Page 76 of Straight to Me

“Surely your ex must have told you how beautiful you are every day?”

Chris? He barely looked at me at the end.

“Uh no, he didn’t.”

“Well, lucky for you, you’ve got me now,” he walks to me, cupping my face in his hands. “I’ll make sure not a day goes by without you hearing how beautiful you are.” He kisses my head and looks back down at me. “Come on, let’s eat.”

Chapter Twenty

Sunlight hits my eyes, waking me from my dream. Like the last time, VP isn’t here when I wake in his bed. I give myself a minute to allow my eyes to open and adjust in their own time. The smell of pancakes makes its way upstairs though, causing my tummy to start rumbling. I know I need to get up.

I curl my toes and stretch before swinging the covers off. My muscles feel achy as I lift my arms above my head. The more I stretch, the further down the bed I unintentionally wriggle. “Morning babe.” I freeze, sprawled out across the sheets.

“Morning,” I blush, feeling a little embarrassed. VP places a cup of tea on the bedside table, smiling.

“You, okay?” he asks, wearing only a pair of running shorts again.

“Just needed a good stretch. I don’t remember coming to bed.” I sit up crossing my legs and reach for my cup of tea.

“You fell asleep on me about twenty minutes into the movie,” he chuckles.

I seriously hope I didn’t snore, dribble, or talk in my sleep. I know he joked last time about my snoring but now, knowing VP was awake to witness any of the above makes me internally cringe.

“One minute you were asking me who I thought was the real murderer, the next you’re breathing heavy against me. I carried you up and tucked you in when I realised. You were curled up in the foetal position against me all night.”

“Oh god, sorry.” That explains why my body aches so much this morning though, sleeping all cramped up like that.

“Don’t apologise.” He shakes his head leaning back on his elbow. “I’ve slept more than eight hours only twice in this bed. Both times, you were next to me.”

I smile, leaning forwards to kiss his cheek. I wish I’d woken up with him next to me, but he said exercising every day helps him. I don’t want him to stop doing that.

“Good run?” I ask, my eyes flicking down.

“Yeah, managed 5K.”

“5K?” I ask amazed, looking at the time. “What time did you get up?”

“5am,” he says. My mouth falls open and his lips stretch across his face. “I prefer getting up early. It’s not hard once you get into a routine. You can come with me one morning if you like?”

“I think staying in bed and waiting for you to bring me a cup of tea is much more appealing,” I laugh. I take a sip of my drink before asking, “So, what time are we heading out?”

He checks his phone in his pocket, reading something on the screen before answering. His face twitches. I’d have missed it if I hadn’t been looking straight at him, waiting for him to reply.

“An hour? I made you breakfast. We can shower and get ready. All the stuff’s ready to go too.”

“Okay, who the hell are you and where have you been all my life?” I laugh. “I know I’m an organised and clean person, but you are next level.”

“Let me guess, you saw the leather and assumed I couldn’t cook, clean or organise myself. Probably thought I didn’t know how to treat a woman right too.”

“I’ve never thought that.” I take a sip of my tea. “Apart from when you said you should punish me for how I spoke when I stood up to you that first night.”

He jumps to his knees, playfully grabbing my legs. I laugh with a snort as he pulls me towards him. “VP! You’ll spill my drink!”

He grabs it, plonking it on the side and pins my arms above my head with his hands.

Smiling mischievously, he sits his bum on my legs. “I knew you remembered," he says. "Now, do you want this the easy way or the hard way.”

There’s no question here. I buck my legs, trying to throw him off. “I’m not going to make this easy for you,” I say, and I grin sarcastically.

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