Chapter Ten-Blurred Lines
'Cause it's you and me and all of the people
with nothing to do, nothing to prove
And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you.
"You and Me" by Lifehouse
I was in some kind of a sex haze, or a trance or something. For a week Paul and I didn't leave the confines of my apartment. He was insatiable and to be honest my appetite rivaled his. There was a day which Paul declared naked day and we both walked around the apartment naked. I ended up with rug burns on my knees, a bruise behind my thigh and an embarrassing number of love bites all over my body. After that day I thought it was better to get rid of naked day, for the health of my poor body. For the first time I enjoyed having so much time off of work. I tended to thrive on the fast pace of always having something to do. But these lazy, intensely pleasurable days made me feel like an overfed cat, rolling around lazily on the floor.
"You have that dress thing today," Paul commented against my stomach. We had argued about whether my stomach was flat enough to use as a plate. Paul had retaliated by eating a pint of strawberries and whipped cream from the surface of my skin before taking me on the floor. His head now rested on my stomach, using it as a pillow, and I ran one hand lazily through his hair.
"Thank god those marks are gone," I said. "Kim never would have shut up about them."
"My wolf liked seeing them on you," he said casually. Over the past few days he had loosened up slightly and sometimes made comments similar to this. It seemed Paul had always been at some sort of odds with his wolf, his wolf the proverbial voices in his head that he struggled against. I saw it as a baser, more instinctive form of his nature but he disagreed. He felt like the wolf was another entity inside of him. I tugged his hair playfully.
"Well tell him to rein it in next time," I joked. "I could have done without the carpet burn." He shrugged unapologetically.
"At least yours was on your knees," he said. "I think I might still have splinters in my ass from when we nearly took down that wall."
"We are getting rather dangerous," I said. I moved his head and stood on slightly wobbly legs. He reclined back onto the carpet and watched as I moved around the bedroom naked. I slipped on a pair of white lace undies and then pulled on a pair of tan skinny jeans.
"Wear the blue with that," he offered helpfully. Then, because he was Paul, he added "your tits look hot in blue." I grabbed a black button down instead, sticking my tongue out at him for good measure and rifled through my drawer for a black bra to match. Paul stood behind me and surprised me by deftly braiding my hair.
"Where did you learn to do that?" I asked. He shrugged.
"When I was younger I had long hair," he said. "I cut it when I became a wolf. Otherwise the wolf's fur is too shaggy and I can barely move. Now do you really have to go do this?" He asked resting his hands on my shoulders.
"Raven desperately needs girl time and Kim threatened me with death if I didn't show up," I answered.
"And what's the dress for again?" He asked crankily throwing himself on my bed.
"They didn't say but I have a feeling it's for Raven's wedding," I said. Paul sat up in bed.
"They're engaged?" He asked. I shrugged.
"It's just a feeling," I said. "Otherwise it will be an obscenely short dress to wear to a club or something."
"I can endorse that," he said silkily. I threw a tube of lotion at him. He caught it laughing.
"I'm going to be late," I said. "Don't eat my Cheetos or I will end you." I warned.
"So romantic," he teased. He stood, pulling me into his arms, pouting as I struggled to pull out of his iron grip. "What will I do all alone?" He asked.
"I'm sure you'll think of something," I said. "Now seriously I have to go or they'll think I was abducted." His lips touched mine briefly and he released me. As I was walking out the door his next words nearly made my heart stop.
"I don't want to be away from you," he said. It was said softly and I had no doubt I wasn't supposed to hear it. So I did the only logical thing. I pretended I hadn't.
"You're late," Kim snapped when I whipped the Caliber into the spot next to her Honda. Raven handed me an iced coffee.
"Bless you," I told her fervently before taking a sip. "I couldn't find clean pants," I lied. Raven arched a brow but didn't say anything further.
"Come on," Kim said. "I found this new place and they will have the perfect dresses for us." I mocked groaned as Kim pulled me into a small, slightly cramped store. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the club style dresses high on the walls. I loved Raven, but watching her get married to my ex might be a little hard to swallow still.
"You're going to make me dance again, aren't you?" I asked dully as Kim began rifling through the racks.
"We bought out the VIP lounge at Red," she said absently. "For Sam's birthday."
"Then why isn't Emily here being subjected to this torture?" I asked grumpily as Kim shoved several dresses into my arms.
"She's at the doctor," Raven answered. "And Leah already picked up a dress."
"Lies," I muttered. "I could have just ordered something online."
"But then you wouldn't get the pleasure of my company," Kim snapped shoving me forcefully into the dressing room. "Now tell me how good sex with Paul is." I was in the process of removing my sneakers and nearly fell over at her words.
"Who says I'm having sex with Paul?" I managed to squeak out, glad she couldn't see my face.
"Oh please," she said sarcastically. "You two have been panting around each other for months." Did everyone see this shit but me? I wondered. I slipped into the first dress, a hideously tight blue spandex number.
"Nuh uh," Raven said when I stepped out of the dressing room. "I can practically see your ovaries from here."
"You didn't answer my question," Kim prompted. "I've always wondered if he was good. He certainly looks like he would be."
"Jesus Christ," I muttered pulling a yellow number up to barely cover my boobs. I made a face at my reflection before stepping out.
"Wrong color," Kim snapped. "My money is on the red. You look phenomenal in red. Now tell me!" She demanded as I closed the door to the dressing room again.
"I'm not discussing this," I said finally. Kim clapped her hands triumphantly.
"I knew it!" She said. "Is he big? I bet he is. Jared said something once, well more like let it slip, that Paul was the biggest. How do they even judge that?" She babbled. I stepped out in the red dress. I had to admit I liked it the best. It was a little longer than the others, falling in ripples of artfully torn fabric to my knee. It crossed over one shoulder and left the other bare.
"It's perfect," Raven declared. "Kim leave her alone about Paul. You have enough dirty sex of your own to keep your filthy mind occupied."
"Very true," Kim said dreamily. "Jared does this thing…"I put my hands over my ears until she stopped speaking. "God such a prude for the girl who landed the sex god of La Push," she commented airily.
"Go change back. We have to find some shoes," Raven said. My groan only made them laugh.