The Lunacy Fringe

Sixty-Two

I woke in the morning to the ringing of a telephone. Followed by the realization that I wasn't alone. There was a warm arm draped over my naked body. And that body was also very, very naked. I sat up and tried to blink through the haze of sleep. The bedroom was still dim from the sheets on the window. But it was cool, and his bed was warm. More importantly, his body was warm.

"Shit," I said when I realized it was his phone ringing. I pulled the sheet over myself as he sat up, groaning, to answer.

"Hello?" he asked in a sleepy voice, half dragging the entire phone into the bed by the cord. Whoever answered made his eyes go very alert very quickly. I saw him swallow. And then I had a sinking suspicion that I knew exactly who was on the other line. "No, sorry," he said. "I saw her at the dance. She's probably with Billie... Alright. Bye." He hung the phone back up and then turned to me, hair messy and eyes lazy again. And God, he was beautiful in the morning. "Your dad is looking for you." I sighed.

"Great. I should call Billie." He handed the phone back out and dialed Billie's number for me.

"Hello?" she asked almost immediately.

"Bill, what's going on?"

"Ruby? Where the hell are you? Your dad just called over here looking for you. I told him you were in the bathroom."

"Did you get my note?"

"Yeah, I got it. What's going on? Are you with Jake?"

"No—it's kind of a long story. We broke up."

Felix moved, adjusting himself so that he could squeeze me and rest his head on my lap all at the same time. He breathed in and out deeply like he was planning on going back to sleep. My hand instinctively went to his hair.

"You did?" Billie asked.

"Yeah—like I said, it's a long story. Just cover for me, please?" She was silent for a moment.

"You're up to something, Ruby Emery."

"It's nothing. I'll call you back later."

"Call your dad. He's not buying it."

"I will. Okay, bye." I reached over to click the phone off before she could ask anything else. Then I quickly dialed my home phone number. My dad answered after one ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Dad. Billie said you called when I was in the bathroom."

"Yeah, uh—I was expecting you to be here this morning."

"I know. I'm sorry. It's kind of complicated."

"Start talking."

"Jake and I broke up."

"You did?"

"At the dance. So I was upset—and I went home with Billie. Girl time, you know? Sorry I didn't call. It was late, and I was a mess."

"Oh-kay. Well—I'm headed into town in a bit. I'll be home later. Please be here when I get back. We need to talk."

"I will, Dad. I promise."

"Okay, well—I'll see you later."

"Alright, bye." I hung the phone back up on the nightstand.

"Liar, liar, pants on fire," Felix sang from my lap, his hand snaking up my bare back again. I laughed and adjusted myself, so I could lie beside him again. He pulled me against him.

"I didn't realize you were still awake." His eyes were closed, but he was smiling.

"It was my bullshit detector. Goes off and wakes me up when people are bullshitting in my presence."

"Is that your superpower?" He nodded and finally opened his green eyes to smile at me.

"What's yours?"

"I have the power to shock people."

"With electricity? That's impressive."

"Yeah, but I have to charge up first by rubbing my socks on the carpet." He laughed.

"We'd be really terrible superheroes." I wrapped my arms around him again, pressing my body up against his. He ran his fingers through my hair, snagging on a wayward flower, and sighed contentedly. "I like having you here."

"I like being here."

"Can I tell you something?"

"Anything."

"This is the first time a girl has spent the night in my bed."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean—I wasn't a virgin, obviously. But I've never spent the whole night with someone before. It's nice."

"How many girls HAVE you slept with, Felix?" He grinned.

"Three."

"Including me?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"Lower than you expected?"

"A bit, yeah."

"I told you the rumors about me aren't true." I nodded.

"I know—it's just that everyone acts like you're some serial man-whore." He laughed again and gently swept my hair off my neck, trailing his fingers along my skin.

"I'm definitely not one of those," he murmured. "How did you sleep?"

"Best night's sleep I've had in months."

"I agree. If I didn't have a beautiful girl to wake up to, I would have stayed asleep."

"Or if the phone didn't wake you up."

"And the bullshit detector."

"Right."

I smiled and reached up to kiss him again. His fingers caressed the back of my neck, and my stomach was flip-flopping. I'd definitely wanted this. But I hadn't expected it. I thought after Jake and I broke up, I'd just go home and deal with it over winter break. But instead, I was waking up naked in Felix's bed.

I ran my hands down his chest, and he breathed out sharply. It only took a moment for instinct to kick in, and he rolled me onto my back. He kissed me, but his hand explored. My neck, my chest, my breasts, arms, ribs, and down. He trailed his fingers down past my belly button and beneath the blankets.

"How was it—for you?" he asked, dragging his lips to my neck again. He loved kissing my neck. I forgot how much he loved it. And how much I loved it.

"Perfect," I admitted.

"Was it everything you hoped it'd be?"

"And more."

"And what would you say if I asked you to do it again?"

"I'd say yes. Please?"

It took us a few minutes to get situated again. It didn't hurt as much the second time. And it hadn't hurt as much as I'd expected at all. Billie told me it hurt for most people. But the sharpness of it had gone away fairly quickly. And then we'd melted into something beautiful and intense.

A few minutes later, he dropped onto the bed lazily, squishing me beneath him. I wrapped my arms and legs around him and tried to focus on breathing while he sighed contentedly. We were both hot and sweating, and neither of us seemed to want to move. I moved my fingers to his hair, just enjoying the feeling of his heart beating fast against my chest.

"You swear you've never done that before?" he asked after a moment. I laughed.

"I haven't. I was just doing what felt good to me." He smiled.

"Did you enjoy it?"

"I did."

"Yeah, but—you know what I mean."

"You didn't feel it?"

"Of course I did. I just definitely didn't think I'd be able to get you there so quickly." He lifted his head and leaned on his arm to smile down at me. I dragged my knuckles down his cheek to the bruise at the corner of his mouth.

"Maybe we just fit each other," I said. He leaned down to kiss me.

"Makes sense," he decided. "Because I've never felt anything like this before."