“It’s your bed,” she argued.
“But you’re the boss,” I joked.
“I suppose that’s true. Can I sleep close to the bathroom? I tend to get up a few times at night.”
I immediately walked to the other side of the bed, and she followed suit, crawling in alongside me. “Are you ready for me to turn off the lights?”
She shifted to her side, facing me, and nodded. I reached over to the lamp by the bed and turned it off. I then turned to face her. We locked eyes as they adjusted to the dark. I inched closer to her, and she did the same toward me.
I gently placed a hand on her cheek. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I’m hoping you’ll let me kiss you goodnight.”
She leaned in even closer to me. Once our lips touched, our desire ignited. I slowly slipped my tongue in her mouth to meet hers. I pulled her body against mine, and her hands roamed over my chest and back. Her soft hands on my skin were electrifying. She pushed me so I was on my back while her whole body lay on top of mine. My hands wandered her body; down her back, grabbing the side of her hips. She let out a low, irresistible moan. I knew she could feel my hardness under her because she moved her lower body, creating friction.
As much as I wanted to completely ravish her then and there, I pulled away from her mouth slowly. “We need to slow down.”
“Do we, though?” she asked, kissing my neck. I let out a low groan. It was going to take everything in me not to have sex with her tonight.
“We don’t want to rush, remember?” She stopped kissing my neck and lay her head on my chest. We both said nothing while we caught our breath. I pulled the blanket over us, wrapping my arms around her. “I could fall asleep like this.”
“Me too,” she said, cuddling more into me. We both settled into sleep.
I shot straight up as I awoke the next morning. I grabbed my phone from the end table and saw it was seven in the morning. Serenity must have gravitated back to her side at some point during the night because she was cocooned in her blanket, tucked at the other end of the bed. I hadn't had a dreamless sleep without waking up in a pool of sweat from a nightmare in a long while. I stared lovingly in her direction; as much as I wanted to be her safety, she may have just become mine.
I stood from the bed as quietly as I could. I went out to the kitchen to make coffee and start preparing some breakfast for us. Since it was the weekend and neither of us worked today, I decided to go with a big breakfast. I pulled out eggs, bacon, and pancakes.
“Are you making her breakfast?” Gio asked, surprising me.
“You scared the shit out of me,” I said, putting my hand over my heart. “What does it look like I’m doing?”
“You really like her, don’t you? Like really like.” He put on his gym shoes to head out on his morning run.
“I mean, yeah, but it’s so much more than that. She’s my best friend.”
Gio gasped. “I thought I was your best friend?”
“Shut up.” We both turned to see Serenity coming out of my bedroom. She must have found my robe hanging in my bathroom because she was almost drowning in it, holding it up as she walked toward us.
“Good morning, boys,” she said shyly.
“Gio is heading out.” I gave him a stern expression.
“I’ll leave you both to it,” Gio said, walking toward the front door. “See you both tonight.”
I rushed over to Serenity and brought her into my arms for a tight embrace. “How did you sleep?”
“Like a baby.” She looked over my shoulder. “Are you making breakfast?”
“Yes, come sit down. It’s almost done. We have eggs, bacon, and pancakes.” I walked back over to the stove to finish frying the eggs.
Once everything was cooked, I brought out two plates and loaded them up for each of us. We ate in silence. Serenity still had a dreamlike state to her expression.
“I don’t know how you get through life without espresso.” I took a sip of the mug in front of me.
“Honestly, me neither. One of my meds gives me a boost in the morning, but I can’t take it until after I’ve eaten.” She took another few bites. “So, thank you for this.”
