Shape of You (+18)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

▬▬▬▬ Joel's POV ▬▬▬▬

I woke up the next morning feeling like I was having some kind of...emotional hangover, for lack of better words. My head was pounding as memories of the day before flooded in, flitting across my vision like a movie, so vivid. Limbs tangled, lips to lips, skin to skin, and no space. I'd spent the entire day with Marley, around Marley, in Marley, and I wasn't sick of her.

In fact, I might have been addicted.

What the fuck were you thinking?

At the time, I just wanted to be selfish, forget about all the problems in my life, and just focus on her, on us, and indulge the idea of us being together without any complications or outside noise. I wanted to be Joel. Not Joel, father to a six year old. Or Joel, big brother to a drug addict. Just Joel, the man who was infactuated with a woman who, already in his eyes, could do no wrong.

"You're a goddamn fool," I sighed under my breath, closing my eyes to block out the early morning sun and attempt to settle my nerves—nerves caused by the sleeping woman in my arms. A woman who doubted I saw the worth in her. How could I not?

I saw the type of jackasses that came to Elliot's every now and then, and she always handled them with grace. The way she greeted people as they came through the door, with that winning smile of hers, it was the type of thing that brought them back. There was also the way she carried herself, gentle but with one hell of a backbone.

Like when she made things plain the time I drove her to get lunch, the day after we danced in the club. She let it be known from the very beginning that she wasn't interested in a one-night stand. I respected that more than she probably realized. Then there was the time when I thought she was on a date with that guy who turned out to just be a friend. Even though I still thought the punk might want her, I found myself admiring the way Marley told me off, put me in my place, and wasn't afraid to speak her mind.

She was a woman of sincerity and strength who'd been though some tough times but still managed to care and care hard. I'd heard countless stories about her badass grandmother, of how that lady impacted Marley like no other, and yet, I heard absolutely nothing about her parents. If she thought I didn't make the connection that she was the little girl from her story, the one who lost both parents and was taken in by her grandmother, then she was mistaken. I knew the moment she told me, but also knew there was a reason she didn't own up to it, and quite frankly, I hadn't given her a reason to trust me with something so personal.

Still, her strength was inspiring, and gave me hope that no matter what would happen in court, Everly would be okay because Marley...well, that woman came out perfect.

Looking down, I saw her head of thick, light brown hair falling in waves down the side of my torso. I could feel her smooth, toned leg draped across my own, her tight curvy body pressed up against my side, and saw the smallest hints of that pretty face laying on my chest.

How the fuck was I supposed to be her friend for the next month when I'd gotten a taste of more?

"Mmph! Joel!" she cried, falling apart, tightening around me, clawing at my waist as I rocked into her, feeling her, taking her.

"God, I love being inside you," I groaned, nibbling on her bottom lip, trying not to fall off that precipice just yet, taking my time and savoring the feel of her. "I don't ever want to leave."

Yet, I was expected to.

That's what we discussed last night before falling asleep. Well, actually, Marley was the one that said it, in a state of half-consciousness. She expected me to leave.