The Man Next Door

Chapter 20: At Last

This chapter contains mature content.

It was dim in his bedroom when his dark wide eyes began to open. His sight was still a bit foggy but he could easily tell that his bedroom door was open, the small light from the hallway illuminating the person slowly making their way over to him. His dire pupils widened once he felt a small cold hand abruptly shake his shoulder, "I'm awake," Patrick barks, stubbornly getting a hold of Vera's hand.

"Like I could tell," she smiles warmly, "I just wanted to tell you that I'm leaving, I didn't want to leave unannounced like last time."

"Where?" Patrick groggily asks as he sits it, holding up the thin sheet that was already sliding past his torso.

"I need to go to my mom's," Vera says, "I told her I'd be staying over there for a while."

"Well, how about you shower first." Vera looks at him with a perplexed look, the corners of her lips curling up just moments later, "I don't want you showing up at your mom's smelling like me."

"Oh my god, I'm sure it'll be fine," Vera giggles, tilting her head at him like a lost puppy.

"No," Patrick scolds, his mouth twitching from a smirk to a solemn smile, "it's not, I want to take things seriously with you so I certainly don't want your mom's first impression of me to be this."

Vera was comfortably seated on her knees, watching Patrick closely as he shut his eyes and leaned back onto his pillow, his arms and legs sprawled across his bed as a thin sheet sat over him, gently outlining his relaxed body. As he said this Vera felt her insides bubble with a nice sensation, thankfully the room was dark and moody, making it hard to tell that her face was flushing red at that exact moment. "I can't do that," she says softly, truthfully not being as used to being with Patrick all the time as she thought she would. Another part of her was also extremely hesitant about their situation, she just couldn't wrap her head around the fact that her helpless crush for a while now was infact laying beside her, suggesting that she took a shower at his place as he was already thinking about making good first impressions.

"Why?" he asks, his eyes flicking open.

"I'd rather not make myself at home yet," Vera shrugs as she starts climbing off of the bed, Patrick doing the same, "I'll just shower at moms, I doubt she's awake."

Before she got the chance to go past the door Patrick caught up to her, pulling a pair of pants on as he quickly walks over, "well you might as well make yourself at home, I can't comprehend not seeing you all the time," Patrick says, his voice still audibly deep and groggy, "your showering here you hear me?"

Vera gazed up at the man who was stubbornly leaning up against the doorframe, not once did he make her do anything she didn't want to do, but the sudden authority he had with her was always so perfect, and weirdly attractive. "Well," she mumbles, Vera felt a good kind of heat trickle up to her face as Patrick unintentionally moved closer, "if you insist," she finally says, collecting a towel and some other necessities before making her way to the main bathroom.

Just about eight minutes in with her shower she hears light knocks at the door, "it's open," she responds, washing away all the suds that have remained in her dark, thick hair for the past minute or so.

"Can I come in?" he asks, she couldn't see anything through the tinted glass of the shower but she could hear the door creak open, enough for Patrick to slip in his question, "I just need to shave my face before-"

"Of course, you can," Vera smiles to herself, "it's your bathroom after all."

"I'm just trying to mind your privacy," He chuckles, she watches as his figure passes through the dim bathroom, immediately going to the sink where she then hears him shuffle through the dark spruce drawers.