Page 79 of Jagged

When the light of morning peeked through the drawn curtains, I found myself resting in the cozy pillows of Clem's bed with one arm behind my head, and the other around her. She lay on her side, one leg draped over mine, with her head on my shoulder. I pressed my lips to her forehead, and she nuzzled my chin with her nose. I ran my fingers through her endless hair and she smiled up at me.

"Hey, beautiful," I whispered, to which she scrunched her nose. "What?"

"Not beautiful."

"Incredibly beautiful." I stroked her cheek and she leaned into my touch. "Can't you see that?"

"Maybe." She smiled and nibbled my finger. "You're beautiful."

"Nah." I scoffed, but playfully.

"So, we agree that each other is beautiful but ourselves are perhaps mediocre at best." She tapped her finger against my lips.

I laughed, nodding hard with it. "I think that sounds about right."

Her smile broadened and she settled against me again while I stroked her back. I pressed my lips to her forehead again. She pulled the blankets over us, and the warmth of us wrapped together soothed me. The comfort of her body beside mine eased the thoughts from my mind. Her breathing evened to rhythmic rises and falls as sleep caught her, and I wasn't far behind.

***

"You seem very calm today," said Tatiana the next night while we lounged on the sofa together sharing a pint of coconut ice cream.

"I am. I slept at Clem's."

"I noticed." She grinned and nudged me. "Seems like that's going very well."

"It is." I smiled while thinking of her. "She's working late tonight."

"What's your favorite thing about her?"

"Um…" I swallowed my gulp of ice cream before responding. "She's funny without realizing it. Affectionate. Smart."

"And sexy as heck."

"Yeah, of course." I felt my cheeks heat up and cleared my throat.

"And the sex is amazing, right?"

"Shh." I shoved her shoulder. "Be nice."

"I am. Talking about sex isn't un-nice, Jags."

"But I don't want to."

"Okay." She rubbed my arm, then gave it a squeeze when I met her gaze. "You can say that."

"Okay." I leaned against her, then turned my attention to the movie we weren't watching.

My phone rang and I pulled it out to see Sali Miller's name on the screen. I let out a small groan before swiping to answer.

"What's up?"

"'Sup, yourself," her snide voice responded.

"You called me." I frowned, and Tati cocked a brow at me.

"Yeah, well. Got a lead. Let's go."

"It's Sunday."

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