(RIVALS) The Upside of Falling ✔️

Chapter 52: Rose

Becca

Buttery rays of sunlight shone in through the uncovered window, meeting my eyes as they slowly opened and readjusted to the brightness then scanned the room around me. I was facing a dark blue wall adorned with a window and a desk nestled into the corner. Peering onto the floor, I noted the clothes scattered across the room -- my clothes.

I tugged the blanket up to my chin when I realized I was naked.

Moments from last night filtered into my mind. Long, hungry kisses. The new sensation of skin on skin. Brett's mouth, warm and inviting. Limbs tangled together. Sweat coated skin.

I shifted slowly, turning away from the wall and rolling onto my other side, wincing briefly at the slight soreness between my legs that was well forgotten as my eyes met Brett's sleeping form beside me.

He was laying on his stomach, cheek to the bed and head facing me with his arms tucked beneath the pillow. The blanket hung low on his waist, exposing his entire bare back that seemed to glow a golden tan against the white sheets with the warm sun hitting him, dancing over his hair that hung messily over his peaceful face.

Even in sleep, he still managed to make my breath catch.

My eyes traveled from his head down to his waist where the rest of him lay covered by the blanket. My mind pulled up images from last night -- images of what lay beneath those covers. I couldn't deny the heat that rose to my cheeks.

Last night was ... nothing like I expected it to be. Brett had been kind, gentle, soft. Once the initial pain had passed and I had swallowed my own embarrassment, making love to Brett had been, well, everything. Every movement, every touch, every kiss, it was all driven by sheer love.

Even now, I expected to feel different. Like I would awaken and be a new version of myself after losing my virginity. Yet I felt exactly the same. The only difference was now when I glanced at Brett, I didn't simply love him with my whole heart, but with my body as well.

When I told him last night that my heart was his, I meant every word of it. And I knew, deep down, that he would protect it for as long as it was his.

Forever. The word popped into my mind and I couldn't deny the ring it had.

My eyes roamed back up Brett's body, towards his face as a glimpse of red upon his skin caught my attention. Lifting my head from the pillow, I peered at the delicate tattoo on Brett's shoulder. A green stem traveled up his shoulder blade, ending in delicate red petals that shined against his skin.

I couldn't look away from its beautiful simplicity. A rose etched permanently into Brett's skin, as if toying with the innate nature of flowers to die. Yet this one would do no such thing. I smiled at the image, at the irony, at the delicate flower drawn into the skin of a man who was anything but.

With the preoccupation of last night, the darkness, with Brett's position on top of me ... The rose went unnoticed. But now, now that I saw it? I tried and failed to peel my eyes away from its redness, as if the flower was calling me.

Slowly, as to not wake him, I stretched out my arm across the minimal distance between us and carefully laid a finger on Brett's tattoo, feeling the warmth of his skin beneath my own. Gently, my fingers traced the curve of the petals, the line of the stem and the arch of the leaves.

I don't know how long I stared at the rose, but when my eyes met Brett's they were watching me, wide awake.

"Mornin', my love," he murmured, his voice deeper than usual in its sleep state, making my toes curl. My hand flattened instantly on his skin as he smiled softly, his eyes quickly roaming down the bare skin of my chest. I hadn't even realized the blanket had fallen down my stomach, exposing me. Quickly, I tugged it back up as Brett chuckled.