Alice // chapter twenty-five
S H A R P sunlight rays found their way through Jace's window and woke me from my deep sleep. I realized then that our position had changed while we were sleeping. Jace was on his back, his arms around me. I, on the other hand, was everywhere. I faced Jace but was lying on my stomach. My left arm had encircled around Jace's waist, while the other had flown underneath my pillow for some odd reason.
I winced, hissing sharply when the light struck my eyes once I'd opened them. I drew my hand from underneath the pillow and turned to lay on my side, facing Jace and leaving my arm that was around his taut waist.
A vibrating noise sounded through the room and I looked up to see that it was coming from my phone. It was on Jace's bedside table and white light kept flaring from the notifications I was getting.
I didn't want the vibrating noise to wake Jace. He looked so handsome and relaxed sleeping; there was no way in hell I was allowing anything to disturb his peace. So, I reached over his body to grab my phone.
Letting out a breath of relief when I didn't wake Jace from my movements, I laid back down and unlocked my phone.
A snicker escaped me when I saw that it was Katie who was blowing up my phone at nine o'clock in the morning.
From: Katie
wanna meet up later?
From: Katie
you up yet?
From: Katie
hello?
From: Katie
homegirl needs you to answer right now
From: Katie
is you dead or what??
I shook my head at her and quickly typed a response.
To: Katie
take a chill pill fam. I'm alive, but your grammar apparently isn't. and yeah let's meet up
Her reply came quicker than I thought, buzzing in seconds after I'd sent her my reply. I chuckled; she is such a morning person, it's ridiculous.
From: Katie
rude. just come over whenever today
To: Katie
gotcha. I'll be there as soon as I can
"You're leaving me so soon?" Jace asked out of nowhere and I almost shit myself.
I placed my hand over my chest in fright as a gasp escaped me. "You scared the shit out of me, J."
"Sorry, love," he said, "I just woke up and the first thing I saw were your texts to Katie."
His voice was raspier than usual and there was a depth to it I've never heard before. It somehow reached into my mind and turned off any part that drew my focus from him. I locked my phone and threw it on the spot next to me before turning to take Jace in for the first time since he woke up.
I reached to caress his sexily messed up hair. "She just wants to meet up later. I'll go after you leave with your dad."
"Oh, I forgot about that," he reminisced, "thanks for reminding me."
I smiled. "When do you have to go?"
"At about eleven. What time is it?"
"A little after nine," I answered, laying back down, pulling my hands from him. "You've got time, don't worry."
He laughed softly, laying down on his side using his elbow as support as he loomed over me. "Missing what my dad and I have to do isn't what worries me."
My brows furrowed. "Then what is it?"
"I wanted to spend the morning with you in bed, watching a movie or something. Maybe have breakfast in bed," he sighed, running his fingers through his hair and messing it up even more than before. "I like waking up to you now that I know what it's like."
I laughed at him. His hair gave him a more rugged look, but there was a cuteness in the way he was messing it up even more without knowing and I couldn't help but be amused by it. "We can still spend the two hours you have in bed."
He smiled. "Do you wanna take a shower? I'll make us PB & J sandwiches."
"I'd love that," I said, sitting up, "but are you sure you don't want help making those sandwiches?"
"No. Mom's probably up and has probably already made coffee, so all I have to do is make the sandwiches," he shrugged, getting up from the bed and running his fingers through his hair again.
I followed suit. "Alright then. See you in a few," I called out as he opened the door, giving me an air kiss before stepping out and closing the door behind him.
I took in a deep breath and grabbed my pants I'd changed out of last night. I debated on whether to change back into my own top, but I really liked Jace's shirt. It was so comfy and it smelled like him. I wanted that to last for a while longer so after my long shower, I pulled his shirt back on and put my pants on. I could hear Jace moving around in his room as I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to untangle the mess it had turned into overnight.
Finally, I opened the bathroom door and stepped out, immediately feeling cold as I left the steam behind. I folded his sweats neatly and placed them in his drawer.
He was setting up two coffee mugs on his bedside table, a plate of four sandwiches laying on the bed.
"You made four sandwiches?" I laughed, getting on the bed and adjusting the plate to the middle of the bed.
He turned to smile at me. "Yeah. I usually eat four and you usually eat a lot, too, so I just made you two."
I feigned to take offense. "Wha-what's that supposed to mean?"
He handed me my mug of coffee. I couldn't help but smile when I realized that he'd made it the way I like. I guess he paid attention all those times I made coffee on weekend mornings when he'd visit me. It was usually because my mom was out of town for work for those weekends and he said he didn't want me to be alone for that long. So, he'd come over and we'd do our homework for a while before getting distracted and getting into an irrelevant yet deep conversation. I loved those days.
"That you're fat," he simply stated, sitting next to me and playfully pushing me with his shoulder.
I gasped. "You're so mean."
"Boo-hoo. You're meaner," he snickered, "get over it."
I rolled my eyes. "I think I need a new boyfriend. One that doesn't call me fat."
He rolled his eyes back, surely imitating me. "So you want a boyfriend that lies to you? I thought girls hated liars."
I pushed him away. "You're not funny," I laughed. Trust me, the irony was killing me, too.
"Then why are you laughing?"
I shook my head and took a bite from one of the sandwiches. He'd already eaten one within a manner of seconds. "Shut up, Grayson."
He put his hands up. "Your wish is my command, madam."
"If I didn't love you, your weirdness and rudeness would've driven me to dump your ass already," I teased, the humor in my voice deep. Contrary to what I'd just said, I loved the weird, playful side of him.
However, rather than responding humorously as he usually does and as I'd expected him to, he sat there frozen, staring at me in bewilderment.
"Jace, you alright?"