Take Me Home | ✔

Chapter Forty-Nine

VIENNA'S POV 

           SOMETHING WAS DIGGING INTO MY LEFT CHEEK, and I felt like my bed that I was lying on was uneven. My neck was twisted to the left at an uncomfortable degree, and my pillow was harder than it should've been. It felt rough and bony. My back was aching, seriously killing me. I tried shifting and turning, but I was still uncomfortable. With my eyes closed, I reached instinctively out for a blanket, but instead I pulled up something that felt a lot like a jacket.

And then all of a sudden, I heard my pillow groan and move under me. My eyes shot open and I sat up quickly. The ceiling wasn't the ceiling of the guest bedroom. The skylights of the James family living room stared back at me, and the faint buzz of the flat screen was ringing in my ear. The windows let in the faint yellow glow of the morning.

And Elliot was lying underneath me.

The chill of my 'bed' was the leather material the sofa was made of, and our weird position was mainly because Elliot was sleeping on one side of the L-shaped couch and I was on the other.

Under me, Elliot stirred, and the rigid thing that was digging into my face was his hard shoulder. He groaned as he sat himself up on his elbows, his eyes slowly opening. Did I mention he has unfairly long eyelashes? It was just not fair.

I kind of regretted wishing he would wake up. He was seriously warm.

Looking at him, I instantly started feeling anxious. He was never hard on the eyes to begin with, but when he's freshly woken up, his dark hair manages to make him look even more attractive. His voice was deeper, his eyes were glassy, and there was something about his wrinkled white dress shirt from last night on his taut chest that made me palpitate with nervousness.

"Are you checking me out?" he asked, his voice husky. He blinked groggily as he smirked.

"No," I denied. "No."

His smirk got even deeper. "You were, weren't you?"

I shook my head. "No. Maybe you have a bigger ego than you think."

"Maybe you have a problem with staring at me too long."

"What even is there to stare at?"

"Aw, come on, Vienna, admit it. You love me."

"Maybe I do."

This was an answer he didn't expect. His smirk straightened and he widened his eyes, blinking and stammering.

My stomach started squirming, and I stuttered, "G-Good morning," and I instantly started laughing – or cackling – with nervous laughter to distract myself.

Suddenly, there was a thunderous rumble on the stairs and Tess came down in her pajamas, clutching her phone and most likely looking for food. I somehow remember how Angie and Uncle Terrence said last night that they'd be leaving early this morning to take a relaxing trip to the downtown shops today, maybe as some sort of 'vow renewal honeymoon.' Maybe that was why the house felt so still.

"Oh hey guys, I didn't see you there—" Suddenly Tess went still at the sight of us. Me and Elliot, nearly lying on top of each other. Me draped in his blue tuxedo jacket, my dress rumpled and wrinkled. Us together, close enough to turn around and kiss. It must've been a sight. "Oh. Oh. Am I interrupting something?"

"No," I started to say, where Elliot mumbled, "Yes."

"Yes," I said then, where he added, "No."

Tess's confusion escalated into a wide grin. Her eyes went wide. "Did you guys have like—"