingers brushed against my hip bones. He lowered his forehead to mine and rubbed his nose along my nose. “We’re in a room full of people. Reagan, I haven’t even kissed you yet. Probably it’s better not to turn me on violently first thing in the morning.”
My stomach jolted awake, followed by the thousands of butterflies that had apparently fallen asleep in my stomach. His leg slipped between my thighs and his whole rigid, glorious body pressed down on mine. His breath was stale from sleep, but oddly I found it even more endearing.
I had to close my eyes against all of the sensations he was flooding my body with. Vaguely, I remembered those other people with us in the freezer, but just barely.
He leaned down and kissed my cheek before he pulled back and moved away from me. I heard him groan into his hands. I tilted my head and then watched as he scrubbed his face with his hands roughly. He noticed me watching him and shot me an evil scowl.
I smiled. This boy was more than any girl was capable of resisting. I was falling for him, despite my better judgment.
Or maybe because of my better judgment.
It was still too early to tell.
“I’m going to go brush my teeth,” I explained with a hand over my mouth.
I didn’t know exactly what time it was, but my body was pretty in tuned with day versus night, so I was assuming it was at least close to morning. Besides, everyone else was starting to stir too. Everyone, except for Nelson who was sitting, staring at the door like he was just as inanimate. He must have had the last watch.
“I’ll go with you.” Hendrix was really not going to let me go anywhere without him.