That Blue Gibson

CH 96

Dave woke up slowly, comfortably drifting out of a dream he had already forgotten the gist of and blinked a few times to orient himself. He had woken up on countless tour buses, though he couldn't remember if those times were ever peaceful. There was the constant hum of the tires against pavement, the flashing streetlights as they passed interchanges, the occasional horn beep and the infamous Taylor Hawkins Wake Up Special that involved a snare drum being beaten as close to one's head as possible. But the desert was quiet that early in the morning and the only sound he could make out was Liz's steady breathing.

She was tucked against him with one arm lazily draped across his middle and the other curled under her head which was nestled just under his chin. His hand that had been resting at the nip of her waist involuntarily traveled towards her lower back and began to lightly draw patterns on the skin there, causing her to stir a little. In response, her hand that was laying against his back twitched, then pressed flat against his ribs as it traveled to his chest.

He assumed she was awake and rolled back a bit, but she pouted, clearly in the midst of a dream and he moved back to her. He wasn't fully awake yet himself, he just wanted to lay with her for a bit which seemed like a luxury in their world. They were always being pulled in two different directions and now that they were together it finally felt worth the fight. He sighed and pulled her a little closer by the small of her back, then closed his eyes in an attempt to fall back asleep, but she made a faint whining noise that sounded maybe a bit like his name and he tilted his head just enough to see her face.

"Dave..."

His heart picked up speed at that, wondering if he could be so lucky that she would be dreaming of him and he would actually get to witness it. Her back arched and she gasped, digging her nails into his chest as she purred incoherently. He winced against the pain, but his mouth dropped open in surprise when a soft sigh escaped her lips and her entire body shuddered against him.

Oh. One of those dreams.

He gently leaned back again, watching her with an almost giddy sense of excitement when she breathed his name again, this time with a smile pulling at her lips. She jolted once and then again before rolling onto her back, leaving his skin cold where she had been pressed against him. He watched her eyes flutter open and focus, then slide over to him as a sated smile spread across her face.

"Morning," he said softly, his voice still thick with sleep.

"Hey," she drawled and he couldn't help but smile at how relaxed she looked. "How'd you sleep?"

"Great. I've been up for a little bit, though."

She nodded, unaffected by his seemingly inconsequential statement, but then it hit her. "Oh yeah?" she asked as a deep pink blush spread across her cheeks and chest.

"Yeah," his voice strained as he rolled to cover her body with his and propped himself on his elbows so he could see her face. "How was I?"

"Fine," she teased, reaching up to pull his hair away from his face. "You were fine."

"Oh, I'll give you fine," he growled against her cheek and ground his hips against her, damning to hell the fabric that was still between them.

Her laugh turned to a sharp gasp when his pressure fell on just the right spot and then a cabinet slammed somewhere in the bus followed by Harper's yell.

"You guys have any cereal in here?"

Dave dropped his face into the bend of Liz's neck and groaned while she let out a whoosh of air in frustration. "It's going to be a long fucking day," he muttered.