[1] MONACO || C. LECLERC

THIRTY FOUR

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CAMILLE

By the time The Notebook finished, I was falling asleep in Charles' arms whilst listening to the sound of his heartbeat pumping loudly against his chest. I couldn't believe the evening I'd had with him. I didn't expect him to ask me to be his girlfriend; when I knew that Max was acting strangely, I didn't once think that it was because Charles had asked for help to plan tonight. He was so cute and tonight proved that to me. In such a short space of time, Charles had boosted my trust within him and I always felt so happy and so comfortable when he was by my side.

"Camille? Are you falling asleep?" His voice was quiet and filled with tiredness, but I knew that the pair of us were crying by the end of the film, so the tinge of sadness was also still prominent in his voice. It broke my heart a little to see him cry. I shook my head no, before sitting up and smiling, glancing at Charles and brushing the small strands of hair away from his face.

"No," I whispered, whilst wiping the damp tears away from beneath my eyes. I loved being with him. I felt overwhelmed to be able to call him mine. "I want to stay awake with you. I want you to hold me. Please."

"Of course." He moved slowly whenever he was this close to me. I wanted our time together to be intimate, but Charles made sure that I was always comfortable by his side, especially when we were so close to each other. To me, that was the best type of intimacy. He tightened his strong grip on me, as I reached for the remote and changed the setting to normal television. I sunk further into Charles' chest and appreciated his warm touch more than ever before.

"I can't believe that you're my boyfriend, for real," I giggled, my bare cheeks blushing red as I leaned up and rested my chin against the top of his chest. "I'm so happy. I feel so good about myself and how far I've come. This is what I really needed, I just didn't know how to show you."

"I'm so proud of you." Charles leaned over and reached for my lips with his own, using his fingers to cup my face gently as he connected our mouths in the middle. His sleepy kisses were to die for, so soft and so full of love and passion; there was nothing I would rather have more than him right by my side. Our kisses were so delicate and gentle, they drove me crazy and sent me weak at the knees, but Charles had that effect on me since day one.

We repositioned ourselves after our brief kiss and I flicked the lamp on beside me, then turned off the television to allow us to roll onto our sides and comfortably look into one another's eyes. I felt like I was ready to tell Charles everything about my life, from my time at school in Belgium, to the very last moment before I left, terrified of any other man apart from my father and Max. I was depressed, my anxiety through the roof, because I was so afraid of showing any part of my body to anybody other than my best friend.

Charles carefully ran his hand down the side of my body and I remained still, grinning a little because I was proud that I wasn't too scared for him to do this. His hand lingered around the waistband of my pyjama shorts, his face lying in the dip of his comfortable pillow. His touch alone was enough to settle me down, to send me to sleep almost, but I wanted to stay awake because I just wanted to talk. I loved listening to the sound of his voice.

"Can I tell you about Belgium?" I asked Charles politely, aware that he seemed a little tired and I knew that he would be driving in the morning, so I couldn't keep him up too late.

"Of course you can, mon ange," Charles rubbed his eyes and pulled me a little closer into his side. "Tell me everything. How did you meet Max?"