Atonement

P A R T T W O

"Josh, come on! Turn the light off and go to bed already." He walked into the room from the bathroom, running a hand through his hair.

"Sorry, I didn't realize how late it was."

"Don't be sorry, just turn the light off." I smiled at him to show that I wasn't serious.

He didn't respond to the smile, but turned off the light, and slipped into bed next to me. I turned onto my side so we could talk if we wanted, and he buried his face in my chest. I could hear him breath in deeply, his hands resting on my chest, just below his face.

"You tired?" I asked, running a hand through his soft hair. That was probably one of my favorite things to do when we cuddled like this. There was just something so calming about it.

"Kind of." His voice was muffled and quiet.

"You seem tired." He seemed much quieter than usual as well, but I just credited that to him being tired.

"Yeah."

"Just try and go to sleep then. We have a long day of school tomorrow."

He stiffened ever so slightly beneath my arms, but before I could ask why, he had relaxed again, his breathing even against my chest.

I pulled my hand away from his hair, figuring it would annoy him if he was actually trying to sleep, but he pulled slightly at my shirt and whispered for me to leave it there. He didn't say anything after that, and after a few minutes of no other noise than his even exhales of breath, I thought he must have fallen asleep.

"Sean?" The suddenness of his voice surprised me, causing me to hardly notice the tremor in his voice.

"What is it?"

"I—" He paused, and I felt his fingers fasten onto the fabric of my shirt. "Nothing."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I scooted down until I was eye level with him, and could just make out his features in the dark.

"I was just..." He paused, and then, as if the idea had suddenly come to him, he smiled. "I forgot to kiss you goodnight."

"You're adorable. I can't believe that that's what was bothering you when you were almost asleep."

I leaned forward and gave his lips a small peck.

"There. Now go to bed." Instead of closing his eyes like I thought he would, his hand came out of the dark and rested on my cheek.

He leaned forward, and kissed me. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was something different about this kiss. Maybe it was because he was saying goodnight, it almost felt like a parting. I don't know how to explain it. It wasn't heated, and yet it wasn't just a gentle peck, or a soft, romantic kiss. But my boyfriend was kissing me. Why was I analyzing it?

His hand remained, gently stroking my cheek, when he eventually pulled away. His thumb ghosted over my lip, and I laughed at the ticklish sensation.

"What?" I laughed at he continued to stare at my face.

"Nothing. Just looking at you."  He whispered as he continued to stare at me, eyes seeming to be trying to memorize my face.

"Well go ahead. I'm all yours."

He breathed out sharply, eyes quickly falling to look at his hand on my face.