Clearing

Chapter 17

We cleared the equipment away in that same silence, tension rippling through my body every time I heard him move behind me. If I had thought it was bad in the hall, then the confined space of the supply closet made it almost unbearable.

The room was tall but narrow, and lined with shelves along the sides, so when one of us needed to walk back into the hall it was pretty much impossible to avoid contact with the other. Every time his shoulder nudged mine I jolted, but he seemed to have no reaction at all.

I swore that I hadn't imagined the look on his face outside, swore that I'd seen a longing on his features that had surely been mirrored in mine, but then he had pulled away as fast as he was when kissed me that night by the lake. Had dropped me like it burned to touch my skin.

I snuck a look over at him as I folded another of the rags and placed it on the shelf in front of me. The light in here was dim and he had his back to me, but I could still make out the tense lines of his shoulders as he helped to clear everything away. He had been decidedly staring anywhere apart from me, not even sparing me an apology if he bumped into my shoulder as he left the room.

I sighed quietly, my mind spinning again at the speed and frequency of the changes in his mood. After I was finished with the rags, I walked back out into the hall to collect my bucket and return to the supply closet, then attempting to balance it back on the high shelf. I had no idea how Levi had managed to get it down; I couldn't reach even on my tiptoes. I grunted in frustration and heard Jean huff a quiet laugh from the other side of the room.

I was just about to give up and look for a step ladder when an arm appeared over my shoulder. I froze as Jean took the bucket out of my hands and placed it on the top shelf with ease. I started to turn towards him, irritation clear on my face, but I stopped when I realized his hand still rested on the shelf above my head.

I was practically encased by his body, and any thoughts I had seemed to vanish. I had no idea whether I wanted to turn and pull his lips onto mine or push him backwards into the wall and throw everything I could find at his head.

The two of us hadn't been this close since that night in my room, which was over a week ago now. My breath caught in my throat as I realized that there was barely an inch of space between us, his chest pressed against my back.

I froze even further as I noticed that he still hadn't moved, his hand still above my head. I stared forward as stubbornly as I could, my eyes glued on the wall, but the longer he stayed and the shakier my breathing became, the harder it was for me to keep my eyes off him. After what felt like an eternity, I allowed myself to look up at him.

Just a glance. I thought to myself. Only to see what's happening.

I turned my head slowly towards him and let my eyes trail up to his face.

He was staring straight at me and I swore that,
despite the dim light of the storage closet, I could see that same expression on his face. The expression that made it look like he wanted me, and not just for sex.

Butterflies erupted in my stomach as we stood there. It didn't seem like either of us wanted to pull away, but neither of us were confident enough to move forwards either. His scent wrapped around me, and I subconsciously bit down on my lip as I was reminded of all the things that we had done.

I heard him inhale shakily as his hand reached out to brush against my waist, but the movement didn't feel as confident as his actions had been before. It seemed almost nervous, and I thought for a moment that his fingers trembled as he traced the lines of my body. His fingers drew soft lines onto me as they slowly moved up towards my ribs, and I felt his forehead drop against my shoulder as if he couldn't contain the urge to be close to me.