In This Life ○ Paul Lahote

Twelve

"Thank you again, for the room." I give Emily a hug and she bear hugs me in return. I then move on and give Sam a hug.
"We take care of our own." Sam nods and I smile, looking to Paul who helps me with my bags, also leading the way.
"Thank you." I speak quietly as we set my bags down in the room. Not like it was much any way. I lay down on the bed and take a deep breath as Paul sits on the edge.
"You haven't ran in a while." He says and I nod, taking a deep breath.
"I don't feel like I need to any more. I feel stronger." I smile slightly before sitting up and crawling over to Paul, kneeling behind him and I take a silent deep breath as he angles his head so he can see me out of his peripherals.
I slide my hands up his muscular back, over his strong, broad shoulders and finally wrapping around his toned chest and pulling my own chest flush with his back.
"I-I want to try something." I say and he nods, closing his eyes. I look over his features before leaving a feather light kiss on the back of his neck. I see the goosebumps on his skin and it's as if something completely different took me over. I lick up his neck and nip at his ear lobe.
"Can I move?" He asks in a deep voice that drives me crazy, so I nod. And in the flash of a light, he spins me around so I'm straddling his waist. Urgency has been pumped into the both of us. I hungrily lock lips with him as his hands grip my butt and grinds me into him. I bite his lip before throwing his shirt off of him. He flips us over and presses me so strongly into the mattress I feel like I was going to be pushed through the mattress. Not that I didn't like being trapped by him, but I wanted my clothes off now. His hand rests obediently at the sliver of skin showing between my pants and top and I chuckle in the most seductive voice I've ever heard from myself.
"Don't get shy on me now." I breathe out before hearing a growl in the back of his throat, his lips buzzing onto mine and making goosebumps shatter across my skin. He releases some of his weight off of me and takes my top off, throwing it so hard I hear it thump against the wall, making me giggle and wrap my arms around his neck, bringing his lips down to mine again. He grips my waste tightly and my back arcs unintentionally into him, making him growl again. My hands slide down his chest and rest at the hem of his shorts. I pull them towards me, feeling the pressure against me heat.
"Is this okay?" I pant and he smiles so lovingly down at me I felt my new heart grow a little stronger. He strokes my hair back tenderly and instead of the urgency a moment ago, I'm met with a companionate and loving and tender kiss while his hand runs through my beyond curly hair. He pulls away and smiles again, nodding.
"It's okay." He whispers to me and my eyes tear up as I smile and press my lips to his again.
•~
I cuddle deeper into Paul's side, the sounds of the crickets outside and the foggy night and the heat of Paul's skin sending me into a state of serenity. I've never been this relaxed or stress free in my entire life.
"You okay?" Paul asks in a tired, gravely voice. I nod against his hard chest, taking a deep breath.
"More than okay." My words come out slurred and sloppy, making him chuckle, the rumble in his chest making my head vibrate and for a smile to form on my face.
He twists so he's no longer on his back but facing me and he consumes me in his huge arms. I smile at the safety it brings and I snuggle into him even more, our naked bodies practically becoming one.
"I'm so glad I found you." He says into my hair and I smile, drawing shapes in his pecs.
"I believe it was I who found you." I tease, lifting my head up to look at him but opening my eyes was a chore.
"Oh yeah?" He challenges back and I nod with a scoff.
"I am the one who came to La Push for Spring Break." I argue and instead of our upbeat spat carrying on, his eyes sadden.
"Hey hey, what's wrong?" I ask him in concern and he tries smiling but it turns out sorrowful.
"You're eventually going to have to leave." He mumbles and I look to him in sympathy.
"Paul..." I trail off before hugging myself to him. "It's my last year, and plus, I'm not too too far away. I'll come and visit." I try planning it all out and I feel him nod into the crook of my neck.
"Every weekend if I have to." I mumble and his strong arms hug me almost to the point of painful.
"But what about him." Paul growls out in such anger it made my heart jump a pace or two.
"Rick?" I ask and he growls a little and I pull away and lean back to see the protective, jealous expression on his face.
"Tell me what you're thinking." I whisper slowly, running a thumb over his jaw line as I cup his face in my hands. Paul sits up, straddling me into his lap as the sheets fall around our waists.
"I can't do that, you'll-"
"Tell me." I repeat, a smile slowly growing on my face as I look him in the eyes.
"I don't want you to see him. I don't want you any where near him... If you have a class with him or something, switch out, or skip it. Delete all of his contact information. I just... I can't stand the thought that he got to... And then took advantage of that! You're perfect and he just-" but he didn't continue because the giggle I had been trying to keep at bay spilled over. Paul looks me in the eye again and I run my thumb over the crease between his eyebrows. I kiss the worry lines and the frustrated space on the bridge of his nose.
"Paul... You've completely consumed me." I tell him, leaning back just far enough to see his face.
"I wouldn't be able to switch out of the classes because I wouldn't know he exists." I shake my head no with a gleeful smile on my face.
"No one's ever cared for me as deeply and as wholly as you have. The jealous rage... I've never seen it before but on you?" My smile widens and I press my lips to him in attempts to lift his spirits.
"It looks really hot." I breathe out and rest my arms on his shoulders as his hands spread out on my back. He takes a deep breath before his eyes roam every inch of my face. I sigh out and knock my forehead to his.
"I can't believe you're only seventeen." I mumble and he smirks a little.
"And I got me an older woman."
"And I'm a cougar." I respond and he chuckles, smiling tenderly at me.
"It's only a couple years." He says and I smile in return. I've never looked at a younger boy as a man before, but in comparison to all of the other "men" I've known or dated, Paul is ten times the man they could ever be. He is faced with the irrefutable responsibility of having to protect people without recognition. He gets no reward or medal, by everyone else's standard, he's fictional. But he still does it because it's the right thing to do. Now that, that's a man. And he's all mine.