— until midnight —
July 5th, 1938
GISELLE WAS AWOKEN from her slumber with lips upon her own.
She opened her eyes, catching Will's body leaning over her, his outline cast in a soft, blue glow as the sun slowly rose outside.
"I came to see you before I left," Will told her, pecking her lips as he sat on the edge of her bed. "I'm sorry if I woke you."
Giselle smiled dreamily, reaching up to pull him closer to her and return his kiss. They continued on until birds started to chirp, alerting Will that he needed to leave soon.
"I need to go, love," he said after a while, reluctantly pulling back. He brushed her hair from her face, gazing down at her for several moments before standing up. "I'll see you later."
"Happy birthday, Will," Giselle called out as he shut her door, leaving her to fall asleep with a smile on her face.
She awoke hours later, a smile still on her face as she remembered his lips against hers. She breezed through the day feeling as she if she was on cloud nine, her head in the clouds as she decorated the house for Will's birthday and wrapped his present.
Marguerite and Selene noticed her happy mood and starry eyes, whispering behind her back and delving into different theories, all that involved Will, of course.
When Giselle entered the kitchen to help the women prepare Will's favorite dinner—a Sunday roast—Marguerite was smirking at her.
"Did you touch up your makeup?" Marguerite asked. "It looks like you powdered you face some."
"And there's more rouge to your cheeks, too," Selene pointed out.
"Yes, you're right," Marguerite agreed. "Definitely more rouge. Could this be because a certain someone will arrive soon?"
Giselle blushed under the women's gazes, avoiding the question by asking one of her own. "So, what do you need help with?"
"Nothing, hon, we've got it all handled here," Selene said. "Why don't you go check on the kids?"
"Gladly," the girl murmured under her breath as she headed towards the stairs.
She found the children in the playroom, the three oldest seemingly in a discussion as the youngest squirmed around in Frank's arms.
"Oh, Ellie," Barbara exclaimed, "you have to play with us!"
"What are we playing?"
"Hide-and-go-seek," Albert told her. "I'm going to be the seeker!"
"Alright, I'm down," Giselle said. She looked to Frank. "I can take Dorothy if you want."
Frank shook his head, propping Dorothy up higher on his hip. "It's alright, I've got her."
"Okay, everyone go!" Albert demanded. "I'm going to count till fifty!"
The group scurried out of the room by the time he started counting, Giselle heading downstairs to hide in the broom closet.
She listened and waited for Albert to find her, hearing his small feet patter all over the house.
After a few minutes, the closet door was opened, warm light pooling in from behind Will's tall figure before her.
"Will?" Giselle questioned, watching as he slipped inside and shut the door. "What are you—?"
He silenced her with a kiss, his arms slipping around her and holding him to her as he let her know how much he had missed her with his lips.
"Albert recruited me to help him seek," he said in between kisses. "And," he kissed along her jaw, "since I found you, I believe I deserve a reward."
"A reward?" Giselle gasped out. "Is this good for a reward?" she asked, moving to kiss along his neck, pressing herself closer to him.
Will let her kiss him for a few moments before a growl ripped out of him. He took her chin his hand to angle her face up towards his. "You," he started, sounding breathless, "are a dangerous woman. Anymore of that and I—"
Footsteps echoing down the hall in their direction made them spring apart moments before the door was opened, revealing Albert and a sulking Barbara behind him.
"Oh, you found her!" Albert said to Will before turning around and announcing to the house, "Frank! Dorothy! You two won! I found everyone!"
Will and Giselle exchanged a look, Giselle blushing as Will leaned in, whispering against her ear, "We will resume this later, my love."
• — • — •
Later turned out to be right after Giselle emerged from the bathroom that night, her hair damp and hanging loosely around her face, droplets of water seeping into her blue, cotton nightgown at her shoulders.
She strode into her room without a second thought, moving over to her vanity to sit down and braid her hair back. She was just starting to section off her hair when a voice startled her.
"No, keep it how it is," Will's voice spoke up from behind her.
Giselle sucked in a gasp in surprise, meeting his eyes in the mirror before whirling around. He was sitting on the couch next to the windows, a smirk on his face.
He had shed some of the layers of his normal work suit, wearing just his undershirt and trousers. His dark hair was mussed in the front, several strands draping over his forehead.
"You've got to stop sneaking up on me like that," Giselle said, playfully glaring at him.
"Technically I didn't do any sneaking," Will pointed out, "you just failed to see me."
She rolled her eyes. "Same thing." She stood up from her chair, moving over to sit at the foot of her bed, right across from him. "So, what brings you to my room?"
It was a pointless question, for she already knew the answer. Even if she didn't know the answer, she could easily guess it by the wolfish look in his eyes.
"I think you know why," he told her, standing up and heading towards her, stopping when his pants brushed against her knees. He looked down at her as he slipped his hand into her hair to cradle the nape of her neck. He seemed to like doing that, she realized.
Soon, he was pulling her up to him, crushing her to his chest as his lips found hers. "I've been thinking about this all day," he murmured against her.
"Me too," Giselle agreed, her words coming out as gasps. His arm came around her waist, pressing her closer to him as her hands gripped at the material at his back.
Giselle soon felt the backs of her knees hit the bed. Dizzy with desire, she sat back on the bed, pulling him towards her. He stuck out a hand to keep himself upright as he leaned over her, pressing kisses to the exposed skin at her collarbone.
"I love the feel of your body against me," he said, his breath hot on her skin.
His words lit her body on fire, heat pooling in her veins, but a sudden realization struck her cold, her heart stilling in her chest.
Is this just lust for him? she wondered. Is this just male desire?
He must've felt her body lock up against his, because he pulled back to look in her eyes, frowning slightly.
"Will, what is this to you?" Giselle asked. "What are we doing exactly?"
Will let out a deep sigh, his mouth downturned as he avoided her eyes. "This isn't anything," he said gruffly. "This is just us enjoying this moment," his eyes slid to hers suddenly. "That's all."
Giselle's heart drooped in her chest at the words. "So this means nothing to you?" she asked, propping up on her elbows. Anger was beginning to take over her in place of the sadness that radiated in her rib cage.
"Can we stop talking about this?" he asked. "Let's just enjoy what we have, alright? Until midnight." He moved to kiss her, but Giselle pushed him back.
"No, not until you answer me," she said firmly. "Does this mean nothing to you?"
"It can't mean anything to me!" Will growled. "You know that! So let's just enjoy ourselves while we can."
"I—I don't think I can do this," Giselle said, fully sitting up. "I don't want to be used, I want to be—" she caught herself before the word loved came out. "This was such a dumb idea."
"Giselle—"
"Please don't," she begged him, keeping her eyes downcast toward her lap. "Just go."
She felt him stare at her for a few moments before eventually sighing and heading toward the door. She heard his steps come to a halt right before he left.
"I'm sorry," he said. His voice was so soft and so light and so full of sadness that it barely made its way to her, but she caught it and held onto it, knowing that he was just as heartbroken as she was.
• • • • • • • • • • •
Words: 1,424.
Question: Do you enjoy sports? If so, what sport is your favorite?
I do not play any sport nor will I ever, but I do enjoy watching American football.
I was actually on dance-line in middle school and then pep squad in high school, which is how I learned the basics of football and started to really enjoying watching it.
I don't really have a favorite team that I keep up with or anything, but I say my favorites are Saints and LSU because I live in Louisiana where we take football waaaaayyyy too seriously and I will practically be burned at the stake if I say any other teams lol.
PLEASE VOTE AND COMMENT TO MAKE ME SMILE!!!