The Unknown Road

23 - Tessa

I WAS ABOUT TO fall asleep when I hear tapping at my window.

Because he'd taken so long I thought maybe he wasn't coming, but the sound of stones hitting my window make my heart soar again.

I turn my light on, and the tapping stops followed by my phone ringing a minute later.

"Hey," I whisper.

"Please say that's your room where the light just went on?"

I chuckle and cover my mouth to stifle it "Yeah."

He sighs and I can sense his relief. "Thank God. Okay, I'll be up in a sec. Can you open the window?"

I snort, "Demanding."

He chuckles, "Just do it."

He hangs up before I can say anything else, but I feel my smile return in full force.

Quietly, I open my window and after a couple of minutes I can hear the quiet rustling of leaves along with his quietened grunts, as he climbs up the trellis beneath my window. Thankfully Dad's bathroom butts onto mine, so if Archie makes a noise, it'll sound like the wind. Hopefully the neighbours won't see anything. That'll be the next thing.

When he reaches the top, I stand back so he has space and hug my arms around me. His head appears above the frame, followed by him climbing in and ungracefully falling over my desk which is just in front of the window.

He manoeuvres over my desk awkwardly, onto my bed, bounces up and into me, putting his strong, warm arms around me. I melt into them, putting my arms around his shoulders as I kiss the side of his neck, revelling in how good he smells. Oak, and a hint of sweat from his climb, and his damp hair smells like oranges.

A satisfied sigh escapes him, and as I move my head to under his chin, I hear him chuckle again.

"I really could get used to this." He says it quietly but I because I have my head next to his chest, it's as if he's shouting it.

I tip my head up, placing my chin on the centre of his chest, and he brings his arms up around me tighter, stroking my hips with his fingers calmly, the rhythm soothing me. It was as if he was remembering what it was like to hold me like this, and I was doing the same. It had only been a few hours, but it was as if we'd been apart for years.

Bringing my arms up and around his back, I stroke his back under his shirt and grin to myself as I feel his body shiver under my fingers. I see him tip his head down, his eyes on my lips and he only needs to move slightly before I push my lips to his, gasping at the intensity of his kiss.

We pour everything we have into it; passion, desire, want and need. It was as if this was the difference between life and death and his hands were moving up my back and into my hair as we spin slowly in a circle. It's making me dizzy, the combination of the kiss and the spinning, but I don't care.

When I pull back I'm breathless as I put my head to his chest, hearing his heart hammering in his chest just as fast as mine was.

He kisses the top of my head and then rests his cheek on my hair, gently stroking down my back, making me sigh contentedly.

I can see he's changed. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt before, now he's wearing a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a long baggy bed-shirt. He'd clearly been lying awake, same as me.

"Do you want to stay?" I ask, not even thinking about it before saying it. I wanted him to stay, but if the parents, or worse, Matt, found us in the morning, we'd be in so much trouble.

I look up and search his eyes, but they're just smiling.

He doesn't seem to care about the consequences, and the move I stare into his eyes, the more the worry starts to float away. I had a plan in my head anyway that if he did stay, we'd set an alarm early enough for him to get back before anyone noticed.