OXYGEN

47 - Let Her Go

"June," I felt a hand softly moving my arm, "June, stop snoring and get up."

I felt a sense of déjà vu. "Yeah, uh, I'm awake," I mumbled, cracking my eyes open. The sight of Forrest welcomed me. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy waking up to him.

He smiled. "Come on. You can sleep more inside if you want."

"Wow," I cleared my throat, unbuckling my seat belt, "I just realized I haven't even seen your bedroom yet."

"Well, I guess today is your lucky day," he joked, "and mine too."

My lips curled. "Whatever, you loser. Jeez."

We made our way to the house; Ivy was already inside. "Hold on," he stopped me right before we entered, holding my arm. I looked at him, about to release a what, but he continued, his voice dropping. "I've been wanting to do this all day."

In a blink of an eye, his lips were on mine, and I melted. I felt him smile as I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He wasn't lying when he said that he had been wanting this; I sensed it in the way he grasped my waist and the way his mouth moved with mine - fervent and wild yet still careful.

By the time we broke apart to breathe, I was burning with ardor. How does he do that? I had kissed people before, but it was never like this. With Forrest, it was like he was gasoline, feeding my fire, and I was engulfed in the heat, left wanting more.

I laughed when I saw his face; a bit of my lipstick stained his lips. "What's so funny?" he murmured, slightly dazed.

"Nothing," I lied, shaking my head. "Let's go in now."

We found his parents in the living room, watching TV. They both turned their heads to us and smiled. "June! Nice to see you again," Marites greeted. "What took you two so long? Ivy came in ten minutes ago."

Ernesto took a long look at us and chuckled. I could feel my face grow hot. "Is it just me, son, or are your lips unusually red?"

"What?" Forrest furrowed his brows before understanding. "June!" He turned to me accusingly, but the amusement in his eyes told me that he wasn't really annoyed. I laughed again along with his parents, not even sorry. He hastily wiped his lips with the back of his hand, clearly embarrassed.

"What's going on?" Ivy entered the room, now wearing a t-shirt and shorts. Her hair was up, and her face was clear of make-up. "What did I miss?"

"Your brother decided to try on some lipstick," Marites teased, "but son, I don't think red is your color."

Ivy let out a small squeal, immediately understanding. "Aren't they so cute together?"

"All right, all right," he took my hand and started leading me out of the room, "You all love seeing me embarrassed - okay, I get it. Now, if you don't mind, June and I will be in my room."

I grinned. "Your family is amazing." It was the first thing I said since stepping into the house.

"Amazing at making a big deal out of my love life," he sighed, "I swear, they enjoy making fun of me too much."

We made it to his bedroom door, and he pushed it open, allowing me to go in first. I blinked in the sight.

The dark green walls caught my attention first, and I had to smile. "For some reason, my parents assumed my favorite color would be green just because it's the color of my eyes," he explained, "but that's weird because you don't expect the favorite color of a brown-eyed person to be brown, right?"

"Yeah," I absentmindedly said, inching closer to his bed, which was in the center of the room, right below a white-curtained window. To the left side was a desk and a bookcase, and on the other side was a door - presumably his closet - and a long chest of drawers with a mirror. All of the furniture were wooden with a black coat of paint. Beside the window was a bulletin board with a small calendar, and tacked-on pictures and notes.