Momentarily forgetting about our nakedness, I leaned over, gathering a bunch of tissues and pressing it against his nostrils. “Tip your head forward,” I said, adjusting his chin. “Otherwise it’ll go down your throat and that’s gross.”
“I don’t need your help,” Taylor said, but he didn’t shove me away. Now that I was looking at him properly, I could see that the hair on one side of his head was all flat and crinkled. It was reassuring, somehow, to see he woke up with bed hair. It made him seem more human.
“You were awake,” I murmured, for the third time.
His dark eyes met mine.
“I felt you kissing my neck.”
He didn’t say anything for a long time. “I think you’re imagining things.”
I threw my hands up in the air, but quickly returned to pressing tissues against Taylor’s nose. The bleeding was slowing. “Are you seriously trying to gaslight me right now? I felt it.”
He closed his eyes.
“It’s not a big deal. We agreed you’d have me for the whole night, anyway. Until sunrise —” I cut myself off, turning to look at my window. With my free hand, I shoved the curtains aside, and shrunk back from the sunlight pouring in.
Taylor still had his eyes closed. A muscle ticked in his jaw, once. Then: “I wasn’t kissing your neck.”
“Why are you denying it? We literally fucked last night —”
“We didn’t fuck,” Taylor interrupted, eyes flashing open, “Ifuckedyouand you took it like a little bitch — OW!” he shouted. “Did you just pinch me?”
“My fingers must’ve slipped.” I forced myself to loosen my grip on his nose, gratified to see a fresh rush of blood.
That made me sick, didn’t it? Enjoying the sight of bright red blood gushing down his philtrum and gathering on the cupid’sbow of his lips. Whatever. He deserved it. Talking about last night like that…
What had he said, just before I’d fallen asleep? I hadn’t thought much of it at the time, only half conscious, but now it made me frown. The words he’d said, paired with his hands on me this morning, the soft brush of his lips against my neck…
“Taylor.”
He ignored me, pressing a fresh handful of tissues against his face.
“Taylor,” I repeated.
He glared at me. “What?”
“Do you…” I cleared my throat. “Do…do you…um…”
“Spit it out,” he snapped. “Or did you suck my cock so hard last night that your mouth doesn’t work anymore?”
I considered elbowing him in the face a second time. “Last night you said that you didn’t hate me.”
He raised a single brow.
“You said…you said that I was yours.”
Because you’re mine, he’d told me, his arms around me.
“Do you…” I sucked in a deep breath, half afraid to say it because it was so outlandish. But what else was I supposed to ask? “Do you like me or something?”
I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. I didn’t even know what Iwantedto happen. It wouldn’t have surprised me if Taylor told me to fuck off or tried to punch me or walked out.
Instead he blinked once, slowly, like a prey animal. His lips spread slowly into a mocking smile. “Are you asking me if I have a crush on you, Archie?” His voice was sugar sweet.
I tried not to flinch. I failed. “I — I just —”
He laughed. “Fuck, you really were a virgin, weren’t you?”
