Page 90 of Academically Yours

TWENTY-THREE

Noelle

I intertwined my fingers through his as I curled up next to him on his mattress, my messy red hair spread over the pillowcase. With his other hand, his thumb was brushing over my shoulder blade, over and over, lulling me into contentment, comfort, and warmth.

I fluttered my eyes at him, sighing as he laid there and watched me.

“What are you doing?” he finally asked.

“I’m wondering what it will take to get you to kiss me.”

“That’s silly

“Why is that?”

“Because I’m always wanting to kiss you,” he admitted.

“Then you should,” I said, and pulled him in closer to kiss him—passionately—my tongue slipping into his mouth, intertwining with his.

God, I loved kissing him. I loved everything with him. How well he filled me, how much he cared about me in bed, in… every aspect. He was a born caretaker, a protector—something I had never needed, never wanted, yet I found that I wanted all of it with Matthew. Damn him, for making me think all of these domestic thoughts about him. All of these lovely, lust-covered thoughts as he held me in his arms. Damn him.

I woke with his arms still around me. I tried to pry myself out of them, but he just tightened his hold and whispered sleepily in my ear, “Stay.”

“Matthew—” I tried to protest, but he just shook his head against my skin, and I sighed.

“Stay,” he requested again. “I like holding you in my arms.”

All I could do was agree—because I didn’t want to leave his warm embrace either. I curled back against his chest and snuggled against his warm skin, the steady beating of his heart easily lulling me back to sleep.

The next time I woke, the bed was empty, except for a big white lump at the foot of the bed that I recognized as Snowball.

I rubbed in between her ears before finding a t-shirt of his in a drawer and threw it on, appreciating that it was big enough to cover all of me and brush my thighs. Then I wandered out towards the kitchen and the smell of food.

“Is this what I have to look forward to whenever I sleep over again in the future? I’m not sure I’ll ever leave if you’re this good to me, Matthew.”

“Morning, sweetheart.” Matthew smiled and leaned over to me to drop a kiss on my lips.

“Morning babe.” I appreciated his bare chest—he had only put on a pair of sweatpants, and he was leaning over the stove, flipping bacon in a pan as another appliance seemed to be cooking food right next to him. “Are those waffles?” I asked, excitedly. Waffles were the supreme breakfast food—my absolute favorite.

“I thought I’d make breakfast for my girlfriend,” he said, and I beamed.

“Oh. I like the sound of that.”

He pulled one out of the waffle maker, putting it on a plate for me and plopping it down on the counter before pouring the batter in for a second waffle.

“Syrup?” I asked, already poking into his fridge, looking through the food he deemed good enough to stock. It was mostly healthy things—lots of meats, cheeses, and vegetables, but I didn’t miss the small sweets he must have snuck in—things that I wondered if he had gotten just for me. Finding the bottle, I pulled it out and went to sit at the island.

“So,” I said, drizzling syrup over the plate he laid out for me as Matthew took the bacon out of the pan. “I was thinking.”

Matthew hummed in acknowledgement, popping a piece of bacon in his mouth as he leaned against the counter, waiting for the second waffle to get done.

I took a bite of mine and sighed happily. “These are so good. Oh my god.” Matthew chuckled, and I looked up from my plate to find him sipping his coffee—black, just the way he liked it.

As we sat there, side by side, my phone buzzed on the counter. I glanced at the screen and then flipped it over after I saw who was calling.

Was I ignoring her? Maybe. I hit the side button to mute it and just kept eating my waffle as Matthew watched me.

“Are you going to answer that?” Matthew finally asked with a raised brow.