#7 – The cube

John had never been a heavy sleeper. He was always up before dawn, but today was different. A few early autumn sunrays played on his sleeping face, but their warmth wasn't the reason for his huge smile. That was all Anna's doing.

Even before he opened his eyes, he could feel her warm, bare skin pressed against his, her head safely tucked under his chin, her palms spread on his chest. He was in heaven, a heaven he had dreamt about from the moment he had first laid eyes on her.

He shifted slightly in place and turned to look at her. Anna was still sound asleep, but he could swear he saw a faint smile on her pretty face. Last night had been amazing, he thought to himself, his hand drifting from her hip to her waist and gently pulling her closer, if that was even possible. Seeing their Halloween costumes strewn all over the guest room floor, he chuckled, remembering just what had led them to this moment. She had kissed him - Anna Smith had actually kissed him. And she had done much more than that, he thought, burrowing his nose in her golden hair, slowly inhaling its scent. She smelt like lavender and honey all at the same time and that, combined with her closeness, almost made him lose himself all over again.

Six years. That's how long it had taken them to get to this point. And my god, it had been worth the wait. If he had known that the Braveheart costume would have such an effect on her, he would have found a reason to wear it long ago. She had literally been all over him, her arms holding onto his bare, sweaty back, her strong legs pinning him down, her tender lips sucking on his skin, her soft moans lost in his mouth… Just thinking about it now, hours later, made him feel dizzy.

The only thing that scared him was the possibility that she might wake up and regret everything. He knew that he wasn't strong enough to handle that. He couldn't go back to just being friends, not after a night like last night. This had been more than just sex; it had to be more.

They had been friends for a long time, but deep down he had always sensed that they shared something deeper. From the moment he had set eyes on her all those years ago, standing in the middle of the Crawleys' garden, he had known that she was special. At first he had tried not to think about it. He had still been married to Vera then, and it had felt wrong to think about her as anything other than a friend. But as the months and years passed, they had grown extremely close, and the moment she had moved to the flat across from his, he had known that he was in big trouble.

''Stop.'' Anna's sleepy voice suddenly pulled him out of his thoughts.

''What?'' he chuckled, slowly turning his head to look at her. Her eyes were still closed, but she was definitely smiling.

''Stop,'' she repeated, and cuddled closer to him.

''I'm not doing anything,'' he replied, having no idea what she was talking about.

''Yes, you are,'' she said lightly, burying her fingers in his chest hair. ''Stop brooding and let me sleep a little longer.''

''I wasn't brooding...'' he protested, wondering how she could know him so well.

''Liar.'' She giggled, and before he knew it, he felt her mouth tenderly sucking the skin on his neck. He knew that he was probably covered in dozens of tiny love marks after last night, but it didn't matter. Nothing else mattered when he was with her. Tilting his head to the side, he gave her even more space to continue what she was doing.

''Anna...'' he moaned, when she gently bit him.

''What?'' she asked, and he could feel her smile on his skin.

''Don't you want to know what I was brooding about?'' he asked, slowly moving his hand from her waist down over one of her buttocks.

''I already know.''

''Oh, really?''

''Mhm,'' she purred, as he gently traced his long fingers down her thigh and looped them under her knee, pulling her leg slightly over his hip.

''Care to share?''

Finally opening her eyes, she looked up and saw him grinning back at her. Trailing a finger from his ear to his mouth, she ran her thumb softly over his lips.

''You've just spent the last few minutes brooding about what happened last night. And I know you well enough to know that you're full of doubts right now. But you shouldn't be.'' She smiled. ''I've wanted this to happen since the night that I spent in your tent five years ago, John.''

''What?''

''You don't remember?'' she teased, well aware that he knew exactly which night she was referring to. They had spent the night tucked together in his small sleeping bag, John trying to keep her warm on that freezing night.

''How could I forget...'' He smiled, thinking back. ''Do you realize how hard it was for me not to kiss you right then and there?''

''Yes…yes, I do. It was the same for me,'' she whispered, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. It didn't take him long to deepen the kiss, and before she knew it, he had pulled her on top of him, her legs resting around his hips. ''Why do you think I pretended to fall asleep so quickly?'' she asked, when he pulled away from her mouth.

''You've got to be kidding!'' he chuckled. ''You were pretending?''

''Well, yeah! What else should I have done? I'd had the biggest crush on you for months, and then - all of a sudden - there I was...in your arms, our legs tangled… All I wanted was a blanket, but nooo - you had to be all sweet and adorable and perfect, offering your own body heat to save me from freezing!'' she grinned, resting her chin on his chest and staring into his eyes.

''Truth be told…'' He tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. ''…I did have an extra blanket with me that night,'' he confessed, smiling sheepishly. "I realized it after you were already in the sleeping bag with me."

''What?!'' She propped herself up on her elbow, giving him a nice view of her bare chest. ''John Bates! You scoundrel! You tricked me!'' she smacked him with a giggle, making him laugh.

''Yes, I guess I did,'' he admitted, "But it was wonderful...at least until Robert found us together in the sleeping bag the next morning." They both smiled at the memory.

John pulled her back down, closing the gap between them. He could feel her breasts pressed against his chest, which felt heavenly and just made him bolder. He knew that she wasn't really angry with him. Maybe he had been a tiny bit selfish that night, but he really hadn't been able to help himself. There had been something pulling them together from the time they had met, and while he'd succeeded in maintaining appropriate boundaries between them most of the time, when she'd appeared that night at his tent, he had simply been too weak to resist.

Feeling her gently grinding on him, it took all the strength he had to pull away from her mouth, even briefly.

''Just a sec,'' he whispered. Reaching for his wallet on the nightstand, he pulled out a condom. But before he'd had a chance to even open the package, Anna had grabbed it out of his hand, torn the package open with her teeth, and then rolled it down over his hardness.

''Come here...'' he groaned, and then they both gasped as she joined them.

''Good god!'' he hissed at the feeling of her warmth all around him.

''John?'' She rested her palms on his chest, steadying herself.

''What?''

''Can I tell you something? Something I forgot to tell you yesterday?''

''Can it wait?'' He ran his palms down his face, trying to control his breathing. It felt amazing being so deep inside of her, and he was having trouble thinking clearly.

''No, it can't,'' she smiled, and gently rolled her hips against him, sucking the air right out of his lungs.

''Annaa…'' John gasped, then chuckled weakly. ''OK, tell me. But I beg you…make it quick,'' he said, looking directly into her eyes.

''I love you,'' she said simply.

''What?'' He wasn't sure that he had heard her correctly.

''I love you,'' she repeated, a soft smile lighting her face. It felt so good to finally say the words out loud.

Sitting up, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. Gently kissing the hollow of her throat, he looked up and smiled tenderly. ''And I love you.''

She didn't reply; the moment was too perfect to ruin it by speaking. Locking her hands around his neck, she pulled him closer and moved her lips over his. As their kisses became more intense, John felt her hips finally starting to move. Lowering his hands down her back, he rested them on her buttocks, helping her create the perfect rhythm between them. As Anna slowly rode him, John tried to kiss every inch of her upper body that he could reach. Having her so close to him was perfection, he thought to himself. She buried her head into his neck, soft moans escaping her lips while she begged him for more.

As he began lowering his hand between them, his brain vaguely registered a series of light knocks, followed immediately by the door opening and a very familiar voice filling the room.

''I've done it!'' Robert exclaimed cheerfully.

Both Anna and John froze.

''I told you that I could do it, John! Loo-…'' he continued, finally looking up from whatever he was holding in his hands.

''Robert!'' John yelled, pulling the covers up, trying to quickly cover Anna's upper body.

''Oh, my god!'' Robert froze, his eyes wide. ''Wha-...?'' he began, and then he finally processed what he was seeing.

''Robert! Turn around, for god's sake!'' John hissed, seeing his friend still staring at them in shock.

''Oh, yes…umm…of course…'' Robert finally turned around to face the wall. ''I'm sorry, I just thought…umm...sorry…'''

''What are you doing here so early anyway!?'' John shouted, with Anna still sitting on top of him, trying very hard not to laugh.

''Ummm…I just wanted to…umm…I...umm...solved your Rubik's cube...'' he offered weakly, still facing the wall. He raised his left hand in the air to display the finished puzzle.

For weeks now, John had been teasing him about not being able to solve the cube. He had tried again and again, but just couldn't do it. Yesterday, just before the Halloween party, he had gotten fed up and stopped by the toy shop to buy a new, already-solved cube, and as soon as he'd gotten up this morning he had been excited to show his friend that he had "completed" it.

''What?!'' John raised his voice, having no idea why this was so important so early in the morning.

''Is that Anna with you...or…?'' Robert ventured, still confused about what he had just seen.

''Does it matter?! Just leave!'' John bellowed, his arms still wrapped around Anna, holding her close. Of all the mornings that Robert could have barged into the guest room, his best mate had had to choose today. Why hadn't he remembered to lock the door? My god, this could not get more embarrassing than it already was, he thought to himself. But how wrong he was.

''Papa, have you seen…oh, my god! Anna!''

Peeking through the curtain of her hair, Anna could see Mary standing by her father, her mouth hanging open.

''So this is where you disappeared to yesterday evening!'' Mary folded her arms on her chest, smirking. ''You little minx!''

''GET OUT!'' John threw one of the pillows in Robert and Mary's direction.

''But…'' Mary began, trying to stifle a giggle, but John cut her off.

''OUT!''

''Oh, don't be such a grumpy old man,'' Mary scolded, and turned to leave the room. ''You know she'll tell me all about this later, anyway.''

''Take Robert with you, please!?'' John ordered, seeing his best friend still facing the wall, not moving or saying a thing.

''Come along, Papa.'' Mary took her father by the hand and pulled him out of the room. ''Have fun, you two!'' she sang out, closing the door behind them.

''Oh, my god!'' John exhaled, lowering himself down onto the mattress. ''I'm so sorry...'' he began, but stopped when he heard Anna's giggles filling the room. ''So you think this is funny...?'' he asked tentatively, relaxing a little when he saw that she wasn't upset.

''Yes...I do.'' She laughed harder. Her best friend and her best friend's father had just walked in on them making love, but for some reason it didn't bother her. She had wanted this with John for so long that all she felt was happiness, even though she knew that Mary would tease her and probe for details later, over their morning coffee.

''Really?'' he asked seriously, and rolled both of them over so that she was now lying on her back, with him still very hard inside of her. She nodded and smiled.

He breathed a sigh of relief. ''Now...where were we...?'' he asked with a grin, and covered her lips with his. She giggled into his mouth, but soon passion overtook them once again and they picked up right where they had left off.

After years of loneliness and misery, John was finally happy, and seeing Anna just as happy to be with him made him feel pure joy. They were together and in love, and nothing - not even Robert and Mary barging into their private moment - could ruin it for them.

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