The Law of Attraction [Chris Beck]

Chapter 38

Even though Beck knew that Alice wouldn't be gone in the morning, he still held on to her tighter than he had expected. She was on her side, one arm underneath her head propping her up, and the other rested lighting upon the curve of his waist. The blanket draped over their lower bodies, their legs were slightly tangled together underneath. Beck had one arm underneath his pillow, his head rested on the pillow so he was not eye-level with Alice. His other hand was wrapped around her, tracing her spine with his fingertips. Back and forth, back and forth. She was exhausted, she wanted to fall asleep, but she somehow didn't want to close her eyes while he was here. She was going to be stuck with him for about another year, there was going to be no losing him, but in the moment it felt right to fight sleep and just be there with him.

As much as Beck wanted to lay there forever, and he did hope that she would stay until the morning, he also wanted to ask her something. If she was going to stay, the rest of the crew was certainly going to figure it out. Although, it didn't matter if the crew found out at this point, most of them believed that this had already happened. He closed his blue eyes just for a moment, and Alice wondered if he was going to fall asleep. She recalled the night nine years ago, he had fallen asleep rather quickly, and Alice had drifted off here and there, waking up a few hours later and sneaking out before he noticed. She felt a slight pulse of regret when she thought of her younger self, but when she looked at Beck laying next to her now, all she could do was smile.

"Hey," Beck whispered.

"Hey," she replied to show that she was awake, since his eyes were still closed.

"Are you up for something?" he whispered, opening his eyes.

Alice raised an eyebrow, which made her face look lopsided because she was lying on her side, her head rested against her hand. "I need a little more context than that."

He chuckled. "Nothing weird."

"Alright, what is it?"

Beck perked up. "Get dressed."

Alice groaned, she was tired and wanted to rest for a while. For the night, just to spend it next to Beck with his warmth wrapped around her like a cocoon and she could forget about everything just for a few hours of sleep. She shook her head, pulled her hand from holding up her head and let it rest against the pillow. "Nope. I'm not up for it."

Beck frowned. "Awe, come on. I promise, it will be worth it."

Despite how tired she was, she decided that it was for the best. Beck seemed eager to show her something, and being tired had never stopped her from doing anything before. She'd been tired for months it felt like, since Watney was left on Mars. But something made her heart skip a beat as she climbed out of the bed and reached for her clothing. As she grabbed one of the navy-blue shirts, she held it up and frowned. When she turned, she saw Beck holding hers and laughing lightly to himself.