A Scenic Connection (BoyxBoy)

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

My head flopped to the side as we hit a bump, causing me to snap awake. Tyce looked at me with a slight smile. I looked at him with sleepy eyes. It was dark now outside, the streetlights lighting the car up as they whizzed by. 

"How long have I been asleep?" I mumbled sleepily, rubbing my eyes. 

"About an hour," he replied. 

"Hmm," I replied, closing my eyelids once more. "What time is it?" I kept my eyes closed. 

"It's just after 9," I heard Tyce's voice reply. "It's okay, go back to sleep Griffin. Get some rest." I let out a deep sigh and fell back to sleep. 

* * * * 

"Grif. Griffin," I opened my heavy eyelids and blinked a couple times. 

"Where are we?" I asked. I could tell we had stopped, and the front passenger door was open. I was vaguely aware of the others talking but I didn't know what they were saying. I pulled my phone out of my pocket. It was just after midnight. 

"We're at Zaiden's house," Tyce replied. "He said we could all crash here tonight." I unbuckled my seat belt and climbed out of the back seat, following Tyce. 

"Hey sleepyhead!" Zaiden greeted cheerfully as he came around from the back of the SUV with some bags in his hand. 

"Hey," I mumbled, raising my eyebrows and trying to wake up more. I followed Tyce around to the back, where the girls were grabbing their bags. Tyce grabbed mine for me as well as his. "I can get that," I told him. 

"It's no problem," he replied. I followed tiredly after the others as we made our way to the front door of Zaiden's house. 

"We can unload the rest of the stuff in the morning," Zaiden said. We all nodded. "Make yourselves comfortable in here," he motioned around the family room where there was a couch and a love seat. "I've only got one guest room with a queen bed. 

"Griffin can have the room," Hadley chimed in.

"Are you sure Hadley?" I asked. "I don't need the bed."

"Grif you've had a rough day," she replied. Paisley nodded. 

"Yeah. We can sleep on the couch or the floor. I can sleep anywhere," she said, her red hair shaking slightly as she shrugged. 

"Okay guys. There's a bathroom just down the hall right here. The guest room is across from it on the left, and my bedroom is down the hall on the right." We nodded our understanding. I started to make my way to the guest room, but I didn't feel Tyce following me. I turned around. He stood there awkwardly, looking at his bag and mine in his hands. 

"You coming?" I asked him, motioning with my head. Wordlessly he followed me towards the guest room. He set the bags on the floor once inside the room. 

"I'll uh, sleep on the floor," he muttered. My eyebrows shot up. 

"Oh, well you don't have to," I told him. "There's plenty of room," I gestured to the queen bed. It had a black comforter on it and two grey pillows. 

"It's okay, you need to rest," he replied, pulling out his sleeping bag and laying it on the floor. 

"Suit yourself," I said as I pulled back the blankets and crashed into the bed. I was so wiped out. My eyes felt dry and itchy. My eyelids felt so heavy like I couldn't possibly keep them open for a second longer. I let out a sigh of relief as I sank into the soft mattress, letting my tired body rest in a much more comfortable position than I was in when I slept in the car. I heard Tyce rummage around a little and he flipped the light off, but I was out before I knew it. 

I opened my eyes. I was underwater. I couldn't tell which way was up and which way was down, it all looked murky and disorienting. I tried to flail my arms and hold my breath, kicking my legs around wildly. I couldn't breathe, I wouldn't last much longer. My head throbbed in pain, the sensation of tremendous pressure made my whole head feel like it was gonna explode. I couldn't hold my breath any longer....

I woke with a start. Gasping and clutching at the soft sheets that were twisted around me. For a brief moment I had no idea where I was, the room slowly coming into focus in the darkness. Then I remembered I was at Zaiden's house. I laid back down and took a couple deep breaths, trying to regain my composure. I scrubbed a hand over my face, running it through my hair. For the first time I felt emotional, like the gravity of what had happened finally came crashing in around me, almost like a wave breaking free. I bit my lip, fighting to hold back the tears that were forming in my eyes. 

"Shh, it's okay Grif," Tyce whispered, sliding into the bed behind me and pulling me close to him. I became very aware of the fact that he was shirtless. I could feel his warm skin against my back, even through the shirt I was still wearing, his steady heartbeat pumping softly. My body shook wearily as I fought back a sob. I really didn't want to cry in front of him. 

"I'm sorry," I whispered shakily, my voice breaking a little. He held me close with one arm, gently stroking my shoulder with his other hand. 

"Shh. Just relax. Take some deep breaths. You're safe," he soothed. I will admit, I sort of felt like a small child being comforted after having a nightmare, but then I thought fuck that, it was okay to be vulnerable sometimes and need comforting, especially after I had very nearly come close to dying. I relaxed in his embrace, my emotions slowly getting back under control. I swallowed, shifting my body so that I was facing Tyce in the darkness. I felt warm and sticky under the covers, so I sat up a little, tugging at my shirt and pulling it over my head. I laid back down and Tyce wrapped his arms around me once again. They were so comforting. It made me at ease again and I slowly started to drift off. Tyce gently ran his thumb along my cheek as my breathing became more even and I covered his hand with my own, intertwining my fingers with his. I scooted closer to him, so that there was as little space between us as possible. "Go to sleep Grif," he whispered sweetly as we both laid there in the darkness, the tiredness taking over once more. 

When I woke up the next morning the daylight was already streaming through the window. I was facing away from Tyce on the bed, so I rolled over to see if he was awake yet. 

"Good morning," he greeted, flashing a small smile at me. He reached out and put his hand against the small of my back, gently rubbing it. I took a deep breath and relaxed amongst the soft sheets, clearly not ready to get up. "How'd you sleep?" I pulled a face.

"Alright I guess," I answered, shrugging a little. A look of understanding crossed his face. 

"I'm pretty sure everyone else is awake," Tyce said, winking at me. 

"Oh well. I just wanna lay here for a little bit longer," I replied. I stretched my legs, then rolled over onto my back with my arms above my head. Tyce propped himself up on his elbow, looking down at me. "What?" I asked self consciously, looking down at my bare chest. Tyce chuckled and hooked a finger under my chin, bringing my lips to his. He softly and carefully touched our lips together, placing delicate kisses repeatedly on my lips, pulling back slightly each time to look at me. 

"I'm gonna go see about getting some breakfast," he announced, kissing my cheek before he turned and slid out of the bed. "I'll be right back." I smiled a little at him as he left the room, closing the door behind him. I covered my face with my hands in an effort to stop myself from grinning like an idiot over the sexiest and sweetest guy I had ever laid eyes on..who just so happened to share a bed with me for several days now, not to mention who saved my life yesterday. I definitely felt myself falling for Tyce faster than I could help it.