Counterpoint

Chapter 22

Alexander

   The ceiling has become a rather fascinating fixture in the room as I lie back on the couch, my pants lying loosely on my hips. I can't seem to look away from the ceiling as the smooth leather of the couch presses against my feverish skin. Jefferson leans his back against the couch as he sits on the floor, his head not far away from my hipbone as he leans his head back with his eyes closed. I can feel the brush of his curls on my exposed skin and it takes all of my willpower not to move away from its touch.

   Neither one of us says a word. It would seem that we both have run out of things to say to one another. Nothing seems fitting for such a moment. What could I possibly say that would be appropriate for this kind of situation? I know that this was what we had agreed to, but I had never expected it to be so....overwhelming.

   I slide my arm over my eyes to shield myself from the light of the sun as it rests in the apex of the sky. Darkness covers me and I find myself drowning in my own thoughts. Was this a mistake on my part? I know that this is probably not the best thing for me to be doing with someone like Jefferson, yet here I am half naked on his couch. What kind of outcome will this type of arrangement bring into being? A part of me wishes for a positive outcome yet nothing positive ever comes to pass when Jefferson and I are left to our own devices. 

   "Stop thinking so much." He mumbles with a slight drawl to his words. The corner of my lip twitches in annoyance at the mere assumption in his voice. He is so conceited that he thinks he can just presume my actions both mental and physical. He may have been correct about my act of thinking this time around, but he will never truly know me at my core. 

   "Stop talking to me." I mumble in return, keeping my eyes covered. 

   "Cold." Jefferson murmurs. "That's very cold Hamilton." 

   "What did I just say?" I snap. 

   "You didn't say anything, you made a demand." He retorts. "This is also my house, I don't have to answer to a single one of your demands. Especially the childish ones." 

   "Why do you have to be so aggravating?" I growl in annoyance. 

   "Funny, I was about to ask you the same question." I groan in response as I slide my arm off of my face. I blink a few times to clear my sight and glance down at Jefferson, surprised to see him already looking back at me. My heart halts for a brief moment as his chocolate brown eyes peer back at me with a blatant sense of curiosity. "Even after sex you still find a reason to be angry. I don't know how you do it."I sink my teeth into the inside of my lips as I find the strength to look away from him. What is this strange affect that he has on me? I don't understand that feeling I had when we locked eyes. Nothing even remotely similar to such a feeling has ever transpired before in all the times that we have looked at each other.

   "Perhaps you didn't do as good a job as you thought." I mumble. I can feel his eyes lock onto my face as I avert my gaze in any way possible. Training my eyes attentively on the ceiling as golden noon sunlight washes over its blank surface. 

   "Such harsh words." He murmurs in thought. I flinch slightly when he rests his chin on my abdomen. "Especially since you were moaning my name not that long ago." I jolt at his mention of my actions, my teeth clenching and grinding against one another as my embarrassment gets the better of me. 

   "What else was I supposed to say?" I spit. "Couldn't really call you asshole!" What am I even saying? Words just seem to spill past my lips without allowing me to think them over properly. I have lost all control over my ability to communicate.

   "You could," He purrs. "it would be the closest thing to a compliment that I could ever get from you." I try to push him off of me but he stops my hand and firmly holds it there. "It's not exactly a secret that you would never give me a compliment. You would most likely walk on a field of broken glass barefoot rather than pay me any sort of compliment." 

   "There's only one way to find out." I grumble, trying to rip my hand out of his grip. "Do something that is worthy of a compliment." He stares at me curiously, his eyes narrowing slightly as he studies me. 

   "And what, may I ask, would you consider to be worthy of a compliment?"

   "I'm not going to give you hints." I snap. "That would be giving you the easy way out." 

   "I don't see how anything about you could possibly ever be perceived as easy." I glare daggers at him as he releases his hold on my hand. My arms are tense at my sides as he continues to rest his chin on my abdomen and stare up at me with those piercing eyes of his. 

   "There are things that you will have to figure out for yourself." I reply slowly. "I can't hold your hand or spoon feed you all the information you want to know." 

   "That is a tempting image you just painted though." He smirks. My face burns as I push him off of me roughly and throw my legs over the couch so I am in a sitting position. Jefferson swears lightly as he cradles his chin in his hand, massaging the flesh that I had so mercilessly dug my nails into mere moments ago. "Harsh." he mutters. My heart is pounding in my chest as the room around me begins to spin and my tongue feels as heavy as an anvil in my mouth. Silence has ensnared me and I don't know how to escape it.