Last night felt like a dream until I turned around and saw Layne sleeping right next to me.
Ignoring the headache pounding against my temple, I stare at him, watching his chest rise up and down with a slow beat.
"I can feel you staring at me." I almost jump at the raspiness of his morning voice.
My eyes float to Layne's face. His eyes are still closed. I looked back at his chest as it remained to rise lightly. I don't know if I'd imagined him saying that or not.
"No, you can't," I mumble, finally looking away from him. I laid down flatly on my back, staring up at the ceiling.
Layne stretches as he opens his eyes, "What time is it?" he grumbles.
"9:15," I tell him after glancing at my alarm clock. Layne groans and turns over, facing me. Then the realization hit me like a cold brick; Layne slept in my bed with me last night. "How did you sleep?"
"Great, until you started snoring."
"I do not snore!"
"You wanna bet?" he says, closing his eyes again. He then snatches the pillow I am using, breathing into it. "I'm thinking about recording it for our next song, though."
"I'll sue you," I joke, then "You're leaving today," I remind him.
"I know," he sighs, his eyes still shut. I take the opportunity to run my fingers through his sticky hair.
"You seriously need to wash this."
"Wanna wash it for me?" he asks, peeking his eyes back open. They seem almost light blue this morning.
"We would have to do it now," I tell him, thinking about the time limit he and Mike has.
"I'm down."
I couldn't control the wideness of my smile. Damn, for some reason, I'm happy this morning.
"Let me get the stuff ready," I tell him before jumping out of bed. I laugh to myself as I see his feet dangling from my bed.
I see loud, messy brown hair as I enter the kitchen. Mike stands shirtless behind the counter, drinking a cup of orange juice. And even though he is my cousin's boyfriend, I'm not complaining at the sight.
"Morning," Mike smiles after catching me staring at him.
I realized that I hadn't spoken to him before alone. And that realization caused nervousness to jump inside my bones as the first thing that came out of my mouth was, "You're really good at headbanging."
Mike lets out a deep raspy laugh like he has to clear his throat.
"I mean, hi," I try again, shaking my head. "What?" I say, annoyed that Mike was still laughing after a minute.
"I thought you said I'm really good at banging." Well, I did hear you and Shana last night. "Did Layne leave last night?" Mike then asks me as I move to the sink and wash out my favorite mug.
"No, he slept in my room." I notice Mike lifting a brow, smirking. "Nothing happened."
"If you say so," he shrugs, the permanent smirk on his lips.
"I do say so."
"Hey, you don't have to convince me; we're all adults."
"And adults have sleepovers."
"Mmmh, with some condoms, perhaps?"
"No!"
"Damn, Andrea, you get down like that?" Mike says, laughter in his voice.
"That's not what I meant!" I feel like I'm about to blow a fuse. He chuckles at my frustration. I step towards Mike and snatch the orange juice from him, pouring myself some. "Shut up," I giggle after replaying the conversation over in my head.
"You know, you're adorable when you're mad," Mike then says, his statement catching me off guard.
"What did you call me?" I ask him, wondering if I heard him right.
"Adorable, am I wrong?" I squint my eyes up at him. How do I even answer that? It's too early for this shit.
"Shana really likes you," I say to him instead, my hand on my hip.
"And I really like her too," he sighs, running a hand through his thick hair. His sweet breath hits my nose. "Well, well, well," Mike says slowly, looking past me. I turn and see Layne walking out of my bedroom. Thank God.
Layne nods at him before smiling down at me, "You ready?"
"Yup!" I tell him. I ignore Mike's stare as I pass Layne a cup of orange juice.
I hear Shana coming out of her room, groaning as I quickly leave the kitchen and make my way to the bathroom. Remembering Layne's height, I grab a chair before leaving. After setting the chair behind the bathroom sink, I place the shampoo and conditioner bottle next to the sink.
Damn Mike, what the hell is he on this morning? Maybe what he said wasn't a big deal. He does seem like a natural flirt.
My thoughts paused as I heard the bathroom door close. I turn around and see Layne leaning against the door.
"Don't want to disturb them," He says, nodding at the closed door, referring to Shana and Mike.
I nod yes, my morning shyness creeping up again. Layne pretends not to notice my nervousness as he sits down on the chair and leans his head back.
Layne's Adam apple pokes out. I want to bite it.
Without saying anything, I turn on the faucet, getting the right temperature for him before wetting his hair.
"Can I help you, sir?" I ask him when I catch him staring at me too long.
"Can you sing me a song?" he asks, touching my elbow.
"Eh, I don't know."
"Come on, I wanna hear your voice again," he begs. Ah, who could say no to that face?
"Why are you so obsessed with me?" I sing after a chuckle. Layne releases a boyish giggle. I would be lying if I said it didn't make me warm.
I grab the shampoo bottle and lather some into his hair. Layne closes his eyes as I massage his scalp.
"That feels so good," he moans.
"Keep your eyes closed," I softly warn him before dipping his head into the water. Layne sighs peacefully against the warm water.
Once I washed out the shampoo, I squirted some conditioner in his hair and repeated the process. His hair was actually coming out good, not that I was doing anything special.
"Done," I tell him as I turn the water off. Before I can grab a towel, Layne sits up and shakes his hair like a dog. Water splashes everywhere. "Layne!" I shriek as it landed mostly on me.
Layne chuckles like a young troublemaker when he stops.
"You're crazy, "I laugh and partially dry his hair with a towel the right way. And then dry myself. Smiling, I run my fingers through his hair.
"How does it feel?"
"Much better."
"Thank you for this," he says, still seated as I continue playing in his damp hair.
"You're welcome." With my fingers still in his hair, I studied the art of his face. Yes, he looked like any other typical man on the street, but I had never seen a face like his before.
My mind traveled back to how good it felt sleeping next to him as the low rise of his chest spoke to me. It reminded me of when I used to lay my head on my mother's chest and let her heartbeat bring me to sleep.
Calmness waves over my body as Layne's natural patchouli scent springs up my nostrils. It's weird. I haven't felt safe around a man in a long time. Maybe he was more than a man. What was it about him? His eyes? I haven't been around big blue eyes before. I'm used to them being tiny and squinty.
But there's something else. The feeling is invisible... it's right in front of us.
"What ya looking at?" Layne asks me, a smile tugging on his lips.
"You... you're so beautiful," I find myself saying aloud. I didn't mean to say it, but there's no going back now.
"I am?" he cluelessly asks, shocked by my words.
"You don't see it?"
"I mean, I know I'm good-looking, but-"
I shake my head, "no, I mean yes, you are...but it's more than that...I wish I had a better way of explaining it."
"Can you show me?" he asks, interested in my thoughts.
My tongue stills, thinking of words. Layne's beautiful eyes glance down at my lips.
I know what he wants. We both want it.
Ugh, fuck it.
With my palm pressed on his shoulder, I lean down and fuse my lips with his.
Layne releases a low growl, but it doesn't come from his stomach. His lips move hungrily against mine as he pulls me onto his lap. Heat pools to my core as I feel him underneath me. Layne slows down the rhythm of his lips as his tongue presses hard against my teeth. And I taste orange juice. He must have tasted it, too, as he smiles against my lips. His fingers dug into my waist as I cupped his face, deepening the kiss. I press my palm on his heart, his tongue moving slowly and gently against mine.
"I feel it right here," I tell him after breaking from his lips. It feels the same as it did last night.
"You feel what?" he whispers in my ear before nibbling the side of my neck. His nose brushes against mine as he pushes his lips onto mine.
A knock on the door breaks us apart, "I gotta pee!" I hear Shana yell from the other side.
Layne and I stare at the closed door, taking the time to breathe. I still feel his lips on mine as I turn back to him.
"Let's get out before she pees on herself," I say, about to get up from his lap. Layne gently pulls me back down.
"One more," he says before taking the opportunity to kiss me again. I grab his forearm to steady myself on his lap; a small zap electrifies us when I touch him.
"Whoa, did you feel that?" Layne asks abruptly, breaking the kiss.
"Yea..."
"Is that what you felt?" he stares at me with those big blue eyes, remembering my confession.
It wasn't. The feeling was more subtle, but I didn't want to tell him. The way Layne's golden eyelashes are curling right now, I will do anything he asks me. Yes, to everything and anything.
"Yes," I smile, stroking his jaw.