One Wild Night

Her back was pressed against something solid in a spoon position. She knew it was a person because of the heat emanating from the person's body, and because of his breath which was fanning her neck.

What was going on? She wondered as she tried to remember how and where she had slept off. Her nostrils twitched when she recognized the familiar scent in the bedroom and her lips rounded in surprise when she realized who was on the same bed with her. Tom! She thought with wide eyes.

Her heart skipped a beat when she remembered that she had fallen asleep while watching a movie with him... With him as her boyfriend!

Holy shit!

But why was she sleeping with Tom on the same bed? What happened? They didn't do anything else after that kiss, did they? Nah, they didn't. If they had done anything she would have remembered, since she had deliberately not taken too much alcohol for this reason, and she was also still fully dressed in Tom's clothes.

From the sound of his even breathing, she could tell that he was fast asleep, so she tried to quietly crawl out of the bed so she could leave and return to her apartment before he wakes up, but she stiffened when she felt his arm come around her waist and he snuggled closer to her.

Tom who had been sleeping comfortably beside her, noticed the moment she stiffened and opened his eyes when he realized that she was awake because of her uneven breathing.

"From the way you slept off I wasn't expecting you to wake up until morning," Tom said in a husky whisper which made her toes curl as he snuggled closer to her and adjusted to make sure her head was resting comfortably on his left arm, while his right arm circled her waist, before placing his head in the crook of her neck.

She had thought he was sleeping. Why was he awake? And for a fake... No. For a temporary relationship they were doing quite a lot, Lucy mused.

"I need..." She paused to clear her throat which sounded cracked, "I need to go home," she managed to speak past the lump which had clogged her throat.

"You don't have to leave. Just sleep, okay?" Tom said as he took one of her hands in his hand which was over her waist, and tried to fall asleep again.

Lucy who was holding her breath swallowed nervously. She had never been in this kind of awkward position with anyone, and she really didn't know what to do. Her heart was thumping wildly against her chest, and she suspected that Tom could probably hear it if he paid close attention to her.

"Relax, Lu," Tom murmured sleepily since he could still feel the tension in her body.

She wished he could stop talking. The more he talked the more the butterflies in her belly fluttered especially since his lips were so close to her ear. Even the beard stubble she had not noticed on his chin earlier, prickled her skin in a way that sent heat waves down her body.

Why wasn't she pushing him away from her? What was stopping her from standing up from the bed and demanding that she wanted to return to her apartment? Why did it seem like a part of her was enjoying the closeness?

Lucy swallowed, "I...I am not comfortable," Lucy whispered.

Tom let go of her hand and lifted his arm which was around her waist as he sat up on the bed. He reached out to switch on the bedside lamp before looking at her. Lucy sat up on the bed too but didn't meet his gaze.

"You really want to go home?" He asked, looking at her face as he ran his fingers through his hair. When Lucy simply gave him a nod, he got out of the bed.

"Let's go," he said, and Lucy looked up into his face, trying to see if he was upset or not, but he had a blank expression on his face.

She was the one who had slept off while seeing a movie, and now she had woken the poor guy from his sleep, saying she wanted to go home in the middle of the night. He must be upset, Lucy thought apologetically.

She didn't want him to think she was leaving his house because she was scared of him, or felt he was going to do something to her. That wasn't it. Although he was handsome and extremely attractive, she wasn't the type to want guys this way. She had only wanted to have sex the first time out of curiosity not desire. So this whole attraction or whatever it was she was feeling when she was with him, was foreign to her, and it confused her.

"It's not like I don't trust you or anything... I'm just not used to sleeping out or sleeping with someone else on the same bed like this, apart from my best friend," Lucy tried to explain as she stood up.

Tom was tempted to point out to her that she would never get used to it unless she tried spending the night with others, but he chose not to since he didn't want to sound like he was trying hard to convince her to do something against her will. As long as she wasn't leaving because she was scared of him, he was okay.

"It's okay," Tom said, as he turned around and led the way out of the room.

Lucy's brow creased in a frown this time as she followed him. Just okay? Why wasn't he saying anything else? "You are not mad, right?" Lucy asked tentatively once they got to the living room.

"I have no reason to be mad. By now you should know that your comfort is the priority here," Tom assured her as he turned to look at her after he stopped by the door.

She couldn't help but feel guilty. She had agreed to be in a temporary relationship with him, so why was she still having so many reservations? Couldn't she just put them all away, at least for the short duration of their relationship? Why had she agreed to the arrangement in the first place if she was going to be like this? Lucy quickly placed her hand over Tom's hand when he reached out to open the door.

"What is wrong?" Tom asked out of concern as he looked from the hand which she had placed over his hand, to her face.

"Maybe I can just spend the night?" She asked tentatively, not understanding herself or anything she was doing. He must think she was childish.

"You don't have to. I know I should have woken you up, but I didn't want to disturb your sleep because you were sleeping very soundly, and even when I was carrying you to the bedroom you seemed disorientated. Don't worry, I'm not upset," he said with a reassuring smile since he guessed that she was doing this so as not to offend him.

He had carried her inside? Lucy swallowed as she looked into his face. There was no way she could say she has been in a relationship without checking the list of everything couples usually did together, could she? Maybe she needed to make a list as usual, and check it with Tom's help.

"As my boyfriend what do you think I should do? Should I leave or stay?" She asked, making the side of Tom's lips twitch in amusement, even though her question surprised him.

"I think you should do whatever you feel comfortable with," Tom said as he held her gaze.

Lucy took in a deep breath and nodded her head as she said, "I will stay."

Tom gave her a nod, "Okay. You can use the guest bedroom where you changed your clothes earlier..."

Lucy stopped him by shaking her head, "This is one of those things people in relationships do, isn't it?" She asked, making Tom stare at her in confusion.

"I don't think I understand..."

"You said you were going to help me learn about guys and relationships. Not that I want a relationship, but I think I might appreciate the lessons and experience so that I don't feel like I missed out on anything later. So... I'm just saying if sleeping together on the same bed is part of being in a relationship, then I will share your bed with you," Lucy said with a forced confident smile even though she knew she was going to have a hard time sleeping now.

"Lu..."

"I know I don't have to. I want to. I like to put my best into anything I'm doing, and since I'm doing this temporary relationship thing with you, I think I should as well give it my best shot," Lucy said with a shrug even though she felt like she was beginning to talk too much.

"Come here," Tom said as he took her arm and dragged her close to himself, "Relax. It's a relationship, not a punishment or a death roll sentence," Tom murmured as he patted her back in a comforting gesture. He could tell she was feeling very nervous.

"I...I just don't know how to be your girlfriend. What if I can't help you after everything?" Lucy asked with a weary sigh as she stood stiffly in his embrace.

"I can teach you how to be my girlfriend if you will let me."

Lucy pulled away from him to look into his face "So what should I do?" She asked, gazing up at him with trusting eyes.

She admitted to herself that she trusted him even though it seemed too early to do that. He had shown her in different ways that her needs came before his own, and that was what earned him her trust.

"Start by closing your eyes, and taking in a deep breath," Tom suggested as he placed both hands on her cheeks and held her face so that they were gazing into each other's eyes.

Lucy closed her eyes and took in a deep breath as instructed before letting it out slowly.

"Good girl," Tom said with a proud smile. He was glad that they were both making progress really quickly.