She exhales shakily, then leans forward, pressing her forehead to mine. We stay like that for a long moment, breathing each other in until finally, I brush a tender kiss over her lips. “Come here.”
She curls into me, her head on my chest, my arm around her.
And honestly-
It feels just as good as sex.
Iris
I wake up disoriented, pressed against something warm and solid.
Nate.
Squinting at the morning light creeping in through the curtains, memories from last night come flooding back. The movies, his hands on me, the way he looked at me. And of course, the part where I panicked and blurted out that I was a virgin.
Oh god.
Groaning, I bury my face into his t-shirt and try to make a plan that doesn’t involve facing him ever again.
I feel the vibration of his sleepy hum before I hear it. “Morning,” he rasps, voice rough with sleep.
“Morning,” I mumble back, squeezing my eyes shut, the soreness reminding me why I should never fall asleep in my contacts.
“You okay?” he asks, shifting so he can see me better. His hand slides up to push hair out of my face, his thumb brushing my cheek.
“I forgot to take out my contacts.”
“Mm, I wouldn’t mind seeing you in your glasses,” he drawls, “Bet you look cute as hell.”
“Absolutely not,” I say, way too fast.
My glasses are the one thing from my past that still lingers. Part of me can’t help but worry that if he saw me in them, he would seeKavi.
“Breaking my heart here, Darlin’.”
“I’m sparing you,” I mutter, going back to my hiding place against him.
We lapse into silence, and I think Nate’s fallen back asleep, but all I can think about is what happened last night.
He saw me.
I try to pull back, to get up and go home and hide my shame. But Nate’s arm tightens around me, and he grumbles something intelligible about sleep.
“I’m sorry about last night,” I blurt out, unable to ignore it a second longer.
“What for?”
“I… you know.” I pick at a loose thread on my sweater. “You— you saw my… and I freaked out.”
“Ain’t nothing wrong with having boundaries,” he says, before adding, “And for the record, you’re beautiful. Got nothing to be ashamed of.”
I hide my face against him, wanting to melt into the floor. “Don’t say that.”
“I have to. It’s the truth.”
I peek up, reluctant to believe him, but his gaze is steady, serious in a way that makes my stomach flutter.
For a moment, neither of us says anything. The air feels charged, like maybe we could pick up where we left off last night.
