Quickly, Charlie pulled the pillow from my grasp and tucked it underneath his head. He turned onto his side, showing me his back.
"Just go to sleep Ness," he muttered.
No. That wasn't the Charlie I knew.
I clambered on top of him and pulled him onto his back, leaning into him in a way that pushed my breasts into his arm. Charlie looked down and then up into my face, and when he reached an arm out, I presumed he was going to shove me off him, instead, his fingers trailed down the edge of my face and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
My breath escaped me, and I could feel my cheeks warming under his attention.
"Why am I here?" I asked him, trying to regain control of the situation.
Charlie sighed, and his hand dropped away from my hair. "You were at a party, and the punch bowl was spiked. I saw you stumbling all over the place, and when I tried to take you back to your room, you refused to tell me where your key was. You insisted that you wanted to sleep with me, like old times."
Where was my key? I patted myself down and found that I was wearing my typical going out get up. Tight high waisted black pants and an off the shoulder crop top. Then I remembered that I must have given my key to Mia who normally carried a clutch to parties, she probably had my phone too. Great. At least they were safe, wherever Mia was.
"I need to let Mia know I'm okay – can I use your phone?"
Charlie nodded then manoeuvred out from under me. He crawled half over me, his broad-shouldered torso hovering over my own, and pulled his phone off the charger on his bedside table. The screen lit up his face in an unearthly glow as he unlocked it. I watched him bite his bottom lip.
"Here," he handed the phone to me, opened on the messages app.
I knew Mia's number off by heart but was surprised to see that he already had her contact on his phone. I opened their conversation. The last message she had sent was – Haha thanks again.
I purposely didn't look at Charlie as my mind raced with thoughts of the two of them together. I quickly typed out a message saying that it was from me, and that I was with Charlie, and that I'd be back in the morning and would collect my stuff from her then.
I locked his phone and placed it back onto the charger. Charlie was already beginning to doze off. Years of sleeping beside him attuned me to the easy breaths he took on the verge of sleep.
I shuffled back toward him, picking up the covers that were tangled at his feet and pulling them over his long, lean frame, I tucked him in and watched his eyes open blearily as he took me in.
"Ness," he murmured, his voice deliciously low and drowsy.
The sound of his voice sent tingles through me, and I moved closer to hear what he'd say. Instead of speaking, Charlie pulled up the covers I'd just tucked around him, and stretched an arm out, his hand landing on my hip. His hand slipped over my hip and smoothed up my back; a firm, gentle demand that had me moving closer to his warmth.
When I settled alongside him, my head tucked on his chest and his arm around me, he mumbled something appreciatively, before his breathing eased again.
With a sigh, I wrapped my own arms around him, unable to contain my need to touch him.
When I was certain that he was asleep I released the words that had been trapped inside my throat for far too long.
"I love you Charlie," I whispered on a shaky exhalation of breath. "I'm sorry I'm not what you want. But you're all I've ever wanted."
I woke up several hours later, ambient sunlight coming in through the blinds. But that wasn't what woke me up, it was the gentle caress of fingers running through my hair.
Sleepover
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