Just Pucking Money [COMPLETED]

Chapter 41 - Re-payment

Lily

I wake up with my head on Ethan's shoulder and his arm around me. I want to check the time, but I also don't want to move. His bed is comfortable and I'm safe in his arms.

His breathing is even and peaceful as I inhale his scent and feel completely relaxed.

We set an alarm before we drifted off to sleep, and I'm praying that it's far off. But my body must have known I'd need those few minutes of peace before it was time to get up, because just as I start to drift off again, the alarm goes off.

I reluctantly turn away from Ethan to silence it. As I reach for the phone, Ethan moves behind me, rolling after me and wrapping his arms around my waist.

I turn off the alarm, and he pulls me closer. His morning wood pokes my ass as he nuzzles my neck.

"Good morning."

"Good morning." I shiver as he kisses my neck. We're both naked, and I can feel every inch of him against me as his hands slowly trail up my stomach and to my breasts.

"Do we have ten minutes?" He keeps kissing my neck. "Because I'm pretty sure I could make you come."

Fuck, he could probably make me come just by kissing my neck and whispering in my ear. I'm so tempted to stay in bed with him and see if he can keep that promise.

"That sounds great, but it won't be just ten minutes, and I have to get to class. And so do you." I pull away from him. "Some other time."

He groans but lets me go. I sit up, and he kisses my shoulder as he gets up and heads to the bathroom.

Fuck, I like waking up with him. I never thought just having someone there in the mornings would be so nice. But it is. I just can't get used to it. If I do, I'm really fucked.

I find my clothes and get dressed. Maybe I should start bringing some extra clothes with me when I spend the night. At least some underwear.

"There's an extra toothbrush in the bathroom," Ethan says when he comes out. "It's pink. And has a butterfly on it."

He says it like it's no big deal. As if there just happens to be a butterfly toothbrush there for me to use.

"Ok."

He opens his dresser and pulls out a t-shirt. As I walk past him, I can't help myself. I give his back a quick hug.

His laughter follows me into the bathroom where I indeed find a pink toothbrush waiting for me.

"Do you want breakfast?" he asks when I get out. He's already dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt, and looks unbelievably gorgeous. "We have cereal. And... Well, that's about it. Well, protein bars, I think."

"Cereal sounds great."

I follow him to the kitchen and wonder when I last had cereal. I love it, but it's much too expensive compared to foods that actually fill you up.

As I sit by the island, he puts four different kinds in front of me. All real brands. There's no hint of the really cheap kinds that mostly taste like cardboard. And he brings out oat milk, soy milk and regular milk.

"Is this your usual breakfast?" I ask as I pour myself a bowl. "I would have thought athletes need something more substantial."

He grins. "That's what Brick used to say. But none of us can cook." He shrugs.

"You could make oatmeal. Or boil eggs. Sandwiches?"

He tilts his head and smiles softly at me. "You care about my breakfast?"

My cheeks flush. "I just thought... I mean... No?"

But his smile only gets bigger. "You care about me."

I roll my eyes. "It's just casual, remember?"

He bumps my shoulder with his. "Too late, I know you care."

"Just eat your crappy breakfast." I bump him slightly back.

He surprises me by wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me in so he can kiss my cheek. Making me drop a spoonful of cereal back into the bowl.

"I care too," he whispers.

I keep eating my cereal and try to ignore what we just did. No matter how much more difficult it will make our break-up, I can't feel sorry it happened.

We finish eating and put our bowls in the sink. For a moment, I wonder if I should wash the bowls. But maybe he has someone that does that?

They probably outsource their cleaning. Can you have someone show up a couple of times a day just to do dishes? Probably. Rich people might have sensors in their sinks that alert someone to the presence of dishes for all I know.

I grab my bag from his room, and he throws some stuff into his bag.

"Do you want to take your car?" he asks when we're ready to go.

I shake my head. "If it's ok, I'll pick it up later. There's not much parking on campus and it's a short walk."

"That's fine. Then I can walk you."

"I'd like that." I never knew how much I missed being a public couple until he started treating me like I was worth showing off. I've never had that before. Not like this.

"Oh, hold up," he says as I'm about to leave.

I turn to him and he's digging in his bag. "Forget something?"

"Yeah, I forgot to give you this." He holds out a stack of cash.

I freeze. "What?" All sorts of insulting scenarios run through my head. Along with amazement at how he just pulled out what looks like hundreds of dollars just like that.

"It's for the dinner. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to pay you back."

My insides are in turmoil. There it is. The amount of money that messed up everything. And he's holding it out to me as if it's nothing.

There was no mention of him paying me back. Not once did he say he would. So why is he? Does he know? Panic fills me and I have to fight to keep my breathing even.

"Why are you giving me that?"

He seems surprised by my question.

"Because I asked you out. And I chose the restaurant. I would have paid. If I hadn't forgotten my wallet." With each word, his face turns more red until it looks like it's on fire. He stumbles slightly on the last few words.

Something's off. Is he lying? Did he not forget his wallet?

But that is so much money. I want to refuse. I really want to tell him to keep it. That it's ok. No big deal. I want to show him that I don't always expect him to pay for everything. That I can contribute.

My entire body is screaming at me to leave it. To not take it.

Then I realize I could buy food. With that money, I'll have what I need for the rent and deposit and then some. I wouldn't have to worry quite so much. And most importantly, there's no risk of me losing out on the room at Ginny's.

I clear my throat. He's still holding out the cash. My fingers tremble as I reach for it.

"Thank you," I say in a hoarse voice as I quickly grab it and stuff it deep in my bag. I blink away the tears that threaten to fall and avoid looking at him.

I hate myself for taking the money, but what choice do I have?

I turn and leave his room. He follows me outside and I take a deep breath. But he just puts his arm on my shoulders.

"So, are you headed to the computer building? What classes do you have?"

I lean my head against his shoulder for a moment and he squeezes me close. Then we walk to campus as I try to get rid of the feelings of guilt by telling him about my day.

***The entire story is available on reamstories.com/sofiamkay. Thank you for reading!***