Breathe | ✓

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Entwined Lips
Tahlia

Tahlia was lying against something hard and warm. She looked up to a see a sleeping Twitch. He looked even more beautiful when there wasn't a frown on his face. Everything from last night came back to her.

Oh my god, oh my god, I lost my virginity to a fucking stranger! Her mind was screaming. I barely know the guy, oh my GOD.

It's not like you didn't like it though, the inner hoe in her said, smirking. Well, it's not like she could deny that.

She had enjoyed every minute of the rough, passionate sex Twitch had offered and she liked that she could cuddle against his still warm body.

She studied his chiseled jawline, watched as his Adam's apple bobbed lightly and his chest rose and fell. One of his arms was wrapped protectively around her waist and Tahlia found that strangely endearing.

He looked peaceful and Tahlia didn't feel like leaving. She thought again of his hands running all over her skinny body. It's not like she had big breasts or a silicon butt like Kim Kardashian, she wondered why Twitch had been interested in her.

Did I tell you I found your confidence sexy? 

She hadn't been confident at all, it was just Twitch bringing out that side of her. Twitch was a weird name...

His eyes opened slightly and he smiled to himself. Husky voice. "Morning, baby girl." He murmured.

She leaned into him and inhaled the spicy cologne that was still on his body and probably on hers. "Hi, Twitch." She said, whispering.

He kissed her nose, the smallest of small kisses. "You've never done that before, have you?" He asked as his lips were against hers.

How did he know? "Twitch...I..." She began, stammering and suddenly, he was kissing her with passion and she didn't have time to think or breathe and she was kissing him back.

She giggled. "Round two already?"

"I'll take as much as I can get." He said and began the slow torture from last night.

Her body was lying on his and they were a mess of tangled limbs but Tahlia was talking and Twitch was just listening. God, he was a good listener.

"So, I graduated from high school with pretty good grades and I thought: Alright, now I should have some freedom but no? My Pops didn't want me to take this trip and it's been on my bucket list since forever. Anyway, I'm leaving towards LA as soon as I see every inch of New York. Maybe I'll return back home to London after I see Canada. There's a huge trashing waiting for me at home, by the way. But if they see...If they see how much I've grown, how much I've changed. Maybe they'd understand...?" She trailed off and Twitch kissed her nose.

"I didn't know you were from London. You don't have the accent." He said.

"Oh, um... yeah, that's an awkward story. I have way too many American friends. I can turn on the accent though." She cleared her throat and said the most English thing she could think about. "Oi, mate, get me a cup of tea and let's talk politics."

Twitch laughed and she felt some weird surge of emotions run through her. "So, I've been rambling on for the past hour. Your turn. Tell me about you. Like, what were your parents thinking when they named you Twitch?!"

She felt him stiffen, his arms around her tightened and his expression changed but he let out a sigh and seemed to relax but his eyes were stormy. "My real name is Marcus. Twitch is a nickname from a while ago. I graduated high school easy too but I dropped out of college in the second year." He was talking with a really faraway look in his eyes that made Tahlia lean forward and kiss him.

"I like Marcus. It suits you." She said and felt him chuckle. "Tell me more." She was craving to know more. She had seen a tattoo of Chinese symbols on his shoulder blade and she had run her fingers on it, wondering what they meant.

"My parents died in a car crash three years ago."

She stopped smiling and looked at him, she didn't say anything, she couldn't say anything. Twitch was absentmindedly squeezing her waist and she hugged him, telling him indirectly that he didn't need to share anymore.

"Yeah, I was a wreck then. I loved my family, they were such nice people. All they did was go to church and mind their own business and mom used to make these insane cookies just to give it to the homeless and dad used to talk. Talk to me always and I found it easy to talk to him too. I thought I was goddamned lucky to have two people understand me body and soul, even when I was a moody teenager. They just got me. They let me party, they knew when I wanted to and when I was going to study. They were good people, Tahlia. I got into fighting a lot after that. That's how I got my nickname, you know? Because I was always palm-twitching mad. Always ready to punch and get punched. Yeah, my girlfriend didn't appreciate when I ignored her for days at one end and sat drinking and fighting. I was in a good college, a good place. Should've known it was too fucking good to be true." Here, he laughed but he sounded in pain and Tahlia didn't dare interrupt him, knowing he needed to talk.

"I miss my parents every single day. Erica keeps telling me to move on but I can't. I can't seem to push them out of mind. I can't seem to feel like somehow it's all my fault. I know it isn't but I feel like it is and I miss them, Tahlia. If I could switch my life with theirs, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I..." He seemed to have lost his rhythm. He wasn't crying but his eyes held a pain that clenched Tahlia's heart.

She kissed his lips gently. "Marcus," she said tentatively. "Beating yourself up over it won't help you move on. You just need to give it time. If three years didn't help, then you need more time. But... don't punish yourself over it. Like you said, it wasn't your fault. One day, something will click and it won't hurt anymore."

"Maybe, it's not something but someone." He murmured and Tahlia didn't know if that thought terrified her or reeled her in.