COHABITATION

12

NOTE: y'all really ain't ready for this one, consider it my thank you for being patient and avid readers ;-)

************

It had been almost a week in the hotel room, and Rio's mood had gone from slightly irritated to abhorrent. If they weren't sleeping or ignoring each other, they were at each other's throats, and it was only getting worse.

A week ago, Val's biggest worry about sharing this place was the two of them getting drunk and hooking up. Now? She worried if they'd even make it that long alive. If there wasn't a hit looming over Rio's head she was sure he would have dipped by now. If anything, he surely didn't want to be around her, and her feelings were slightly hurt.

First it was, "y'know you take up the whole bed in your sleep," and, "I don't know why you think you need that much counter space in the bathroom,". These were just on the line of getting on Val's nerves, but she assumed Rio didn't like living in close quarters.

Which she could understand, she was having a tough time being away from friends, her kiddos, her cute and cozy apartment. She didn't know what type of family Rio could be missing, did he even have friends?

These are the times she would start to feel bad for him, they had spent almost half a year living in the same place, while he was unable to leave. Rio was allowed to be in a bad mood every once and awhile, especially with them sharing one room.

Her mind changed when she realized he was looking for anything to bag on her for, "you're breathing too damn loud, I can hear you all the way from here". She yawned almost silently, but not quite, when she woke up the other morning and he was ready to go, "can I have one fuckin' minute of peace and quiet?"

She had literally just woken up! That was the breaking point for sure, but somehow she kept a level head with him. Really attempting to not blow a fuse over his inane commentary, what had she done to him to piss him off like this?

Val had never seen this side of him, irritation so raw and apparent. Maybe it was his business? He asked her the other night if she ever felt so guilty that it made her sick, what had him feeling like this? And could it make him so on edge with her?

Soon she began to get in her own head about it, why did he find her so annoying? How could he go from letting his eyes wonder on any spare skin to not being able to even look at her?

If she could track down to a single moment when Rio's behavior flipped like a light switch, it would be that comment, the one about the guilt eating him alive. Nothing had really changed though, other than them moving from her apartment to this hotel room.

Sure they slept in the same bed, and more times than not ended up in each other's arms in the morning, but was it really any different?

Val's mind once again reminisced on the rough grain of his stubble against the side of her neck, his breath on her ear, his tongue in her mouth. She could still remember the first night he stayed in her apartment, the way he slammed her against the wall with just his forearm, taking his time to glance at her cleavage. The heat of these short moments made her grow hot, she couldn't keep thinking about his hands finding their way past her waistband.

She shook her head and went back to her school work, she had just an essay left for the night and then she'd be done. Rio had stayed on his side of the room, at his desk that he especially requested from the concierge. He told Val that he "needed his own space", she just thinks he can't stand the thought of sharing one more thing with her. Though if he couldn't control himself physically in her home, taking any spare moment to graze her shoulder or tug on a strand of her hair, what made this atmosphere so different?