2
A few of us—including Warren, much to my chagrin--came back to Will's around 3 a.m. and after I brushed my teeth, I crashed on the loveseat. I awoke the next morning with the mother of all cramps in my neck and shoulders.
I stood and stretched, wincing as my sore muscles tightened. Falling back onto the couch with a moan, I buried my face in my pillow and began making a half-hearted attempt at massaging my neck.
I heard someone rustling blankets and a few muttered curses from the couch across the room. I turned my head to the side to see who it was before I closed my eyes again and whimpered, jabbing at my bunched muscles with my fingertips.
"Don't start on me this early," I said, my voice muffled by the pillow.
I heard shuffling footsteps on the carpet and felt someone sit on the edge of the couch before cool fingers pushed my hand away and slipped under my tank top.
I let my hand fall limply to the floor as Warren began to rub slow circles on my neck. Slowly his hand started to feel warmer, and my muscles loosened appreciatively. I bowed my head, tucking my arms beneath my chest and giving better access to my neck and shoulders, biting back a feline purr.
"You still sleep scrunched up in a ball, don't you?" he asked, rubbing deeper. I grunted a yes. "You wouldn't be so stiff if you didn't."
"Thanks doc," I muttered, moaning as his fingers prodded a particularly nasty knot.
"Shut up and tell me when this gets too hot," he ordered. His left hand moved to hold my left upper arm and he pulled up slightly, pressing down on my right shoulder and heating his now stationary hand almost to the point of pain. He rotated the heel of his hand, and I was unable to hold in a sound that was both a hiss and a moan.
"Are we interrupting something?"
Startled, we both jumped guiltily at the sound of my aunt's voice. Warren stood quickly and I rolled over, tangling myself in my blankets as I tried to get off the couch.
"I had a cramp," I said, shoving my covers away and standing. Aunt Josie stood in the doorway, arms crossed, and my uncle Steve stood just behind her, glaring daggers at Warren. "He was just rubbing it out," I finished lamely.
"Mm-hm," Aunt Josie said, arching a brow at me. She put her hands on her hips. "I know you kids are getting older, feeling more mature and all that, but from now on if anything needs 'rubbed out', can you not do it half naked in my family room?"
My cheeks burned and I looked at Warren, aware for the first time that he was only wearing his jeans, unbuttoned and riding low on his hips. He had gotten a couple of new tattoos since I last saw him in such a state of undress—God help me for noticing.
He wasn't paying attention to anything except my uncle. The two had locked gazes immediately and neither was backing down. Warren was flexing his fingers, his eyes narrowed and jaw clenched. Uncle Steve wasn't much better off, standing braced for battle with a challenge in his eyes.
"Steve? Steve."
"Yes honey?" he answered from between clenched teeth.
"Honey, the phone," Aunt Josie said, seemingly oblivious to the tension between the two men. He went to answer it as she bustled around the living room, folding blankets and straightening the furniture.
"Warren, sweetheart, would you mind going and waking Will and Zach? I'll make you guys something to eat before Steve and I go out."
He gave a curt nod, snatching up his white t-shirt and pulling it over his head. He bent, picking up the rest of his things and slinging his book bag over his shoulder before disappearing up the stairs.
"So," Aunt Josie said as she folded one of my blankets. "You kids were out late last night."
"We were hanging out at Layla's," I said, folding a nearby sheet.
"It's good to see you and Warren on such good terms again," she commented. "I was wondering if the two of you would ever be able to be in the same room without glaring at each other."
"I guess," I said vaguely.
"You're still in love with him, huh?" Aunt Josie asked concernedly.
"Aunt Jo, that was years ago," I said, smiling and shaking my head. "You can't take what a teenager thinks is love seriously. I was young and silly."
"What could I have been thinking? Now that you're the ripe old age of 19…" She gave a dramatic sigh. "I'm sure you have everything sorted out."
"Josie," The Commander said, coming back into the living room. "We're needed in Italy."
"Right," Aunt Josie said, taking off her glasses. She kissed my cheek and hurried out of the room to change. "Sorry boys," she said to the trio as they reached the bottom step. "No time to cook, but there's cereal in the cabinets."
Will groaned, turning and trudging back upstairs to go back to bed. I tried not to notice the way Warren's eyes sparked as he watched Uncle Steve. I thought it was very rude to put on The Commander regalia and parade around in front of the son of someone you put in prison for three lifetimes.
"So, what do you guys have planned for today?" Uncle Steve said, taking a sip from his coffee and looking at Zach.
Zach, looking like a deer caught in headlights, immediately started to glow.
I stepped over, thrusting my suitcases at him. "Could you run these up to the guest room for me?"
He nodded and bolted up the stairs.
"Straaange boy," The Commander said turning to my aunt, who had just walked up. She slapped his arm lightly and took his coffee cup, setting it on a table.
"Alright kids, we'll be back later," The Commander said.
"Steve, honey, I was thinking maybe we could spend the night somewhere tonight." Aunt Josie said. "Prague is beautiful this time of year." She turned to me and Warren. "We'll be home tomorrow. Don't destroy the house, and no parties. Got it?"
"Yes ma'am," I called. They were gone in a flash of red, white, and blue and I turned to Warren. "Ok, I'm going to go grab a shower before I get to work on the SSE mainframe."
"If you can do that from here, then why are you going with us tonight?"
"Because," I said, trying to keep my voice neutral. "From here I can poke around a bit. Find my way around the system. But I have to be at the site to tap directly into the surveillance and security lines before I'll be able to manipulate them. Trust me, Peace. I know what I'm doing."
I ran upstairs to the guest room, taking a second to comfort Zach, who was pissed about glowing in front of the Commander. After his pride was soothed, I pilfered through my bags until I found my clean underwear, bra, and tank top. I would have to wear the same jeans until I washed clothes later, but at least I had my hoodie in case it got cold.
I grabbed a quick shower, threw on my under clothes and went downstairs to toss my jeans into the dryer with a softener sheet to dewrinkle them. Once that was done, I dug through my purse until I found my glasses and sat down on the sofa with my laptop. I plopped over onto my stomach, bending my knees and crossing my ankles as my computer booted up.
I had only been working a minute when Zach came in, a bowl of cereal in one hand and a glass of juice in the other. A package of pop-tarts hung from between his teeth.
"Hungry?" I asked, arching a brow.
He nodded, gaze fixed on my panty-clad bottom.
"Oh, for the love of…my eyes are up here!" I said in exasperation.
"Sorry," he said, cheeks coloring slightly. I smiled, shaking my head, and went back to work, listening to the steady sounds of Zach's munching.
The buzzer on the dryer sounded and I got up and padded down the hall. I remembered I needed to brush my teeth as I passed the bathroom. Someone was in the shower, so I gave two quick knocks before opening the door and stepping inside.
"Sorry, gotta brush my teeth," I called. There was an aggrieved sigh before the curtain whipped aside a bit, revealing the dripping hair and wet face of Warren Peace.
"Seriously, do you just stand around trying to think of something you can do to piss me off?" he asked in that I'm-bored-but-really-annoyed tone of voice.
"No, the ideas just come to me. Like visions from God," I said, turning my face to heaven and placing a hand over my heart. I flipped him off, turned to the sink, and started brushing my teeth.
"You need to get dressed," he said, flipping the curtain closed.
I spit and put my toothbrush back, wiping my mouth on the back of my hand. "I'm on my way there now, so don't worry. I wouldn't want to corrupt you or anything," I said sarcastically.
Unable to resist, I reached down and flipped the handle on the toilet, which flooded the shower with frigid water. Warren's curses rang through the house as I continued to the laundry room, a smug smile on my face.
-
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Christmas
Eve
Junior Year
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Hot cookies, coming through!" I said, laying the cookie sheet on the counter. "Aunt Josie, your hot pads suck."
"Here, honey," my mom said, tossing me a dish towel. There was a roar of male voices from the living room and the three of us looked at each other and rolled our eyes.
"Nothing says Christmas like action movies," Mom said. "What is it this year?"
"Braveheart," I said, watching through the doorway.
"Again?" Aunt Josie asked. "Lex, honey, when you get married, make sure you marry a man who likes the same things as you. Ok?"
My thoughts immediately went to Warren. We had been seeing each other unofficially, as in every time the group of us got together, we would sit together.
Close together.
There had been a few quick kisses in the darkness of Magenta's back seat, but we still just considered ourselves "friends-with-benefits".
"What are you talking about?" My mom asked, pulling me from my thoughts. "She loves that movie just as much as they do. I'll bet you she'd be in there if we weren't making her bake, just like mom always made us do."
I laughed and sat beside my mom and picked up a cookie cutter as she rolled sugar cookie dough. Just then, the back door opened and Layla bounded inside, her cheeks pink from the cold. I watched as Aunt Josie's potted mint turned a deeper green and grew taller, bewitched by Layla's good mood.
"Merry Christmas, other family," the girl trilled. "I just wanted to pop over before everything got busy," she said, picking up a cookie. The doorbell sounded, but there was no movement from the living room to answer it.
"Steve," Aunt Josie called sweetly. "Will you get the door?"
Ding-dong…
"Steve, honey," she called, a bit more forcefully as she slopped cake batter into a pan.
"It's probably just some carolers," Uncle Steve said distractedly.
Diiing-doong…
"Steve Stronghold!" Aunt Josie shouted. "Answer that door!"
"I'll get it, Aunt Jo," I said, tossing the snowman cookie cutter to Layla. I ran to the door and pulled it open, smiling happily to find Warren Peace standing there.
"Hey!"
"Hey," he said. He tucked his hands into his coat pockets and motioned toward the porch swing. "You got a second? I know you guys are doing the family thing, but…" he trailed off, lifting his eyes from mine to the direction of the living room.
Uncle Steve and my dad—Aquarius, aka Stanley Lewis, Jr. or "Big Stan" to those he dealt with at the car dealership—were glowering at Warren from the couch. Will, ever oblivious, glanced over, waved, and went back to watching the movie.
"Maybe I should just come back some other time," he said, eyeing the men evenly.
"It's fine," I said, still smiling. I pulled him through the door. "Dad, this is Warren. Warren, my dad."
"Warren," Dad said stiffly.
"We'll be upstairs," I said, biting my lip and leading the way to the staircase.
"I can see through buildings, bucko," my dad called. "Just keep that in mind while you're alone with my daughter."
"He can't really," I whispered, turning and giving my dad and uncle a death glare and making the 'cut it out or you're both dead meat' sign across my throat.
I took him to Will's room, where all of my stuff was stationed for the holidays. Warren looked a little relieved that we were out of the direct line of parental fire. We sat in an awkward silence for a minute before I laughed nervously.
"Weird, isn't it?" I said. "I think this is the first time we've actually been alone since I met you."
He smiled a bit, and his gaze flicked from my eyes to my mouth, where I was still gnawing nervously on my lip.
"You scared of me?" he asked teasingly, arching a brow.
"Nope," I said as I turned on the CD I had in Will's CD player. Tito & Tarantula's Strange Face of Love began playing softly.
"Prove it," he challenged, holding his arms away from his side and flashing a mischievous grin.
I returned his grin and walked to him. I tucked my fingers into the back pockets of my jeans and tilted my head back to look him square in the eye.
"Is the ever-brooding Warren Peace actually being playful?" I asked, feigning shock.
He chuckled and wrapped his hands around my hips, drawing me closer to him. "Even I'm allowed to smile now and then," he said.
He dipped his head until I could feel his breath fanning against my lips. They instantly parted, as difficult to get into as a NOLA prostitute at Mardi Gras. He hovered momentarily, teasing, until I rose on my toes and closed the distance between our mouths. The kiss was hot, hard, demanding...the physical manifestation of passion.
My fingers bunched in the hair that brushed the back of his neck. His hand slid up my torso until it cupped my breast through the layers of my clothes. I leaned my head back as his lips and teeth burned a trail down my neck. His thumb brushed once, twice, a third time over the sensitive peak of my breast until I was arching in, seeking more of his touch.
"Your awfully brave considering your parents are just downstairs," he said between kisses as I unzipped his jacket. My hands slipped under his layered shirts and explored the textures of his body.
"Shut up, Warren," I said, smiling and pulling his mouth back to mine. The hand that had been sitting snugly on my hip slowly began making its way lower, smoothing over my butt and gripping the back of my thigh. He hitched my leg up, lifting me as he did so, so that I had no choice but to wrap my legs around his hips. His actions caught me by surprise and I let out a small squeak and laughed.
"Shhhh," he said, laughing quietly, setting me down on Will's desk. Our mouths returned to their ministrations, leaving both of us hot and breathless.
"God, Warren," I sighed. I winced a bit as he bit the flesh at my shoulder, but the slick rasp of his tongue immediately soothed the sting. He lifted his head and rested his forehead against mine.
"I don't want you to get in trouble," he said.
"We'd better go back downstairs then," I said hoarsely. "It's safer."
He gave a scoff of laughter and kissed my forehead, helping me down from the desk. "Yeah, for you maybe."
We straightened our clothes and tried to look like we weren't two horny teenagers. We were only upstairs for a little while, but by the time we got downstairs the men had abandoned Mel Gibson for homemade cookies. Warren stepped off the step and I caught the sleeve of his jacket between my fingers. Suddenly nervous, I began working my lip again.
He reached up, smoothing his thumb over my bottom lip. "What?" he asked.
"What are we?" I asked. "I mean, not that I'm trying to be pushy or anything, 'cause I'm not. I was just wondering so I'd kinda have some sort of basis to go on next time we hang out, whether we're boyfriend/girlfriend or friends or whatever," I rushed out, pausing when I had to take a breath.
He smiled, glancing over his shoulder toward the kitchen before leaning over and kissing me softly on the lips. "What do you want to be?" he whispered.
"Truthfully?"
He nodded.
"I would really, really like to have a boyfriend before I graduate high school," I said lightly. I gave an embarrassed laugh. "Wanna be my boyfriend?" I asked in a valley-girl accent.
Warren smiled and leaned in once more, letting his lips stay on mine a little longer this time. "I guess so," he said simply before turning and walking to the door.