Page 36 of The First Time

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” he whispers.

He climbs out of bed first, then takes my hand and leads me to the bathroom. We jump into the shower and rinse off quickly. He takes his time drying me with a towel and then helps me back into my pajamas.

As soon as we’re back in bed, he reaches for me and pulls me into his chest.

“Goodnight, Freckles,” he whispers.

“Goodnight.” I lie awake on his chest for a while, afraid to wake up and realize that all of this was just a dream.

Chapter Twelve

Josh

I’m in the bathroom, brushing my teeth in nothing but my grey sweatpants in an effort to stall from going back out into the room. Layla is still asleep, and I’m terrified to wake her up. What if she regrets last night? Is she going to wake up and remember how much she hates me?

After last night, I can’t go back to being friends—or enemies—or whatever the hell we were.

When I woke up with her in my arms, I felt relieved that it wasn’t a dream, until I realized that if she does regret this, our relationship would be ruined forever.

Since I can’t hide in the bathroom forever like a creeper, I check myself in the mirror, then open the door and walk back out into the room. She rolls over when I walk out, then yawns as she rubs her eyes.

“Morning,” she says as she stretches her arms above her head.

Images flash in my brain of what it felt like to touch her last night, and my dick starts to twitch in my pants.

“Mornin’” I reply, as I walk over to the coffee maker. “Did you sleep okay?”

I lean against the counter, not wanting to turn my back to her just yet. I’m desperate and will overanalyze every single movement she makes.

“I slept great,” she says as she throws the covers off her. “I’ll be right back. I’m gonna use the bathroom.”

I nod my head. Great. She’s been up for thirty seconds and is already trying to avoid me. I start to make myself a cup of coffee as I feel a heaviness in my chest.

I’m not sure why I thought it would be any different. I watch the coffee pour in a steady stream into my cup as a dark cloud hangs over me. I must not have realized she was back in the room because I feel her fingers glide over my shoulder.

I turn around and she’s standing in front of me with a smile. I hold my breath, waiting for a rejection. But instead, she gets on her tippy toes and throws her arms around my neck. Her lips are on mine in a searing kiss that I feel all over my body.

She kisses me with a hunger that I match in an instant. I wrap my arms around her and pull her against my body. The kiss is a mix between slow and fast. I grip her ponytail as our tongues work together, exploring each other’s mouths lazily like we have all the time in the world.

When she pulls away, she looks at me with a bit of humor in her eyes.

“Are you done freaking out?” she asks coyly.

“What are you talking about? I wasn’t freaking out,” I lie.

“Really? So, the look of complete devastation when I said I had to use the restroom was all in my head? I just wanted to brush my teeth before I threw myself at you.”

I smile, keeping her in my arms, refusing to let her go. I tickle her side, then slap her ass as her head falls back with laughter. “You just love torturing me, don’t you?”

She shrugs as she bites her lip. “You seem to like doing the same thing to me.”

I’m not about to get into that argument with her right now. Instead, I pull her in for another kiss.

“I have another idea for today,” I tell her. “How about we go to Venice?”

“Venice?” her voice raises an octave. “You want to go today?”

“Why not? You want to go. We only have three days left. Let’s do it. It’s only a three-hour train ride from here. We can leave now and get there before lunch. Go on, get ready. I’m gonna look into a few more things on my phone.”

---