Caught in the Middle

Chapter 13

I fight the unexplained sense of déjà vu when I feel something touch my face as I fight to open my eyes. The familiar and comforting smell of Carina enters the back of my mind, putting it at ease and making it easier to wake up from the unplanned nap I took on her couch. When I crack open my eyes, they're immediately locked onto Carina's loving gaze from where she's sitting on her knees on the floor.

I smile when she traces a heart shape on the cheek not squished on the cushion. "Hi, amore." Her own smile stretches across her face in the most pleased grin imaginable. "I don't think my heart is ever going to not flutter when you call me that, Maya." She rests her chin against her bent knee and keeps caressing my cheek with the back of her fingers, clearly having something on her mind. "I'm sorry for the way I acted last night. I wish I could blame the alcohol, but that is such a horrible excuse." Her eyes drop to the floor and her voice becomes small. The shame evident on her face.

I reach out to lift her chin and give her a comforting smile. "It ended pretty well, regardless of your behavior, love." She takes my hand in hers and kisses my fingers. "But it would've ended a lot more appropriately if I managed to keep my jealousy intact. And I definitely should've let you kiss me goodnight at the door instead of trying to seduce you the way I did." Carina hides her face behind her hands when we both blush from the memory of how exactly she managed to get her way last night.

"I talked to Dr. Hilliam this morning and he help me understand that I acted like a child throwing a temper tantrum because I have to share my favorite toy, so to speak... Not that you are a toy... I don't own you like some kind of possession....Dio, I'm really bad at this apology. I should've listened to you and respected what you wanted. It was our first date, and this new beginning was supposed to be different than the way we rushed into things the first time around." She keeps her hands over her face so I can't look at her, but I can clearly see the blush behind her fingers as it creeps up her chest and neck.

Is it weird that I kind of find this apology absolutely adorable, especially because I'm not the only one who thinks something isn't entirely right with our relationship yet. "What I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry for almost ruining a really magical night." I lift my arm and scootch back against the back of the couch, leaving enough space for her to join me for a cuddle. She beams at the move and crawls into the gap I created with my arms, slipping her fingers into the soft hairs behind my neck.

We lie in silence after getting comfortable, both of us clearly awkward and unsure around each other after what happened the night before and after her apology. When her hand slips away from my neck to hug me around the waist, we both yelp from the crack in my back as I shift my weight to pull her in closer. I try to not laugh at how we must look, tangled together on a couch too narrow for two people to stretch out in it. "I know it's been a while, but have cuddling with you always been this painful?"

Carina snorts on her laugh and tries to give me more space but ends up kneeing me in the abdomen. She over corrects on her side and almost tumble off the couch. When her arms flail in the air, trying desperately to not hurt me again by grabbing onto something solid. I throw my leg over her and burst out laughing when her hair gets caught in my watch. I ask her to wrap her other arm around me to hold on, while I untangle us from the mess we've created and kiss her forehead when she starts slipping.

I roll onto my back and pull her leg over me, until she straddles my hips. The laughter dies on our lips when she hisses a breath through her clenched teeth but can't stop the moan pairing with it. "Cazzo. Cavolo, sono così dolorante. (Fuck. I'm so sore.)" She leans on her hands that she's strategically placed next to my head so she can look deeply into my eyes. Her hair falls over her face and I tuck it behind her ear. "Good to know you can still follow an order."