Claws (Rewritten)

Thirty One

Chloe

I woke up wrapped securely in Caleb's arms, feeling insanely comfortable and wishing that this moment would last forever.

I'd decided to give myself the day off studying, since my next test was still a few days away and I could do with a break. So now I had the whole day ahead of me, and I wanted to spend every minute of it right here, in bed.

Eventually, I managed to force myself to be productive by getting up and taking a shower. When I left the en suite bathroom, fully dressed and leaving my hair down to air dry, I found Caleb still in bed. His eyes were half open and he reached out for me, letting out a small whine. I smiled at him, getting close enough to the bed for him to pull me down and hug me tightly.

And now I was back in bed. So much for being productive.

"My hair's wet," I reminded him quietly.

"I don't mind," He mumbled, burying his head in my neck and inhaling deeply before sighing contentedly. "Do you want to go on a date with me, today?"

I smiled. "What have you got in mind?" I asked, trying to keep the excitement out of my voice and failing miserably.

"Whatever you want to do," He answered, then he laughed lightly. "Your pulse sped up, then, my love."

"You've never asked me on a date in such a romantic way before," I retorted sarcastically.

"Have I not? My apologies."

"And here I was thinking you were a gentleman," I heard Markus comment from outside our room.

"What do you want?"

"I'm giving Noah a tour of the city - want me to bring anything back?"

"We're good, but thank you anyway," I called out to him before Caleb could say anything sarcastic. "Have fun!"

"You, too!"

Caleb wouldn't let me get up for a while, and his arms would tighten around me whenever I tried to shift out of his grasp.

"I need to get ready at some point today," I told him. "And you need to get up, too, or we're not going anywhere."

"Or, we could just stay like this," He suggested tiredly. "What would you like to do?"

I thought about that for a moment. "Hmm, any ideas?"

"Nope. My brain's not working properly, just yet."

"How about...you take me to a place that makes you happy."

"I'm happy right here," He mumbled against me.

I couldn't help but smile at that. "Me, too," I said. Then, before either of us could be tempted to stay in bed, I sat up. Caleb begrudgingly let me get off the bed, though as I sat down in front of the floor-length mirror to put some light makeup on, he came over to sit behind me. Holding me close, his head rested on my shoulder and his eyes stayed closed.

I couldn't be certain that he hadn't fallen asleep again.

"Have you thought of a place, yet?" I asked quietly once I'd finished.

"It's a surprise," He replied, opening his eyes to smile at me through the mirror.

Suddenly he was gone from behind me, nothing but a blurred form darting around the room. I shook my head in mock exasperation and packed everything up, and by the time I was done, he stopped in front of me, fully dressed and ready to go.

He kissed me way too briefly and left the room before I could pull him back, so I hurried after him.

We found Lyn downstairs, reading the spellbook she'd bought from Orléans at the dining room table.