Elle opened her eyes just in time to see the mischievous ray of sunlight pass the silk curtains. She was laying on her back as she took fistfuls of the sheets in her two hands as she tried to wake herself up even more. Her locks were sprawled around her head and over her pillows, imitating the beauty and appeal of the sun. The shirt that wrapped around her offered her more comfort than the entire bed as it surrounded her senses in a blissful aroma that made her feel like she was walking in a dream. It felt like her feet were floating in the air and barely grazing the clouds as she imagined of walking through a pink sky, but then the empty space that her fingertips touched was all she needed to anchor her back down to reality and open her eyes fully.
She felt her golden hair fall over her shoulders before she tucked them behind her ears as she looked around to look for any sign of the allusive Jack Kingston, but barely scratching the top of her head was the thought that her hair was the only shining burst of color in this suffocating abundance of white. The shirt she learned to love overnight was regretfully so, as well as the bed and the blankets that she slept in. But her focus was wavering here and there as the sleep was only starting to wear off. Elle rotated her head towards the bedside table as she saw the simple and generic digital clock that blinked the time in standard red. 8:23 am
Just then, she heard the doorknob of the door start to jiggle before it swung open to reveal a fully clothed Jack with tons of bags in his hands. He was wearing a very welcoming smile. Only very few of this rare sighting has ever been spotted so far. She noticed the variety of the bags, some were plastic while the others were paper. Elle couldn't help the curious tilt of her head to the side, while running her fingers through her hair to keep it from falling on her face.
"What time did you wake up?" Elle asked him, even as he started shrugging of his jacket and carelessly throwing it on the chair stationed at the corner. Elle, even as her legs were tucked under the blankets, was still giving him a demanding look with arched eyebrows as well as pursed lips.
"Calm down, Elle. I woke up really early, around six or somewhere before sunrise, and realized that I was still very shirtless. So I got up, carefully so I wouldn't wake you, and got myself down the lobby." Jack paused for a moment and looked beyond the distance as if he was trying to relive the memory of it over and over in his head.
"Shirtless?" Elle unintentionally released it in a sharp and envious tone. She hated to admit it, but she found herself fuming inside and wishing that either no one was downstairs at that time, or that the staff that was on duty was composed of pure and unquestionable testosterone.
"Anyway, everyone was totally checking me out, but I didn't hear a complaint from any of the abundant women that populated the lobby. I'm pretty sure that most of them were from the music festival yesterday. So, there I was walking into a store to get myself a shirt, and it was suddenly like every place I went to decided to have women work and give the men some time off or something." There he was again repeating it again and again in his head, and there Elle was once more with comical tears coming out of every point possible to prevent the very anticipated violent explosion.
"Before I got back, I thought about how happy little Elle would be if I got her some breakfast. And the people downstairs were pretty disappointed that I came back with more clothes on rather than the opposite, and they were clearly asking for an encore," By this time, Jack picked up of how beyond agitated Elle must be right now. He knows that if this were under any other circumstances that weren't defined by the facts laid out by science, things would have escalated to crushed feelings at the drop of a pin. "But I told them that I had my little princess to get back to."
Suddenly, Elle felt like she was back in the dream. Only this time, she was full on flying in a pool of lilac as she felt absolutely relieved, liberated even, as she felt it manifest on her face in the form of the most breath taking smile Jack has ever seen. "Cheeky." That was the only word that escaped her lips, but withing that one word was a waterfall of adoration for the man right in front of her.
"There was also this other thing that never left my head for quite some time now." Elle watched him as he pondered over the thought with his hand stroking his chin, and she was almost going to wonder herself what possibly could have been powerful enough to avert the atmosphere to another direction had it not been for what came next. He leaned forward and rested his arm on the bed for support before grasping her chin between his thumb and index finger and connecting their lips in one euphoric sensation. Their lips moved together in absolute harmony, like two dancers so bonded that the prediction of the next step is almost as easy as taking a breath. Both pairs of eyes were closed, leaving the savoring of the sparks all up to their sense of touch.
"Don't think that yesterday slipped my mind. It's all that I have been thinking about." Jack said after pulling away, but keeping his lips only inches away from hers as their breaths mingled together. Elle looked up and saw the intensity in his eyes as they looked at her with such heightened emotions that made her want to giggle knowing that all of that was fully and absolutely for her and her alone.
"Eat up." He laid one of the plastic bags down in front of her, while grabbing the other and sitting down on the chair, separating the both of them at such a drastic pace that Elle didn't like. She dipped her hands in the bag and pulled out a box. A few moments dedicated to guessing what could be in it took its toll before her greedy fingers couldn't keep to themselves any longer and ripped the scotch tape and opening the box. That's when she felt another smile tug on her cheeks.
"Breakfast burritos are the epitome of America, besides pancakes." He smiled at her before grabbing his in both hands and taking a hungry bite from it. She'd be lying if she told herself that she was impressed, not just by the initiative he took, but also that he knew exactly what she liked without her needing to pipe out a single word.
She soon headed off to the bathroom but was instantly halted by Jack before she could close the door behind her. He was handing over one of the many bags he had when he entered before he closed the door on his way out. Curious enough, she placed the white paper bag on the sink and undid the tape before smiling to herself. In the bag was a simple cerulean blue sundress along with some black ballet flats at the bottom of the bag. She excitedly raised the dress and pressed it against her front before swirling around in pure bliss.
Elle eventually stripped out of the huge shirt she slept in and hopped into the shower and was immediately drowned in the cool presence of the steam as it spread throughout the bathroom.
Fifteen minutes later, she stepped out of the bathroom. Her hair didn't need a wash as they cascaded down her back in beautiful waves. The dress hugged her modestly, and she was pleased when she saw Jack suppressing a smile from the corner of her eye before having one of her own. She admired his choice of footwear as she stared down in the glossy black styling of the shoe that also had a cute bow on it.
"You surprisingly have a good fashion sense for a guy." She looked at him and said in a girly whisper as she stared at him with such interest, even when he was just sitting there staring back at her. And he couldn't have expressed his bluntness any better as he stood up and went to her with long strides before once again inviting her lips in another dance. Her senses heightened as she felt tingles on her jaw as his hands cupped her face. Her hands found their way to his elbows, almost as if to keep them in place.
They soon gathered their belongings and went down to the lobby and true enough, there were girls who were ogling over Jack, while also glaring at her. She felt her insides start a raging fire fueled by envy before it was soothed by his arm pulling her close to his side possessively before planting a lingering kiss on her head. He whispered in her ear to take a seat as he checks them out, and the girls were undoubtedly glaring at her like never before when they saw that he was taken but she couldn't have cared less as she sat down and clutched his leather jacket closer to her chest, feeling a sense of satisfaction.
YOU ARE READING
Lost Stars
Teen Fictionin which two nihilistic teens find the meaning of life when their hands entwine. current cover :: @parthenons [summary inside]
