Page 65 of Plight
I’d always hated those initialmoments of waking up, when your brain computed reality from make believe and you realised what you’d just experienced never happened. Some days that realisation was a good thing, like when I’d wake from a nightmare fuelled by my memories of being trapped in the drain. Those mornings were terrifying and, thankfully, few and far between. Then there were the times when it wasn’t such a good thing, like when I woke with a sated smile on my face because I’d just experienced the world’s greatest orgasm or sweetest gesture. Regardless, I still hated that split second before reality hit, where I’d have to decipher which morning I was to encounter.
Squinting my eyes, I swear my heart forgot to beat, as I experienced that moment I hated so much before quickly realising the smile forming on my face was the result of Elliot’s two, strong, warm arms encasing me from behind. Oh my God!Elliot Parker is hugging me … in bed … in HIS bed.
I slipped my hands down the front of me, feeling for my knickers. Yes, they’re still on. Thank fuck for that. The presence of my underwear confirmed what I’d just experienced before waking was a dream, a really good one.
A safe one.
Wanting to get back to my subconscious bedroom jockey skills, I closed my eyes and willed the scene back to the forefront of my mind but with little success, mainly because Elliot’s rock hard proximity made leaving reality far too difficult.
He’s so warm, and hard, and he smells so good.
I could honestly say that not many people smelled pleasant in the morning; it was basically when we were at our worst. But Elliot … he smelled like clean sheets, firewood, pine needles, and man. Dirty, raw, clean man.
Slowly rotating in his arms, I was extra careful not to wake him, holding my breath and biting my lip each time he moved. When we were younger and he was allowed to stay over one time, I’d woken before him and watched him sleep. Back then, it was perhaps a little creepy … unlike now, because I was just rolling over in bed and keeping my eyes open. It wasn’t my fault that he was in my line of sight.
Smiling, my teeth clamping harder on my lip, I took note of Elliot’s dishevelled hair, parts of it covering his forehead and eyes and other parts sticking up at the back. He looked adorable, a bit like Ernie from Sesame Street sans the orange skin and big red nose. I giggled, and his eyelids twitched.
“You’re awake, aren’t you?” I asked quietly.
He didn’t answer, but I was positive he was fighting the muscles in his face not to smile and betray him.
“Pity,” I sighed. “I can’t seem to find my knickers. They were here just a second ago.”
His eyes shot open.
“Ha! I knew it, ya faker.”
“Do you seriously think I can sleep while you’re moaning and rubbing your arse against my cock?”
“What? When? I did not.” Shit! Did I gyrate him while dreaming?
“Yeah, you did. You’ve been doing it all morning. Want to see the proof?”
I shook my head and pursed my lips. “Your factual bullshit won’t work on me.”
He laughed and kissed the tip of my nose. “Good morning, beautiful.”
I smiled. “Morning.”
He smiled, too, neither of us talking for what felt like minutes, our eyes gleaming and searching one another’s face. I wanted to kiss him, to trace the contours of his jaw with my fingertips. My need and pull toward him was as natural as breathing, and yet … it made me a little sad.
His eyes dulled. “You okay?”
“Yeah. We didn’t fuck. That’s a good thing.”
“Help me understand why.”
I shrugged. “I told you. Friends should never fuck.”
“So, technically, what you’re saying is that you can’t be friends before you become lovers.”
“No. I’m just saying that you can’t be friends after you’ve been lovers. It never works out. I don’t want us to not be friends, Elliot. Ever.”
“So you’re pre-empting a failed relationship if we were to ever start one?”
“No. Well … yes … well...” I rolled onto my back. “I’m not getting lured into one of your cross-examinations. It’s too early in the morning, and I plead the fifth.”
He belly-laughed. “You’re not in America, and I’m not trying to cross-examine you. I’m just trying to understand your logic.”
