Saving Everest | The Royals

Chapter 30 - Too Far In

Everest's POV

My arm felt like it was on fire. 

I yawned loudly, moving my arm away from the stream of sunlight filtering through the open window. 

The sun had turned my arm red. Lovely. 

Suddenly, I became aware of the weight on my chest. My vision focused on the mess of dark hair that tickled my chin. 

I tensed as last nights events flooded my mind. 

Aspen was laying on my chest, the thin strap from last nights dress sliding down her shoulder. 

I held my breath, fearing she would wake if I moved. As slowly as possible, I shifted slightly under her. 

She didn't move at all and I realized she was in deep sleep. 

For the first time in my life, I found myself staring at someone else sleeping in my bed. Waking up to her was something that made my heart feel light. 

I brushed away the strands of hair covering her face. Her lips formed a small pout as she slept. The soft breaths coming from her made my skin tingle. 

My fingers traced patterns on her exposed skin causing goosebumps. 

After a while, Aspen shifted and nuzzled her nose into my neck. I tried to hold back my laugh but my body shook as I chuckled quietly. 

Her eyes fluttered open and her pupils contracted as they became accustomed to the sunlight. 

A confused expression took over her face as her eyes darted around the room. 

Once they settled on me, her cheeks turned pink. 

"Good morning," I said, watching her sit up. 

"Morning," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. She avoided my gaze as she stood, glancing down at her dress. 

It was now creased, but that didn't matter. She still looked stunning in it. 

"I'm going to go," she muttered, rushing towards the door. 

"No, wait!"

She froze, her hand resting on the doorknob. 

Every bit of me suddenly felt shy. Only Aspen could make me feel like a nervous schoolboy asking his crush out to the formal. 

I took her hand as she watched me hesitantly. 

"Everest we can't do this," she whispered, turning away and I felt something snap inside me. 

Out of desperation, I yanked her back and pulled her to my chest. 

"Don't act like you didn't feel anything last night," I said quietly. 

"We were both drunk, I don-"

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't feel anything."

She hesitated, suddenly pulling away from me. 

"I hate it when you do this. You fuck with my feelings, one minute you act like you hate me and want nothing to do with me. Then the next you're all nice and friendly and it's driving me crazy and I just wish you would tell me how you actually feel because its so frustrating when you act like a damn compass going out of control and swinging all over the place," she ranted, waving her arms around. 

You could say my expression was similar to that of a deer caught in headlights. 

I didn't expect that from her, she was usually calm and didn't talk much about her own feelings. I guess she was more confused than she let on.