Float On

Part 5

He shrugs. "I'm not sure. Do you think I'd make a good anime character?"

"I can completely see you as an anime character," I say, trying not to laugh but failing miserably. The laughter tears his attention away from Buffy and he raises his eyebrows at me.

Before I can react, he pounces on me, knocking me back on the couch with him laying half on top of me. I giggle and try to squirm away, but he shifts his weight, pinning me down, immediately stopping my laughter. My eyes involuntarily flicker down to his lips and then back to his blue eyes. He leans in for a kiss and I completely melt underneath him. One kiss leads to another and the next thing I know we're lazily making out on the couch.

As his hand tugs at the hem of my shirt and I feel his hand on my bare skin, I instantly start getting nervous again about what his assumptions are about my invitation to spend the night. My breath catches and I pull my head back.

"I'm sorry," Phil stammers, quickly removing his hand.

"No, it's ok," I say, putting my hand on his cheek. "I'm just kind of worried about something."

"What's wrong?" he says with a slight frown, sliding off of me and laying next to me instead. "Am I going to fast?"

"Well, that's just it. I was just wondering what your expectations are for tonight. I hope I didn't give you the impression by asking you to spend the night I actually wanted to...." I trail off.

Phil looks confused for a second before understanding floods his face.

"Oh! No, I didn't think that at all!"

"Oh good," I say relieved, ducking my head down. "I mean, not that I don't want to, but umm...you know. Just not yet. I'm not ready."

He puts his fingers under my chin and lifts my face up to look at him. "Listen, I would never make you do anything you don't want to do. We've got all the time in the world, ok? I'm not going anywhere. If you're uncomfortable with anything, just say something, yeah?"

I nod, feeling a little embarrassed to be talking about it so openly.

"Phil?"

"Yes?"

"Just so we're clear, I'm entirely comfortable with kissing," I tell him with a grin.

"You have no idea how glad I am to hear you say that," he responds with a sigh and immediately pins me down again and starts kissing up my neck.

I have a sassy comeback, but it completely escapes my mind so I just settle for tilting my head to give him better access as he continues to nibble and kiss his way back up to my lips. I reach back and click off the lamp on the end table, leaving the room dark except for the glow from the tv. He's being the perfect gentleman and sticking to just kissing, keeping his hands politely on top of my clothes. I almost hate myself for ever stopping him from touching me the way he was earlier as we pick up where we left off. I slide my hands down and grasp his hips, pulling them down against me as I push mine up into him. He moans, but then backs out of my grasp and partially sits up, taking some deep breaths.

He glances back down at me, noticing the concern in my eyes.

"It's ok," he says with a small smile. "I just need a minute to....calm down a bit."

"Oh," I answer, surprised yet pleased that something I did had that kind of effect on him. "Do you need a cheesecake break?"

"Yes," he answers, sounding dazed. "I think that may be a good idea."

I hop up off the couch and go to the kitchen to grab forks and the cheesecake slices he brought earlier. When I get back into the living room, he's looking a little more oriented.

"Sorry about that," he says sheepishly as I hand him his dessert. As we eat and talk, I reach over and pull a sketchbook and pencil off of the table. I scoot down to the end of the couch and start to make a rough sketch of Phil sitting with his legs folded up underneath him.

Phil glances over and does a double take. "Are you drawing me?"

"I am," I say distractedly.

"Should I pose and smile?" he asks with a grin.

"Nope. Just sit there like you were for about 15 minutes."

"I always wanted to be a model," he jokes before settling back into the couch quietly as I draw.

When I finish the rough drawing, I just sit for a minute, letting my eyes trace over him. Everything about him seems too good to be true, from his playful personality and kindness to his perfect body and smooth pale skin. We've only known each other for a few days, but I already can't imagine a life without him. I set down my notebook and stand up, holding out a hand to him.

"Come to bed?" I ask, loving the way the words sound as I say them.

He smiles and places his hand in mine as I pull him up off the couch and walk towards my bedroom, our fingers still entwined.