The Street Photographer

Chapter 10

My bed bounced as someone jumped onto the mattress beside me. I groaned as the warm covers lifted a little, my body naturally curling into a ball as cooler air poured across my back. A pair of solid arms wrapped around me and pulled me into a wall of warmth. I uncurled a bit as my back pressed against Kent's chest. Heat flooded my being and slowly pulled me out of dreamland.

I squirmed a little bit as Kent's breath tickled the back of my neck. Okay, this was a really nice way to wake up in the morning. Kent didn't seem to be pushing for anything, but I didn't want to risk it.

"Good morning," he mumbled against my shoulder, his voice still heavily drugged with sleepiness.

I hugged his arms around my waist, secretly loving the sense of protection his touch gave me. "Good morning. What are you doing in here?"

He nuzzled his nose into the bend where my neck met my shoulder. A happy shiver ran through my body when his lips touched my skin. "I have a couple meetings today that I am not looking forward to," he muttered, tightening his hold around my waist. "I wanted to start my day right so that I can tolerate the rest of it."

"I see," I murmured. "...and how long are you planning to stay here?"

"...a couple more minutes." His sigh skittered across my skin. He didn't move after that, simply laid behind me and breathed. His body heat continued to wash over me and warm me up. My body relaxed into a calm, almost comatose state.

"I'm glad that we found each other, Ally," he whispered after a minute of comfortable silence. "You are the best thing that's happened to me in a long time."

You won't be saying that when this is all done.

I squirmed around until I faced him. He was still blinking sleep out of his eyes, but he focused on my face. I swallowed and traced his jawline with my finger. "Kent, I —"

"You don't have to say anything back," he cut me off, not understanding my response. "I understand that you might not feel the same way yet. I know that we haven't been officially dating for very long, and that I'm probably moving too fast; but I just wanted to tell you."

"Thank you," I whispered back, quickly losing my resolve to come clean. "You are definitely moving faster than me, but... I'm starting to feel the same way."

He offered a smile that warmed me more than his body heat. "Well, that's good. At least I know I'm doing something right."

"You are," I promised.

His smile widened and he ran his fingertip down the bridge of my nose. It was a simple touch, but it was proof that he respected my boundaries.

"When is your first meeting?" I asked after a while. Yesterday was eventless and private. Today, Kent had meetings and I had oodles of photos to edit.

He groaned and rolled onto his back. "You had to go ruin the moment, didn't you?"

"Sorry." I propped myself up on one arm and studied his face while he stared at the ceiling. "What are you dreading the most about these meetings?"

He shot me a sideways glance before puffing out a sigh. "Besides having to be apart from you... My manager doesn't have the best interpersonal manners. He tends to rudely get to the point and come out barking what he wants. Sometimes I wonder why I keep the guy around."

"Why do you?" Don't blame me for playing devil's advocate. I would ask myself the same question.

"...because he gets things done," Kent sighed. "His methods might be terrible, but he's efficient and productive. He's advanced my career faster that I ever could have hoped for, and he has my best interest in mind at all times."