Take Care of My Heart

Chapter 12 - Boiling Point

The morning after, Miles awoke from his long slumber to the rhythmic sounds of a resting heart. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he raised his head to see Gwen, still fast asleep, with her hands draped loosely around him; she looked so angelic, even with her messy hair all over her face.

Last night really did happen... it wasn't a dream.

Careful as not to wake her yet, he brushed away those blond strands to admire her better. For almost a minute, he stared at her, wanting her restful expression to stay in his mind forever... another photographic memory to store in his sketchbook later.

But when he eventually tried to move from her, she stirred a little, groaning in protest, and pulled him back into her chest, hugging him tighter. As much as Miles loved being in her arms, he had to get home as soon as he could, but her sticky powers made it nearly impossible... and he also couldn't breathe now.

To avoid being smothered to death, he flailed his hands until one of them found her face and patted gently to wake her up. It took quite a while until she eventually opened her eyes, realized what was happening, and released him quickly. Miles let out a long gasp and coughed.

Too much love will kill you.

"Miles!" cried Gwen as she shuffled to a sitting position.

"Good morning... to you too." He took a moment to catch his breath then smiled to show that he was okay. "So, uh... last night..." He trailed off, not knowing where to go with this.

"Yeah..." Gwen blushed, recalling everything, "... pretty wild, huh?"

"Not bad for a first timer?" The teen boy bounced his eyebrows cheekily.

"Not bad at all..." she glanced down at his chest scar, "... all things considered."

Noticing this, he followed her eyes down. "Once I get that healthy new heart... we can try again, if you want." He returned his gaze to her with thinly veiled desire.

Gwen nodded with great enthusiasm, her hair bouncing up, which earned her a chuckle.

She then jolted, as if sprinkled by a cold hose, and snapped her head to the door, which was still closed since last night; she was clearly worried about her dad coming in at any moment.

Miles read her like a book. "I'll get going."

Getting up off the bed, he lazily bent over to pick up his clothes from the pile that they threw on the floor. Gwen simply leered as he, still with the NC on, pulled on his underwear and jeans, followed by his jersey. "I should have worn my NC under my clothes this whole time." he commented. "Much easier, actually."

"Oh!" She hopped off the bed herself. "Your heart meds... did you take them?"

Miles thought for a moment and shrugged.

"I'll get you some water."

"Nah, it's cool. I can just—"

"No." she said firmly, shutting him up. "I'll get you a glass."

He threw up his hands. "Okay..." he ogled her nude form up and down, "... maybe get some clothes on first."

Looking at herself, she agreed. "Right."

Advancing towards her wardrobe, she opened it and fumbled through her drawers until she found a loose-fitting pair of pajamas to put on; hopefully, these were conservative enough for her dad not to suspect anything in case he saw her walking outside in it.

Advancing to her door next, she motioned to Miles. "Maybe turn invisible?"

Obeying her request, he vanished from the spot... or at least he would have, were it not for his floating tube and bag. He simply shifted to one corner of her room out of the doorway's line of sight.