Page 50 of The Breaking Pointe
He takes less than a few seconds to return, holding a towel and a few clothing pieces in his hand.
“Hey, lemme clean you up?” he suggests, kneeling beside my legs as he places a gentle hand on my thigh.
“Um… okay,” I mutter, sitting up as he starts to wipe my legs off in between and anywhere he feels I need it.
When hefinishes,heputsitonthefloornexttous.
“Put these on, okay? It’s cold, I know, but I got us a fleece blanket, and um—well we can lie here together,” he says, looking at me with hopeful eyes. “If you’re into that.”
“Can I go to the bathroom first?”I ask, running a hand through my hair.
He nods, slipping on a fresh pair of boxers and sitting down as I sit up, taking his clothing donation and walking down the hall as I put each piece on.As I walk to the bathroom, I see he has already lit a candle to allow me to see. My reflection shines as a darker, shadowy version of me.I can tell that the sweatshirt is from some sort of sorority, and the boxers hang by my hip bones, almost not fitting me.My hair is a mess and shagged out from the rain and sweat from our little rendezvous, too.
I started the day so pretty.Now I’m hard to look at.
I shake the negativity from my head, finding my footing as I go pee before I return to Colton.Walking up to the couch, he’s lying down,eyes closedwith anarm coveringhis eyes.
All the candles are out now, aside from one and a flashlight pointing at the ceiling. His eyes open once I stand in front of him, and he holds the cover up.
“C’mon.” He opens his arms, displaying his chest as my pillow.
I look around quickly before lying between his legs, letting his arms harbor around my body, pulling me close.The blanket perfectly covers both of us as my cheek rests on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
“I’m sorry if I doze off.It’s been a long week for me.Not a lot of sleep,” he says tiredly, his hand falling to my hair to rub my head.
“It’sokay,”Imumble,closingmyeyes.
It didn’t matter if he went to sleep right after he said that. I’m safe and warm. I’ve done this before, but not like this.
What am I even doing?
12
lonely is the muse
NOELLE
The bottoms of my loafers smack the concrete as I run down the crowded block outside of my cafe job. It’s something I had picked up earlier this year to put some extra money in my pocket. Showing up one to two days a week sounded so easy then. But for the first time since I got it, I’m running extremely late, feeling hung over, and halfway delirious.
I shove open the door, run inside, and crash into the counter where Annie is sleepily wiping tables.
“I’msolate,Iknow—butIwentout,andIlosttrack of time.Then the trains were running late—I also had to change—” I explain myself as fast as I can, losing oxygen by the second.
Annie laughs and says, “Slow down.You don’t need to panic. Shop’s been dead since we opened.” She glances at the clock and then at me. “It’s only been forty-eight minutes.” Itightenmylips,stilldissatisfied.“Don’ttellGary,
please,”Iplead.
“Elle, I’m not gonna snitch. Put your stuff away and stay a while.” She shakes her head. “You’re all stirred up.”
“I had a crazy night.My brain is fuzzy…” I say quietly, walking behind the counter and setting my bag underneath it.
I grab a clean apron from the pile nearby and double tie it around my waist.
“Define crazy. You danced too hard, or something?” she asks plainly.
She’s poking fun, I know that. But morning-after guilt is currently smacking me in the face, so I sadly can’t find it as funny as she does. I seriously feel like a bozo. It wasn’t a mistake, but I can’t explain how easy I feel.I let him do things to me that I haven’t let any man do in an unearthly amount of time. I’m embarrassed of how drunk I was while doing it, too.If I ever have to see him again, I’ll shrivel into a black hole.He’s either going to think I’m pitiful or the sleaziest girl he’s ever slept with.
But I won’t say I regret it. I only regret the day that Daniel finds out—if he does at all. That’ll be the day I have to fear everything.
