Acting on Instinct

The Date - Part 2

Joe felt the crick in his neck before he had even opened his eyes. He was hesitant to move, since besides the awkward angle of his head, his bed felt more more comfortable than normal. His blanket felt heavier...warmer...and he briefly wondered why his room now smelled of strawberries.

Peeking out of one eye, the reality came rushing back over him. He was not in his bed. In fact, he was on his sofa - with Friends still playing on his wall. And that warm blanket? It was actually a petite redheaded Aussie, who was curled up on his chest, fast asleep.

Trying to move his head to stretch his creaky neck without disturbing Dianne who seemed to be dead to the world, he moved carefully, reaching for his phone that was within arms reach on the coffee table.

"Shit," he mumbled, his eyes widening as he read the time - it was half past midnight - meaning they'd been asleep for nearly 3 hours.

"Hmm? Joe?" Dianne mumbled incoherently, her arm reaching up and smacking him right in the nose, causing him to hiss loudly as the pain in his neck was quickly replaced by a stabbing feeling in the center of his face.

"Oh my God," Dianne squeaked, "I'm sorry!"

He brushed off her apology, gripping her back with one hand so she didn't accidentally roll off onto the ground while simultaneously applying pressure and hoping to God his nose wasn't bleeding.

Dianne pressed against his chest, scrambling up into a seated position and pulling Joe's head into her lap, fussing over him like he would imagine his mum would.

"Jesus, I'm sorry...is it bleeding?" she whispered, her hands coming up to cradle his face. "Oh my god, did I break it?! Please tell me it's not broken...wait, let me get you some ice...where's your freezer?"

Before she could move again, Joe grabbed her wrist, tugging it gently to keep her from disappearing. The pain was already going, though the thought of moving off of Dianne's rather comfy lap made him wince.

"'s fine," he mumbled, shooting her a crooked grin, "Really. It's only slightly throbbing now...and hey, no blood!"

Dianne looked down at him in despair, worry in her big brown eyes that was clear even in the dim room. He felt her fingers run through his hair, and he briefly closed his eyes, trying to commit the feeling to memory. He knew that they'd been tiptoeing near the line they'd built up from the very start - the line that they made sure was there to ensure this fake relationship stayed safe for both of them - but something about this evening...the intimacy, the conversations, the honesty...made him feel like stepping right over that line and cannon balling into the deep end.

"You should still ice it," Dianne whispered, her fingers dancing across his forehead. "You don't want it to bruise."

"I will...just...don't move yet," he mumbled back, letting out a sigh of contentment as she resumed the slight head massage.

He peeked out of one eye, to see her worried expression slightly lessened, now a familiar glint in her eye.

"I think you're playing up, Joseph," she smirked. "You just wanted a bloody head massage."

Closing his eye, but not before returning the smirk, he shrugged, "You did clock me right in the nose, I think I deserve it."

"I didn't mean to, I was still half asleep--" Dianne cut herself off with a gasp. "Wait, Joe, what time is it?"

"Close to 1am," he replied, cringing slightly at how that probably sounded to the woman who was supposed to be his colleague.

Dianne's fingers froze against his head, and he opened his eyes, fully this time, to check her reaction. She was sat, frozen in place, a contemplative look in her eyes.