We finished the rest of the food, and she made herself a heaping bowl of ice cream, the cold surface already starting to melt at the edges. Moving to the living room, she grabbed a pillow off the couch and dropped onto the floor with a soft thump next to the low table, her knees folding underneath her lazily. I stayed above her, lounging back on the couch, the faint weight and silky texture of her hair slipping between my fingers as I absentmindedly combed through it.
The thing is, I love the way she normally wears her hair: a high ponytail. I guess the only other hairstyles I would like are either a bun or letting it flow down naturally. News flash: I don't know how to do a bun, and letting it fall naturally definitely wouldn't put her in a good mood. Thus, there was really only one option.
I grabbed a few more sections of her hair along with her hairband, tying it into a ponytail—the ponytail that I thought was the prettiest and looked best on her. She didn't even notice; she was lost in the ice cream and watching TV.
Sliding down from the couch, I settled to her left, the carpet brushing softly against my palms as I shifted. Without hesitation, her head found my shoulder, the gentle weight of her leaning into me as she continued eating, the faint clink of her spoon against the bowl filling the quiet between us.
On the screen, a streamer was playing some drug-dealing game, which was surprisingly entertaining. She had a way of interacting with the game and giving it a unique life only found in her stream. Time comfortably passed like this, and before we even knew it, it was 10 p.m.
"Ahhhh~!"
"Don't yawn, Kate! Oh no... Ahhhh~!"
Her yawn was deadly, even making me follow suit, but we all know that yawns are contagious. She knew exactly what she was doing!
"Pfft~ Dummy." She snuggled up closer, but I wasn't going to let us sleep on the floor. Fortunately, my physical score was in the sixties; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to do what I wanted to do. This actually reminded me that I needed to work harder on my physical fitness, because with everything that's been happening, I'd kind of forgotten.
"Ah!?" Picking Kate up, I walked out of the living room to the staircase, climbing each step carefully. Kate's stare bore into me, and I matched it by sticking out my tongue. She snorted and relaxed, enjoying her princess carry. We got to my door in no time, and like a wonderful partner, she opened the door for me.
Entering, I walked over to the bed, placing her down gently, and she gave me a mischievous smirk.
"What's wi—?!"
Flop~!
She pulled me onto the bed. I didn't have any time to adjust my posture or position. I lay on my right side and she her left, both of us facing each other. With all this happening, I did the thing most natural for me in this position: pulling her into a hug. My head rested on top of hers while she used my arm as a pillow and my body as a source of heat. Of course, I was using hers as well, and with her "pillows" pressing against me, I got a lot of benefits from this.
"Haha~, I didn't expect that."
"I kind of acted on impulse~!" Her voice was light, almost airy, as if the day's weight had melted off her.
"Nothing wrong with that. You sure you don't want to shower or bathe before sleeping?"
"D-Do I stink?" She pulled back just a fraction, her forehead brushing against my collarbone, the faint warmth of her skin lingering there.
"Absolutely not, but I just figured girls were picky about keeping clean and all that."
"Phew~, I thought I smelled bad. But no, I can do that in the morning." She let out a soft sigh, her breath tickling the fabric of my shirt.
"With what clothes?" I asked.
"With what clothes would I use now?"
"Touché."
'She got me with one.' I couldn't even argue; she was completely right.
She shifted again, the smooth brush of her leg sliding along mine, intertwining us even tighter. She was really trying to get closer—even though, at this point, it was physically impossible unless we did that.
"I'll get clothes brought to me from Mia in the morning."
"Mia?"
"She's the equivalent of that Jack dude."
"You know Jack?"
"Yeah, Marcus was telling me about him."
"Oh, I'm so glad you didn't try to attack Marcus."
I remembered Marcus trying to tell me something about it on the way to the car earlier, but it hadn't seemed important to me at the time.
Not getting a response, I tried calling her name gently, but she still didn't respond.Instead, the slow rhythm of her breathing brushed against my collarbone, syncing perfectly with mine.
Her body was warm against me, her weight light but grounding, and the faint sound of her steady breaths filled the quiet space between us, slow and peaceful. It was enough to make the world outside the room feel like it didn't exist.
'She fell asleep. Well, with all that's happened, I can't blame her.'
It made sense that she was tired, and honestly, I was kind of glad we hadn't gone further yet. For our first time, I want it to happen after more preparation and romantic vibes. Call me whatever you want, but that's just how I felt.
[Amazing.]
'Oh, look who's finally back!'
[Quiet. I was entertained.]
'You're welcome?'
[Haha~ You should thank me for being a viewer.]
'No. That's disgusting, dude. Wait, you aren't gonna watch when...'
[...]
Silence reigned supreme, and I focused my mind on counting sheep. Before I knew it, I was actually able to join Kate in sleep's embrace.
As for Ezryn... we left him to the awkwardness that lingered with my question.