LOCKDOWN

Chapter 20

Relief flooded through me. She hadn't left me to sleep alone. She had stayed. I had slept through the night for the first time in what felt like forever. Had she held me while I slept?

"Oh," I finally said, "I thought maybe you had left to go up to your own bed."

I willed myself to look up at her, but regretted it immediately when I saw that she was staring straight back at me. My eyes faltered and I looked away, but her voice brought me back.

"No, I stayed. It was..." she paused, running her hands through her hair once more, "nice."

My brain was whirring at a thousand miles an hour. Peyton Mitchell had told me she thought sleeping next to me was nice! Who would've thought...not me, that's for sure.

"Y — yeah," I stammered, "it was. Did you want breakfast?"

The tension between us urged me to change the subject from our sleeping arrangements, and I could tell that Peyton was glad I had done so. She nodded and headed inside, and I followed close behind her. Peyton went upstairs to shower, realising that she hadn't done so since before she went to the hospital.

"I was just so caught up in...everything," she had said.

We hadn't acknowledged or spoken about the kiss that we shared. It was obvious to both of us that it was on our minds, but neither of us had the courage to bring it up. I was tempted to, purely to know what was running through her mind, but I didn't. I desperately wanted to know though, why had she kissed me? Did she regret it? Was it a spur of the moment decision?

I made her breakfast while she showered and she returned twenty minutes later with her damp hair thrown into a messy bun on top of her head, a bandana tied around her hairline, a sports bra, and sweatpants. Her skin was still slightly damp, her abdominal muscles glistening in the morning light. I shamelessly let my eyes travel her body, eyeing her stomach, her arm and shoulder muscles, and her chest as she turned towards me.

I wordlessly handed her her breakfast, our hands brushing against each other's as I did so. I involuntarily brought my lip between my teeth when I noticed her nipples hardening through her sports bra, and diverted my eyes away before she caught me staring.

"Th — thanks," she stuttered.

She turned her back to me and sat down at the dining table, proceeding to dig in to the breakfast I had made for her. I watched as her back and shoulder muscles flexed and contracted as she moved, and found myself wishing I could run my hands over them and dig my nails into her skin. I had never had the desire to do that to anyone, and the fact that Peyton Mitchell was the one making me feel this way was something I had never expected.

"I can feel you staring at me," Peyton's voice broke me from my inappropriate thoughts and I jumped at the sudden noise.

"Oh, no...I wasn't..." I stammered, but she just chuckled in response.

"Come. Sit down," she said, pulling out the chair next to her and patting it.

She didn't need to ask my twice. My body instantly reacted to her request and I walked towards her, sitting down on the chair and facing her, tucking my feet underneath my body.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked me. My heart rate instantly fastened and I could feel my breathing become shorter and quicker. 'Can I ask you something?' was never followed by a question I wanted to her.

"Uh...y — yeah," my voice shook with anxiety.

"Are you a lesbian?"

I wasn't sure what I was expecting her to ask me, but it certainly wasn't that.