Always There

Chapter Forty-Eight

Chapter Forty-Eight:

Lexi's POV

Bryce smiles, sips his coffee, and then stands up from his seat in the chair to instead sit on the edge of my bed. He strokes my cheek, brushing my hair back behind my ears, and then kisses me lightly on the forehead.

He opens his mouth as though he's about to say something, but my mom interrupts him by walking up to the other side of the bed.

"We're all a little hungry, so we were going to go and pick up sandwiches. Is that okay with you two?" she asks.

Bryce smiles and nods at her. They then both look down at me, and so I say, "Yeah, that sounds good."

"All right. We'll be back as soon as possible," my mom says before giving us a small wave and heading back over to my dad and brother.

Bryce and I watch as they pull on their jackets and then exit the hospital room. Charlie shuts the door after them, and as soon as Bryce and I are alone, I turn to look at him.

"When you were gone, I got up and used the bathroom and brushed my teeth, so my breath shouldn't be that bad. Do you think you could maybe kiss me? Because I'd really like for you to kiss me," I whisper, having to look away from Bryce as my cheeks flush red out of sheer embarrassment.

God, I sound like a teenager who's never been kissed before. Why can't I go a day without making a fool out of myself?

Bryce's eyebrows raise and he gets this cocky, boyish grin on his face. He takes a seat next to me on the bed and then takes my cup of hot chocolate from me, setting it down on the bedside table.

"You think I would ever say no to kissing you?" he murmurs.

My eyes widen and my brain seems to shut down.

Eventually, I shrug my shoulders and hug my stuffed unicorn closer to my chest.

He chuckles, and his voice drops even lower as he says, "Well, I'd now like to make it very clear that there are no circumstances where I wouldn't like to kiss you, Lexi Brooks."

He then leans in and surprises me by simply brushing his lips over mine. I inhale sharply and he chuckles once again before gently plucking the unicorn out of my arms and placing it at the foot of the bed.

He kisses me a little bit harder this time, taking my bottom lip between his teeth and tugging gently. He tastes like coffee and cinnamon and warmth and I feel like I won't possibly be able to kiss him enough to be satisfied because I've just missed him so much even though I was the one in a coma.

It feels like my body is aching for him. I felt so cold and alone when I woke up in the hospital bed, but now I have Bryce by my side and I couldn't possibly be happier.

Bryce's lips finally settle over mine for awhile. His kiss still remains soft, but I feel him gently try to pry my lips apart with his and so I easily comply.

He must feel the same way that I do—as though we can't possibly get enough of one another—which is made obvious by the way that he's holding my face in place with his large hands. He tilts my head to the side and flicks his tongue against the roof of my mouth, which makes me gasp again, much to his amusement.