Shutter

Chapter Ten

"Can I stay with you in this bed all day long?" Julian sighed, his sleepiness still making his voice all croaky. She couldn't help but find pleasure in his sleepy eyes, bed head, and raspy voice.

"I wish you could," Elle sighed, letting him pull her into his arms.

"Why can't I?" He asked, pulling back to look in her eyes.

"I don't know. You're a busy dude," she said with a shrug.

It was always him that had somewhere to be. It was always him running off to movie sets or to a meeting or to hang out with another friend.

"I'm wide open," he told her with a smile, kissing her lips quickly.

"You have nothing going on today?" She asked him, the shock apparent in her voice.

"Nada," he said, smiling at her.

"Wow," she proclaimed, exaggerating the word, causing him to laugh out loud.

"I know, I know," he chuckled.

"You are like, the busiest guy on the planet. Do you really not have any plans today?" She asked, her stomach tying in knots with excitement. Julian smirked and rolled his body on top of hers.

"My only plan is to kiss every inch of your body," he cooed, starting with her lips. Elle moaned into his kisses as his hand trailed up her sensitive side.

Spending the day in bed with Julian certainly had its advantages, including, but not limited to exploring one another's bodies with delicate precision. There was also laughter and playful kisses and conversations about their careers and talks about their childhoods and stories about his dog, Kash, and happiness. Lots and lots of happiness.

...

"I'm gonna have to start leaving a toothbrush here," Julian commented with a smirk as they both stood in front of the bathroom mirror all wet from the shower, wrapped only in towels – Julian's towel hanging enticingly low on his hips.

Elle's excitement over his words was overwhelming. He wanted to leave a toothbrush at her apartment. Toothbrush at the apartment didn't necessarily mean commitment, but dear god, it was something.

"So, whaddya wanna do today?" Julian asked, wrapping his arms around her from behind, his left hand going inside the open side of her towel.

"You mean, now that we finally got out of bed?" She snickered, thinking of how they spent all morning and a majority of the afternoon playing around between the sheets.

"I wish I could take you out," Julian said with a sigh as he pulled away from her.

"And for that, I wish you weren't famous," she countered, looking at him through the mirror as she put her toothbrush in her mouth to brush her teeth. He sent her a frown through the mirror as he grabbed her bottle of mouthwash and took a large swig.

"We can find things to do here," she said through her mouthful of toothpaste.

"Mm-hmm," he hummed as he gargled.

After a little swooshing, Julian spit out the mouthwash and eyed her through the mirror.

"What?" She mumbled out through her mouthful.

"Would it be so bad though?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow in question.

"What?" She asked again, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Being seen with me," he said, looking hopeful.

Elle's eyes widened with his words and she quickly spit out the toothpaste in the sink before she choked on it, wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand.