24/7

The Hardest Part

•~• Jay's POV •~•

People tell me everyday that even Tony Stark would be jealous of my life. I would laugh and agree with them because well, I am living the good life. What's not to envy?

But. Yes, there's a but. Everything that I have now, I worked hard for. Growing up, I didn't have much in the way of anything.  My sister and I were raised in a household that could barely be called middle-income and there wasn't a day where we didn't struggle for the bare necessities of life.

It took endless nights of studying, researching and a lot of hard work to achieve this level of success and comfort.

I went through hardships. I failed more than once before I finally succeeded. I experienced tough times but I overcame each one and got out of them stronger and richer.

My point is, the good life did not come easy.

Right this moment however, I think I've finally encountered a hardship that will be the death of me.

And I have my "shadow" to thank for it.

You see, it took a while for me to fall asleep because it was hard not to be hyper aware of having someone else in my bed with me. Plus, it was the first time in years that I was going to sleep with clothes on. Hindi na ako sanay.

To be fair, she really didn't look even when I told her she could because I had pajama bottoms on. She mumbled a curt goodnight along with a warning not to step out of my bedroom without waking her.

I climbed into bed and drifted off after what seemed like an eternity of tossing and turning.

A few hours later, the phone's incessant ringing woke me up. I made a move to reach for it but found that I couldn't. When my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw why.

Nic was burrowed into my side, her leg tucked in between my legs and her arm was splayed across my chest, her hand firmly latched onto my earlobe.

Damn. She wasn't kidding when she said she was sticking to me like glue.

I tried carefully disentangling myself from her but she couldn't be budged. The harder I tried, the closer and tighter she burrowed into me. And then she moved her leg. Slowly up and down my thighs.

Normally, I would find this a welcome development but this wasn't just another woman I took home from a night out. This was someone that I was going to be working with for quite awhile. I don't want it to get more awkward than it already is.

Especially since other parts of me were waking up too.

I shook her a little to wake her up. She nuzzled my neck instead.

Well, fuck.

Then I remembered a particular Friends episode where Ross taught Chandler his hug and roll move.

Won't hurt to try, right? Wrong. Trying hurt. It hurt very much.

I hugged Nic closer to me then started to roll her towards her side of the bed, away from me.

That's when she chose to wake up.

I saw her eyes go wide as saucers then disappear into slits.

Then I made the mistake of blinking and just like that, I found myself sitting between her legs while gasping for air as she slowly squeezed the consciousness out of me in a chokehold.

"You're fired..." I managed to croak out before darkness claimed me.

*•*•*

Author's note: Again, unbeta'd but edited to death before I hit publish. So don't mind the stench. That's just the formaldehyde.

Hay. Hirap.