Andy didn't say much as he drove Lauren and Danai home. They were in the back laughing with each other. Andy smiled at the sound of Danai's laugh, he loved how she laughed with her entire upper body.
"Drop me off first please Andy." Came Lauren's voice from behind him.
"Alright."
"See! I got you girl!" She said to Danai in what Andy assumed she thought was a quiet whisper. He chuckled to himself.
"Here you go." He said, finally pulling up outside Lauren's appartment block.
"You need a hand upstairs?" Danai asked her.
"No I'm fine. See you next week, LOVE you guys." Lauren blew kisses as she exited the car.
"Bye." Andy yawned as he kept a watchful eye on Lauren, now without shoes on, making her way towards her appartment block.
He turned to Danai. "You gonna move up front?"
"Mmhmm." She got out the back and moved to the passenger side of the car.
They didn't speak as he drove the short distance to her house. Outside, she hesitated before unbuckling her seat belt. He turned the engine off and shifted position in his seat to look at her.
"Are you happy, with everything?" He eventually asked her.
"That's a loaded question."
"It wasn't meant to be. Just...do you feel like you made the right decision?"
"I don't know, Andy."
He didn't want to question her further, he didn't know why he even asked her after they had a perfectly fine evening together. She still wasn't getting out the car.
"Do you want to come in?" She finally asked. "Or are you too tired?"
The answer to both questions was yes, but he was never one to pass up the opportunity to spend more time with her. He nodded and openned his door, his palms were sweaty as if they were on their very first date. He walked round to open her door and helped her out of the car. As she fumbled with her keys, her gait slightly unsteady, he reminded himself that she had drunk quite a bit of alcohol.
"Shall we order a pizza?" She asked, smiling as if it was the most devious plan she could think of.
"Sure thing."
"That one we had in London was nice!"
"Yeah, unfortunately Danai we're actually in Atlanta..." He flopped down onto the couch, lying back
"Shush...I know." She playfully threw a cushion at him.
She ordered through the app on her phone, before lying down on the couch and squeezing next to him. He put his arm around her and pulled her close. He felt his breathing quicken as she turned to face him.
"All I know...is I like this right here." She whispered.
"Mmmhmm." Was all he could muster in response, his brain foggy from feeling her body against his.
"I've hated these past couple of weeks. I've felt so empty, so alone." He knew that some of it was the alcohol talking, but he chose to believe her.
"Me too. Norman's probably told you how I showed up crying at his house the night before I flew home?"
"No?"
"Well, that ones out of the bag now." He laughed it off.
"I'm sorry."
"You've got nothing to be sorry for, you were just doing the right thing."
"Is it the right thing?"
"Not for me." He whispered. In spite of himself, he leaned forward to kiss her. She met his lips with hers. It was gentle and slow, their lips barely parting. She pulled away, but she was smiling. She absent-mindedly stroked the top of his neck where his curls used to be, sending shivers down his body.
"Sorry." He broke the silence. "I shouldn't have done that. I don't kiss drunk women."
"I'm not drunk."
"Drunk enough that I'd be taking advantage. Look, I should go."
"You need to help me eat the pizza I ordered!"
"Ok." He relented, settling back next to her.
"I'm not drunk." She reiterated. She turned her body to face him, her hand on his hip she drew their bodies closer together. He ran his hand down her back, resting it at the base of her spine he stroked gently.
Their faces were so close together that he barely noticed when their lips touched again. He instinctively parted his lips, and quickly found her tounge with his. She tasted amazing, he hungrily devoured her bottom lip in between both of his. She moaned into his mouth as his tounge dove in again. Shifting position, he was on top of her now.
He knew he should stop, he needed to take control but as her hips rose to meet his and he lifted up her dress he knew any attempt to stop would be futile. He was already rock hard and Danai's gentle moans did nothing to remedy the situation.
"Stay with me tonight?" She breathed.
He didn't trust himself to speak, he just nodded.
The doorbell brought them back to earth.
"You'll have to get that." He breathed, gesturing to his very obvious arousal.
She looked stunning tonight, he noticed as she re-adjusted her green dress and walked to get the door. He suddenly realised he was holding his breath watching her walk away, it was only as she came back in armed with the pizza box that his breathing regained it's normal rhythm.
"I chose pepperoni." She said, proudly.
"An excellent choice."
She sat opposite him on the couch, hooked her legs over his and rested the pizza box in between them.
"I'm sorry I made you cry." She said suddenly.
"I'll get over it."
"I see!"
"No no! I mean, I'll live. Not I'll get over you! I'll never get over you." He once again cursed his stupid mouth.
"I don't want you to."
"What? Ever? That might be awkward."
"I don't want you to get over me because I want us to be together."
The slice of pizza Andy was eating suddenly became dry and hard to swallow. He felt dumbstruck just repeatedly chewing while she waited for him to say something.
"We can work it out." She continued. "If that's what you want?"
"I do." He had finally managed to swallow his mouthful. "Should we talk about this tomorrow?"
"I'm not..."
"I know I know, you're not drunk." He rested his hand on her knee. "But we're both kinda tired, and I wanna talk about it when I'm 100% sure we both remember."
He moved the pizza box from their laps and onto the coffee table. In one swift movement he stood up from beneath her and offered her his hand.
"Shall we go to bed?" He said as he lifted her to her feet, and scooped her up in his arms.
"Andy!" She giggled as she clung to his neck.
"Shhh...don't make me drop you." He said as he climbed the stairs.
"Good job you've been working out so much."
"Well I'm glad you noticed." He laughed as they reached the bedroom and he put her down gently on the bed.
"You still have a bunch of clothes here, also your toothbrush is in the bathroom." She opened her top drawer, he took out a pair of boxers and t shirt and headed to the bathroom.
Though he hated looking in the mirror, he caught sight of his reflection after brushing his teeth. He had the biggest cheshire cat grin on his face. He didn't want to assume that Danai had meant everything she said, but the hope she gave him made him feel happier than he had at any point in the past two weeks.
He returned to her bedroom to see that she had changed into a vest top and pyjama shorts.
"How do you always look so beautiful?" He asked, rubbing the top of her arm as she passed him on the way to the bathroom.
He got into bed on the side he used to sleep on when he stayed over, it felt as though nothing had changed but he had to keep reminding himself that it had. He didn't want to get carried away and end up back at square one tomorrow.
Danai breezed back into the room and into bed, she got under the duvet and pulled it up by her chin.
"Could you turn the light off?" She smiled.
Andy leaned over her to turn the light off.
"Yes, my queen." He mocked.
"Ooh I like that, can you call me that all the time."
"I will not do that."
She laughed and let out the duvet a little, allowing him to move over to her side and envelope her in a hug. She rested her hands on his chest, though she didn't need protecting at all Andy loved making her feel safe and secure.
"You alright?" He asked as he kissed her cheek.
"Yeah." She moved her hands down his torso until they were resting at the top of his boxers, she lifted his shirt and ran her fingertips along the waistline.
Though she kept insisting she wasn't drunk, Andy knew Danai had drunk a lot of alcohol. Especially considering her small frame and the fact she usually had no more than a glass of wine. He ached to be with her in that way again, but his conscience took over.
"Darling, we shouldn't." He said gently.
"Ok." She said, she sounded hurt.
"Not that I don't want to, just...not like this."
"I know." She said, from the darkness. She moved away from him to the other side of the bed.
"Shall I go?" He whispered.
She said nothing, but reached out to grab his hand. He squeezed hers in return and it wasn't long before the jet lag took over and he fell into a deep sleep.
Tell her what was wrong
I sometimes think too much
But say nothing at all
And tell her from this high terrain, I am ready now to fall.