started with a lie ➳ raura revised

Chapter Thirty-Seven

I peek at him. "Yep, it's pretty bright. It's called the sun."

His left eye pops open. "You and that mouth of yours. Even at five in the morning."

"What're you going to do about it?"

Ross closes his eye and a grin infects his face, slow and lazy. He pulls me closer and kisses the top of my head. "That's what I'm gonna do about it."

I nuzzle my nose into his chest. "How boring."

"Boring?"

"Yeah, no good morning passionate kiss, nothing. Next thing I know, you'll be knitting me a sweater," I say. I drag a finger and trace where his heart is. Being so physically close to someone is a new concept to me. It's very...fascinating.

"Laura," he says and the tone scares me. It sounds like he's going to get a bucket of ice cold water and splash it on me before running away and laughing. He shoots up and then he's on all four on top of me. "How dare you say—even think—of the word 'boring' after last night?" His smirky grin makes me want to shoot myself.

I gulp but nonchalantly shrug. "Wasn't that good really." "Forget good. I'll show you great, baby."

The sun shines strongly, noon probably, a er we finish. I still have no clue around what time it might be but being in a cocoon of Ross's arms makes me want to forget everything I need to worry about. Another breeze shifts around my room and I bring my legs up and scoot closer to Ross even though I'm too close already.

"We should probably get up," I say to his chest. The only bad part of snuggling with Ross is that he's too tall and all I see is his chest. I mean, his chest is fine—really fine—but I wish I could see his face. But then he would barely get to talk because I'd be attacking it.

"Probably." He rests his cheek on my forehead.

"We're missing the best part of a Saturday!" Every time I talk, my lips brush his chest. It's all very torture-some.

"And how is the best part not both of us lying here together with our bodies as one and our veins full of love and life and laughter with—"

"Okay, Shakespeare, we'll stay here a minute longer." I kiss his chest. "Thank you, Juliet." I can almost feel him grinning. "So what is it?" "What is what?"

"Your favorite part of a Saturday."

"Oh, that," I say. I bring my arm around his torso and snuggle closer. I don't know why I keep trying to get closer to him. We are already intimate as possible, both mentally and physically. "Waking up late, watching morning cartoons—they have re-runs on Saturdays—eating an unhealthy breakfast, and then doing nothing for the rest of the day."

"We're doing nothing right now."

"I thought you said we were being one with the wind and our bodies were vines wrapped around each other and—"

"Okay, I get it, I get it. No more poetry." He moves up and around so he's sitting up, his bare back to the wall near our heads. Ross grabs my hand and pulls me between his knees. The blanket slips off of my body and it's suddenly colder than I had expected. I mean it was summer now basically and yet I felt my spine tingle with a chill.

I bring the blanket back up to my shoulder but Ross stops me, sliding the blanket back down. "No, wait." He slips the blanket slowly down my arm as I get more and more exposed. His eyes never leave my body. "Wow," he breathes, his eyes lighting up like a kid on Christmas.

Taking it from his grip, I pull the blanket back up. "That's enough, perv." He tries pulling it back down. "Nooo, wait."

"You had your time."