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“That is precisely my concern.”
“I love you, melodramatic edgelord and all.”
“I preferred your previous name.”
I wrap my arms around his shoulders, burying my face into the crook of his neck to muffle my laugh. I love him, and I love being with him, and it’s such mundane, teasing conversations that make me truly realize just how happy I am with him.
Elias finally lifts himself off me and lays at my side instead, allowing me to stare at the stars. Not that staring up at him was a view I disliked either.
No more needs to be said. I’m content to enjoy his company, the comfortable silence, and his captivating presence. Our shoulders press together as we lie next to each other, hands clasped between us. The soft static of his touch is a familiar sensation and feels somehow reassuring.
Embarrassingly quick and without any intention of doing so, I find myself starting to doze off. It’s only when Elias slides his arms beneath my knees and around my shoulders to pick me up that I start back into wakefulness.
“I’m sorry,” I attempt, sleepiness making my words sluggish. “I was up early for work and—”
“No need to apologize.”
I rub my eyes. “Ugh. You brought me out on a date, and I’m falling asleep on you. I feel like Ishouldapologize.”
“I find it endearing you trust me enough to fall asleep so easily.”
I raise my eyebrows at Elias for that comment, lips twisting into a sardonic smile. “I’ve been asleep around you plenty. Usually after having been thoroughly fucked by you.”
Elias smirks, then attempts to cover it with a cough. “I expect you were simply thoroughly worn out in those cases and would have fallen asleep regardless of the circumstance.”
I don’t have time to refute the point. He’s already carried me as far as the car, letting me slide out of his arms to get into the passenger seat instead. He tosses his jacket into the back seat.
“I’ll take you home so you can get some proper rest.”
Part of me wants to argue I’m not that tired, but I must admit even to myself it would be a lie. As much as I want to spend more time with Elias, we’ve had a pleasant enough evening, and he’s certainly talked enough to give me food for thought for a long time.
Everything he said about his past…
The car ride lulls me back into dozing before I can truly think through anything, and I’m firmly asleep by the time we arrive back. I don’t wake up properly, and I’m only half aware of small snippets of events around me—Elias carrying me inside, helping me undress until I’m stripped down to just my underwear and a T-shirt, tucking me into bed.
When I do stir and try to speak, he only hushes me and tells me to rest.
I sleep a few hours, more of a nap than a full night’s sleep. Following an instinct driven by deeply entrenched bad habits, I reach for my phone the moment I surface back to consciousness, only to blink blearily in the dim half-light.
“Elias?”
He’s still here.
He’s dragged my desk chair over to the side of the bed, elbows resting on his knees as he watches me, somewhere miles away.
“Jesus. I know you don’t need to sleep, but if you’re gonna stay the night, get in bed with me instead of just sitting there like a creepy weirdo,” I mumble.
Elias seems as though he’s only just stirring from deep thought, processing the offer slowly as he cracks his neck and returns to focusing on the present. But once he has considered my words, he huffs a short laugh. “Creepy weirdo, is it now?” he murmurs. “We really are downgrading.”
“Come to bed with me. Please, Sir?”
My attempts at backtracking only amuse him. But he seems willing enough to oblige, gifting me with the opportunity to watch him strip.
He’s not even trying to make a show of it, just undressing. But that alone is enough that I can’t tear my eyes away.
Elias hooks his fingers beneath the knot of his tie and pulls it loose. The veins on the back of his hands stand out against ashen pale skin as he slowly unbuttons his shirt, revealing the toned chest and stomach beneath. My gaze follows the lines of his hip bones down to the waistband of his trousers as Elias undoes his fly, stripping down to just his boxers.
I bite my lip to stop myself from grinning inappropriately.It’s moments like these that it really hits me just how hot he is.
