"I saw you yesterday," she uttered softly, no longer struggling as she let him hold her. And this was another side of her that he hadn't met before. A softer version of her, one that he liked a lot. God. He wanted to kiss her again.
Noah leaned his head against her shoulder, wanting to rest there. "I'm so tired, Mel. You going to let me sleep with you?"
"Uh, no," she said as if he had asked the dumbest question ever. He chuckled and then noticed how close he was to her neck. He wanted to see if she would taste as good as she did the last time, so he pressed his lips against her neck, and he could hear her heart beat rapidly. Immediately, she shoved him away, and it was only then that he realized what he had done. He clearly needed to sleep now before he did something stupid.
"I'll sleep on the couch," he told her before adding, "I can, right?"
He had a feeling right now that he was pushing his luck with her. If he weren't drunk, none of this would fly with her. He was surprised she hadn't kicked him out yet.
She nodded, giving him permission, and he plopped down onto her comfy couch.
"Take your shoes off," she told him, and he grunted, sitting up to toss them off before he laid back down.
"Matter of fact," she said before heading to the back. He heard her rummage around, and while she did that, he nearly dozed off until she shook him back awake. When Noah looked, she had clothes for him. Men’s clothes, to be exact.
Noah frowned. "Whose clothes are these?"
Melanie rolled her eyes. "My brother's. Now put them on so you can stop messing up my couch."
Relieved and satisfied, Noah stood up and stripped his shirt off. When he started to pull his pants down, Melanie looked away. Noah grinned lazily, wishing she would look at him so she could see what she could have right now if she just gave him permission. Even this drunk, he could fuck Melanie just right.
After putting on the clothes she had given him, Noah plopped back down on the couch, ready to sleep, but then he thought of something. "Sleeping on this couch could really mess up my back for the game."
"You can sleep on the couch, or you can sleep on the floor," Melanie offered. "Your choice."
"You don't care about me at all," Noah whined just as she dropped a blanket on him.
"Good night, Noah," Melanie said as she walked off, shutting off the light behind her before she went into her room.
It wasn't long before he let much-needed sleep take over him, and the only thing that interrupted his rest was his need to piss. In the middle of the night, Noah trekked over to her bathroom and pissed before he stumbled out, still dazed from the alcohol. But instead of going back to the couch, he walked into the room next door. When he stepped inside, he saw Melanie sleeping peacefully on one side of the bed, while the other side called for him. Who was he to deny that call? Noah laid down beside Melanie, looking at her peaceful sleeping form until he fell asleep himself.
CHAPTER
24
MELANIE
W
HEN MELANIE WOKE UP THE NEXT MORNING AND SAW NOAH IN HER BED, she nearly whacked him upside the head. She remembered specifically telling him to sleep on the couch, but here he was in her room peacefully sleeping, drooling on her pillow, and softly snoring. Melanie looked at his lashes, tracing his sharp jawline with her eyes before her gaze dropped to his lips.
Melanie sighed as she sat up, annoyed with herself and the situation. When she heard someone knocking on her door last night, she thought it had been the police because only they would knock on her door that loudly at 2 o'clock in the morning. Imagine her surprise when she saw Noah standing outside her door, drunk. He had reeked of alcohol. And though, she had been upset with Noah for coming to her place that late at night, she was also happy that he had come over, instead of driving. Many people got into car accidents, either harming themselves or other people around them. She would have rather dealt with a drunk Noah than a dead one.
Melanie got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. She quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth. And when she saw her scarf in the mirror, she quickly snatched it off, realizing that Noah had seen her with it. For some reason, she felt slightly embarrassed about that. But then again, why should it matter that Noah had seen her without make-up and her scarf on? He was her student, not someone she was dating. Melanie shook her head and wandered off to the kitchen. She would make the same soup for Noah that Abigail had cooked for her the last time. It was perfect for hangovers, and from what she could smell, that was exactly what Noah needed after drinking so much. At that party, he hadn't been as nearly as drunk and seemed like someone who was able to handle his liquor. Melanie wondered what was so different now.
An hour passed before Melanie finished cooking everything, and just when she finished, Noah stepped out of her bedroom groaning. The shirt she had given him was gone, and Melanie suspected it had nothing to do with him being hot and all to do with vomit ending up in the wrong place, judging from the state of her bathroom. This was the last time she would ever shelter a student, whether they were drunk or not. He stretched, and Melanie noticed how loosely his pants hung on his waist, revealing his outline to her.
"Good morning," he groaned out with not as nearly as much charm as he usually had, showing Melanie that he was indeed nursing a hangover.
"Is it really a good morning?" Melanie asked as she set the table.
Noah groaned before taking a seat in his regular spot across from her. "I don't know what I drunk last night, but I'll never drink it again."
Melanie rolled her eyes. It reminded her of her young years when she would go out and get drunk, having no idea what was in the cup one of her friends passed her. But those days were behind her now. She had too much going on with her life to go to parties and get drunk. That's what she told herself until she got drunk a few days ago and made out with the boy sitting across from her.
"Here. This is hangover soup. It should help you out a bit, but you still need to get whatever is in your system out."
He groaned even more, and Melanie laughed.
