TrustFall | Under HEAVY Revision & Editing

Chapter 23: Scarlett

I was lying on my bed, gazing up at the ceiling with my hands behind my head when I heard the front door open and close. Audrey... she must be back from her meeting with that friend of hers. Ten seconds later, she appeared in the doorway wearing an outfit that made me immediately catch my breath. The clothes hugged her gorgeous curves in all the right places as I fixated my gaze on her flushed face.

"Hey," she smiled as she walked into the bedroom.

"Hey," I shook away my thoughts. "How did it go?"

"I don't really want to talk about it," Audrey sighed and took off her leather jacket. "I'll take a quick shower and jump in bed. Okay?"

I nodded and watched her go into the bathroom. A few moments later, I heard the trickling sound of water coming from inside.

Something was wrong. She had barely looked at me, but I caught a glimpse of her face. Her eyes were puffy and red, an obvious sign that she had been crying. On top of that, I noticed a twitch in her face when she glanced at me for one second.

I knew that twitch. I've seen and experienced it too many times to not know what it meant. She had not only been crying, but screaming as well. Whether in rage, despair, or sadness, it didn't matter. What mattered was that something happened, and the friend was the cause of it. I was ninety-nine percent sure of it.

"Hey," Audrey's voice cut through my thoughts. "Can you throw me that shirt on the chair?"

I glanced up and saw her standing in the doorway wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around her body. Drops of water glistened on her naked skin as she blew the hairdryer on her damp hair. The red puffiness around her eyes had disappeared and she looked so beautiful that she took my breath away.

"Yeah, just a sec," I mumbled. I quickly recovered from my affixation as I jumped off the bed and grabbed the beige blouse that hung on the back of the chair.

"Thanks," Audrey smiled warmly as she took the shirt from my hand and closed the door.

I stood there for a couple of seconds before returning to the bed and flinging myself on top of the covers. I stared up at the ceiling and sighed. That wasn't the first time I've seen her practically naked. We had been living together and sleeping in the same bed for several weeks by now, and nothing ever happened.

And I was completely fine with it. I wanted to take things slow with Audrey, and it was totally up to her when we would take the next step in our relationship. Even though I slightly wished it was sooner.

The bathroom suddenly became quiet, and Audrey walked out of there only wearing the blouse that I handed to her earlier. She has been sleeping in that almost every night since she moved in, and each time I couldn't help but admire how sexy and hot she looked.

And she knew it too, because she smirked at me as she walked around the bed and climbed under the covers beside me.

"Enjoying the sight, aren't you?" She pointed out with a mischievous smile.

"Perhaps I am," I slightly chuckled as I threw my arm around her and brought her closer to me.

Audrey rested her head on my chest and snuggled against me. I kissed her forehead and tucked her hair behind her ear as she laid beside me.

"Do you want to talk about today?" I suddenly asked. I could feel her shift uneasily.

"Not... today," Audrey whispered as she turned her head to look into my eyes, a range of emotions flickering across her face. "I'm just... tired and sleepy. Maybe... later?"

"Later then," I nodded with a smile and gave her a kiss on the lips. "Whenever you're ready, I'm here for you."

"Thank you," Audrey said softly as she settled against me once more. I watched her close her eyes and take a deep breath before drifting off to sleep.