Alice woke up slowly, reluctantly leaving her dream world where she was safely cradled in strong, warm arms, to be pulled back into…
She paused. Without opening her eyes, she mentally ran down her body, taking in the sensations. She was relaxed, more so than she could ever remember being. She was lying on top of something, or more accurately someone, who was warm and hard. Arms were tightly wrapped around her, holding her in place, and her own arm appeared to be snaked around his torso, the other curled up next to her, with a hand resting on his shoulder. Carlos. No one else could make her feel this happy, this safe.
He took in a deep breath and she closed her eyes, anticipating his voice.
"You awake?" It was quiet, enough that she would hear, but not enough to wake her if she were still asleep.
"Yes. But if 'no' will keep us from having to move, I can change that." He chuckled, his chest rumbling under her ear. His hand came up to stroke her hair.
"Sleep well?" Alice thought for a moment before replying.
"Yes. Better than I have in months. It seems I have found a cure for my nightmares."
She smiled and pulled her head up to meet his gaze. There was that smile again.
"All the more reason to stick around." Alice froze, the smile remaining on her lips, but disappearing from her eyes. There was no way Carlos wouldn't notice.
"Carlos-"
"Shh. I understand Alice. Let's not ruin this moment." He removed one arm from her back to lace his fingers through hers. She returned her head to his chest, a film of tears blurring her vision and making her afraid to blink. "But I will find a way to make you stay Alice. Or I'm coming with you. I'm just as stubborn as you are, and you know it." He bent down and kissed her hair, and a tear made its way down her cheek.
"I just wish it was that simple."
"It is. I promise." She snuggled deeper into him and they lay in silence for several minutes.
A knock on the van door disturbed their peaceful moment. "Hey Carlos! You seen Alice? You better know where she is or Claire will have your head!" When he got no response, Mikey continued. "I know you are in there! Meeting's in five minutes! Get your ass in gear Olivera!" Silence rained over them again.
"I suppose that means we have to get up." Alice sighed and pulled herself into a sitting position on top of Carlos. Her muscles were tensing to stand when Carlos reached up and grabbed her upper arms.
"We've got a few minutes." He too pulled himself upward, but only high enough to connect his lips with Alice's.
He tasted like sunshine and summer, chocolate and something dark and spicy that she could only describe as Carlos. She pushed forward and moaned into his mouth, causing him to pull away.
"We don't have that much time." He was grinning, their foreheads resting together. He opened his eyes to find her starring at him. "What?" She smiled.
"I'll tell you later. We're going to be late." She stood in one swift motion, making Carlos blink in surprise. He looked up to see her smiling. "Off your game Carlos? You getting rusty on me, Old Man?" She gave him an evil grin while he glared back. "Come on Grandpa." She held out her hand. "You've got things to do." He continued to glare and her face softened a bit. "Carlos, you aren't really offended are you?" The grin slackened and she knelt down in front of the sofa. His face remained impassive. "Carlos? You know I was just kidding. If I wasn't some freak of nature, I probably would have broken a hip by now. You are in great shape. And what you can't physically do, your heart makes up for 10 times over. Hmm? Carlos come on…" She frowned and reached forward to touch his face. He hadn't so much as twitched a muscle since the beginning of her tirade.
Just as her fingers were about to make contact with his cheek, feeling his warmth on her cold flesh, he came back to life. In one swift motion, Alice found herself pinned under Carlos on the floor of the van, one hand balancing his weight above her, the other cradling the back of her head so that it didn't make contact with the floor. The breath was knocked out of her lungs; his grinning face loomed above her.
"Who did you say was losing their edge, hmm?" He lowered his face so that it was just above hers, rubbing their noses together. His hand buried in her hair pulled her head up. Their lips crashed together again.
Alice gained control of her limbs, snaking her arms around him and pulling herself flesh against his warmth. Carlos grunted at the extra weight, and rolled them over so that Alice was lying on top of him, his hands running up and down her sides.
Alice reluctantly pried her lips away. "Fine, we are both old," she said breathlessly. Carlos let out a laugh. "But we really do have to go." He groaned as Alice righted herself, and this time he let her pull him to his feet.
"We'll finish this later." His voice had dropped lower than normal, and his already dark eyes were black. Excitement shot down her spine.
"Most definitely," she whispered back. They exchanged a smile before she turned and exited the van. Carlos's hand found its way to the small of her back as they walked. Alice couldn't help herself as she leaned into the touch. She could feel him smiling without looking behind her.