Natalie made her way back up over top of me and slowly kissed me on the lips. She settled in next to me on the chair and it still felt like I was in a daze.
"I don't think we can ever do that again," I said.
"What?? Are you - " Natalie sat up quickly and started to say.
"Because nothing is going to top that," I interrupted her before she panicked any more.
"Oh my God Mads don't do that to me," Natalie said as she flopped her head back down on to the chair next to me.
I quietly laughed as I let my head fall against her shoulder.
"Sorry, had to," I said.
"That was mean," Natalie said as she jokingly flicked my nose.
"I don't know, I thought it was pretty funny," I responded.
"Oh I'm sure you did," she said, "and you also don't know what I'm capable of yet, so you might not want to say that nothing will top that."
"Oh really?" I asked her.
She nodded back at me, "I love a good challenge."
Hearing her say that almost sent a shiver down my spine again, maybe I needed to challenge her more often.
"Alright let's go inside before any of my neighbors come out," Natalie said as she sat up.
"Your neighbors - I thought - " I sat up quickly and looked at Natalie.
"Oh yeah, they definitely could see us if they came out," she said with a smirk, "might have lied about that just a little bit."
"Damn it Natalie," I said with a laugh.
I jumped up from the chair and tried to cover myself as I grabbed my clothes that were strewn across the balcony.
She casually picked hers up off of the ground and followed me inside.
"Okay now that was mean," I said to her as she shut the balcony door.
"Hey I was not missing out on that opportunity," she said with a smirk, "and besides, no one ended up seeing us so it all turned out fine."
"Yeah and you're lucky it did," I grinned.
I pulled my shirt on and kept the rest of my clothes tucked under my arm.
"Come on," Natalie said as she nodded back towards the hallway behind her.
I followed her back into what turned out to be her bedroom. I wasn't sure if she was trying to go for round two already or asking me to stay the night.
She pulled back the covers on her bed and started to look like she was going to get settled. I stood there hesitantly, not sure what she wanted me to do. She was still naked, which I was not mad about, but it definitely looked like she was just getting ready to go to bed.
"You gonna join me or what?" She asked.
She patted the spot on the bed next to her where the covers were still pulled back.
"Oh, um...I don't know, I wasn't really planning on - " I trailed off.
"You really turned back into your cute, awkward self very fast, you know?" Natalie said with a grin.
I nodded slightly and looked down at the floor, she wasn't wrong.
"Well," Natalie started, "you don't have to stay here if you want, but there is a spot for you in this nice comfortable bed if you want it."
I set my clothes on the chair in the corner of the room and climbed in next to her. There was no reason why I shouldn't.
Natalie smiled as she rolled over to face me.
"Good choice," she said.
"We'll see," I said teasingly.
She rolled her eyes at me and laughed as she moved in closer and pressed a gentle kiss against my lips.
"Okay it is seeming like a pretty good choice now," I said.
"Mhmm," Natalie responded, "I thought it might."
She reached over to her nightstand and turned off the lamp before she turned back to face me. We laid there in silence for a minute, but it was a much more comfortable silence than what it had been between us.
"Madison?" Natalie finally said.
I felt her fingertips brush the skin underneath the bottom of my shirt and start to trail up my back.
"Natalie?" I responded, feeling my eyes flutter shut with her touch.
"Thanks for forcing me to talk to you, multiple times actually," she said quietly, "I know I was being stubborn."
"Yes you were," I said, still barely able to keep my eyes open, "but I'm glad I did."
"Yeah..." Natalie said, "me too."
***
When I woke up the next morning, the bed was empty. My brief moment of panic subsided when I heard Natalie out in the kitchen and could smell the food that she was making.
I laid there for a minute and looked up at the ceiling. Getting your best friend back and the girl that you've been lusting after for years all in the same night was quite the feeling. Let's hope it lasted.
I got out of bed and walked out towards the kitchen. I wasn't exactly sure why, but I was feeling pretty awkward about the whole "morning after" situation today.
I think it was because I was not expecting this to happen with Natalie after how things started, and was definitely not expecting anything this soon. It wasn't that I regretted it or anything, it was just a very weird feeling.
When I got to the kitchen, Natalie was standing in front of the stove. She had nothing but a t-shirt on, and her hair was thrown up in a messy bun, yet she still looked like a God damn model somehow.
"Morning," I said quietly, trying not to scare her.
She quickly turned around towards me, "Mads, hey, good morning."
A smile spread across her face as I sat down at the counter.
"Hope you're hungry," she said.
"I didn't know you were so domestic Natalie," I said sarcastically, "what are you making?"
"Watch it or you won't get any of my domestic cooking," she said, pointing her spatula at me.
I put my hands up in defense and she shook her head and grinned.
"I'm making pancakes, and there's coffee right over there if you want some," she said as she nodded towards the coffee pot on the counter.
"Wow, I'm impressed," I responded as I walked over and poured myself a cup of coffee.
"What can I say? I aim to please," Natalie winked at me and I felt a flutter in my stomach.
"Don't even start with me," I said as I walked over to her.
"Sorry," she said, "can't help it."
She stepped towards me and gave me a quick kiss on the lips as I walked by. I could get used to this.
I sat back down at the counter and watched her finish our breakfast. She put pancakes on plates for us and came and sat next to me.
"So do you still feel okay about last night? And all of this I mean?" Natalie asked, "because you're acting a little weird this morning."
"Oh," I said quietly.
I had done a great job at hiding how uncomfortable I felt, as usual.
"Yeah I - I really do, it's just going to take some getting used to I think," I continued.
"That's fair," she said with a grin, "work should be interesting, huh?"
I nearly spit out my coffee as I looked over at her.
"What? Why? Shit this is probably against the rules isn't it?" I quickly said.
"Madison, take a breath please," Natalie said with a laugh.
She put her hand on top of mine before she continued.
"We're fine, there's no rules against it. I just meant that it would be interesting with all of...well with all of this happening," she said.
"Oh, okay good," I said as I breathed a sigh of relief.
"You went from zero to one hundred real fast there," Natalie said.
"Yeah sorry, I just panicked. You're right though...it should be interesting to say the least."
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