Broken, But Brave

Chapter 11: Love and Pride

Part of Annabelle's brain told her they should stop before this went any further. It was barely four months ago that Annabelle was asking Eric for them to go slow, and it wouldn't show much resolve on her end if she gave into that so soon. But it wasn't until she felt his hands playing with the hem of her shirt that she really decided to put a stop to it and suddenly broke apart their lips as she pushed Eric's chest away somewhat roughly. Eric immediately stopped his ministrations but didn't lift himself from her entirely yet. The couple was out of breath, their lips swollen and bright pink as they each worked to gather themselves. 

"What's wrong? Did I push too far?" 

"No. No, nothing like that. I'm sorry. I thought I was ready, but I'm not." 

"Hey, that's okay. Thank you for stopping me." 

"I'm sorry, Eric. I know you want to. It's not fair of me to tease you like that." 

"Hey. You're not teasing me. It's okay, Belle. I promise. I'm not upset. I told you, I'll wait as long as I have to."

Annabelle smiled sadly up at the man above her, her hand moving to caress his face lovingly before pulling him down gently into a soft kiss. When he pulled away, Eric kept himself just close enough for a moment longer to brush his nose against Annabelle's, his words coming out as a soft, vulnerable whisper just above her own. 

"I love you, Belle." 

"I love you too, Eric." 

Hearing Annabelle say those words never failed to make Eric smile, and this instance was no different. He placed another quick kiss to Annabelle's lips before finally pulling away fully and lifting himself from the couch, searching for the shirt previously discarded somewhere in the living space of his apartment. Annabelle sat up as well, still working to compose herself from the intimacy the couple had just shared. His shirt now once again covering his upper body, Eric returned to the couch and sat next to Annabelle, allowing the girl to curl up into his side comfortably. Before long, Annabelle felt her eyelids lowering and he head bobbing gently against Eric's chest as she fought to stay awake. She faintly recognized the feeling of Eric's body suddenly leaving her side and being gently lowered onto the couch's surface once more along with a warm blanket covering her body, thus solidifying her falling into a deep, peaceful sleep. 

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Annabelle wasn't sure how long she had been asleep when she finally woke again, but she knew it must have been a while, as the sun was already beginning to set, and the smell of dinner was wafting through Eric's apartment. She rose slowly, allowing herself to stretch out her sore muscles before standing and making her way over to Eric in the kitchen, whose back was turned to her as he worked at the stove. 

The feeling of Annabelle's hands wrapping around his midsection brought a smile to Eric's face as he looked over his shoulder slightly to look down at her tiny figure. 

"Have a good nap, baby girl?" 

"You could have woken me earlier. I didn't mean to sleep the day away." 

"It's okay. I figured you could use the rest after the morning you had learning about your mom and everything." 

"What'd you do?" 

"Not much either. Straightened up the apartment a bit, caught up on some reading. Lauren even came over at one point to talk about leader assignments coming up. She's going to take one for the team and handle wall patrols, thank God." 

Annabelle mustered up a slight laugh at Eric's last comment but couldn't help the tension that returned to her body at the mention of the job choosing that would take place among the leaders in just a week. Of course, Eric felt this and placed a comforting hand to Anna's arm that was still wrapped around him, his attention still not turning from the meal he was working to prepare for them.