When Elise woke up, it was already morning. She rubbed her eyes, feeling a slight headache, and remembered how, in her heartache over Braden ignoring her calls and messages, she'd had more than a few beers at Ruth's place the night before.
So, she should be at Ruth's house, right?
She opened her eyes and took a careful look around—black bed sheets, pillows, a curved monitor on the desk, and a mechanical gaming keyboard. That's when it hit her… she was in Baden's room.
Strange, wasn't she at Ruth's place? When had she moved locations?
But hadn't he been ignoring her? How did she end up at his place, in his room no less?
Still puzzled, she heard the door open, and in walked Braden—shirtless. She quickly covered her face, pretending she hadn't seen anything, and pulled the blanket up to cocoon herself.
What exactly happened last night? How had she ended up here? And why couldn't he at least put on a shirt…
She hadn't even had time to piece things together when he pulled the blanket back, climbed into bed, and wrapped her in his arms.
"You were so passionate last night. I couldn't bear to fall asleep," he said, purposefully emphasizing the events of the previous night, pretending it had all happened naturally.
Elise blushed deeply. Oh no, she couldn't quite grasp what he was hinting at!
But why was he holding her like this? She didn't understand. What was he really thinking?
"D-Did I… do something…?" Elise turned her head, her heart racing. "W-What exactly did I do…?"
"Plenty. You kissed me, hugged me, told me how much you liked me, begged me not to leave you. Then you couldn't keep your hands off me. I had no choice. My mom wasn't home to save me, and Ruth didn't answer her phone, so I just accepted it." He kept embellishing, teasing her further. "Remember when I lifted you onto the cabinet in the kitchen? That's when we…"
Her mind went blank. What? That wasn't a dream? It all actually happened…?
Did she… beg him to touch her that day?
When she woke up later, her undergarments had been changed. Could it be that…
"I was wearing black that day…" She still couldn't believe it and kept pressing him.
"It turned white because I changed it. I drove you home, carried you to your room, and then…" He said it as if it were the most natural thing.
"How could you, you…" She didn't have time to finish before he silenced her with a kiss.
He hadn't even said he liked her, so how could he kiss her?
Wait, no. The real issue here was him changing her clothes, wasn't it? He'd seen her already, and she had no memory of it.
But with his dizzying kiss, her thoughts started to slip away. She closed her eyes, feeling how gentle his kiss was—unexpected but without a hint of aggression, nothing to dislike.
Their lips and tongues intertwined, and the soft sounds of the kiss made her feel weaker, like she was melting into each of his touches.
He wanted to do something more with her, but remembering how she'd been drunk and cried her heart out yesterday, he didn't want to push her any further.
A rare day off—he found peace just having her by his side, even if they did nothing at all.
At least she was there, right next to him.
Her breathing grew heavier with his continued kisses, and only then did he finally let her go, just for a moment.
"You never even said you liked me… How could you do this!" She finally managed to voice her question properly.
If he didn't like her, how could he kiss her…
"Didn't I just prove how much I like you?" He traced her lips with his finger, outlining their shape. "Even though nothing happened between us, I really did see you."
"We're not even dating, how could you do that!" she protested.
He was slightly taken aback. "You were waiting for me to talk to you?" "So, you've been waiting for me to officially date you?" He held her close, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I feel the same way. I didn't want to recklessly ruin our friendship either. I do like you, but at first, I didn't know if you liked me back. I was scared that if I confessed, there would be a wall between us. Even though we've known each other for so long, when it comes to love, I'm just a man hoping to be cherished by you."
His playful tone softened, replaced by a genuine confession. He loved her so deeply—how could he not be afraid that she didn't feel the same?
"If you'd told me you liked me sooner, I…" Her voice grew quieter. "Then I wouldn't have been so upset yesterday. I cried so hard it made my head hurt…"
He had no idea how lost and scared she felt when he didn't pick up her calls or reply to her messages.
"I'm sorry." He whispered softly in her ear. "Can you forgive me?"
"I'm not mad at you. I just hope you won't ignore me like that again, because it really hurts... hurts when you don't talk to me."
"There won't be a next time." He gently touched her cheek. "It's my day off today. How about I take you out? Let's make it our first date."
"A date?" Her eyes lit up with joy, her smile widening. "Sure! We haven't gone out in so long."
But her smile didn't last long. Her expression changed in an instant, like a quick theatrical shift. "Wait a minute, you haven't even asked me out officially, yet you've already seen everything! How could you?"
"Did you forget how you kept teasing me? You were the one asking me to touch you."
"Alright, shut up, I don't want to remember that." She kept denying it. "That couldn't have been me... I'd never say something so embarrassing..."
"But I didn't actually touch you," he admitted.
"Really? Why? Why not?" She was surprised, trying to gauge how truthful he was being.
"Do you actually wish I had?" He chuckled, unable to resist. "Elise, you're kind of a tease."
"You're the tease! You can't even keep your clothes on right!" She grabbed a pillow beside her and covered his annoyingly amused face.
He pulled the pillow away, hinting with a sly smile, "Well, your vomit covered my clothes this morning, so I had to wash them. Or are you worried that if you keep looking, you'll start tempting me again?"
She recalled his vow. "Maybe you should think about how you'll be calling Nathanael 'Dad' someday!"
Instantly, his face fell, silently vowing to thoroughly tease her the next time she got drunk.
She was still smiling innocently, completely unaware that he was already planning his revenge.
