Still Loving You

Part 17

 The next morning, Eddie woke up, stretching and slowly opening his eyes. He frowned, looking down, not recognizing where he was, and then it all came back to him. Carving pumpkins, hearing Elizabeth's laugh again, reminiscing about the past, watching the movie, and her telling him he could spend the night.

A smile spread across his face. Last night went rather well, way better than he expected it to. She hadn't yelled at him. She actually asked him to stay, and okay, he wished she had meant in her bed with her, but he would take the same room with her if that was all he could get for now. So far, he thought things were going pretty well. He would just keep moving slowly until she felt comfortable around him again, and then he would tell her how he felt.

Sitting up, he glanced over, seeing Elizabeth was still asleep. He stood, stepping quietly so as not to wake her, stopping at her bedside. Goddamn, she was beautiful. She lay on her side, all curled up like she always did. It took every ounce of self restraint he had not to climb in next to her and pull her into his arms, her body fitting perfectly against his like it always had.

She began to stir, her body stretching temptingly, and he quickly moved over to her desk, sitting in the chair. He didn't want her to wake up to him standing over her, looking like some kind of creep watching her sleep. That would definitely put an end to this plan of his when she threw him out.

As her eyes opened, she caught sight of him and gasped, her eyes going wide as she sat up quickly, pulling the blanket up to her chest.

"Hey, it's okay princess," he assured her gently. "It's just me."

"Eddie?" she whispered, her eyes confused, and then he saw as she also remembered the events of last night and relaxed. "Sorry. It took me a moment."

"Yeah, me too," he laughed quietly. "I woke up and wondered where I was for a second."

She ran a hand through her curls and yawned and he had never seen anything more adorable in his life.

"God, I probably look a mess," she laughed, looking away from him.

"Never. You look beautiful like always."

She paused, looking away quickly and he could have kicked himself. Too much. That was clearly too much. He had to keep it together or he was going to scare her off. He was just being her friend, that was all for now.

"So, when you are getting on the road?" she asked.

"Well, about that," he began, biting on the inside of his cheek. "I was thinking of hanging around for a few days. I had a lot of fun last night and I thought maybe we could do something today too. I mean, if you don't have other plans. If you do, that's cool. I understand."

"Oh," she remarked, surprised. He thought for a second she was going to tell him that wasn't a good idea but then she said, "I mean, okay."

"I appreciate you letting me crash here last night," Eddie added, "but I can get a motel tonight. I don't expect you to just let me hang, rent-free, on your couch for multiple nights."

"Uhh...it's no problem, really," Elizabeth murmured, biting her lip gently, the way she always did when she was nervous. Jesus, he wanted to taste those lips again, those lips that always tasted like the cherry lip balm she used.

"What about your roommate?" he inquired.

"Robin? She won't care. Robin is super chill, probably the most chill person you'll ever meet. We've had all kinds of people crash on our couch." She laughed, shaking her head. "Robin kind of brings in strays all the time. She's super friendly and she wants to help everyone. She makes friends everywhere we go. We've had the drunk girl at a party, the girl fighting with her boyfriend, and Steve has crashed here loads of times when he's been too tired or had too many drinks."