Far Love (Book 1)

16 | One bed

September 15th, 2023

I sit in the corner of the couch with Dylan on the other side of me. We sit under a blanket together, and since there isn't enough room on the couch for everyone, Rain sits on the floor with Liam as we watch a movie.

Somewhere between the middle and the end of the movie, Dylan pulls me a little closer and puts his hand on my outer shoulder, his thumb tracing small circles.

I snuggle in farther into his side and watch the movie. Liam laughs in the corner as he throws a handful of popcorn at Rain. I find myself smiling into Dylan's neck as Lilly and Max scold them.

When the movie is over, everyone grabs their blankets and throws them back on the couch, so I do the same with mine, neatly putting it in a pile in the corner of the couch.

Dylan and I say our goodnights to everyone—Rain and Lilly even bringing me in hugs—and go upstairs to his room, with the excuse of being tired.

When we are in his room, I go for my bag as he closes the door behind us. He stands at the door and I feel his eyes on my back. "Yes?" I say slyly without looking up.

I hear a rumble of a laugh and he says, "Nothing, just observing." My hands still in my toiletries bag, then resume.

He walks over to his bag on the bed and says, "You can take the bathroom first, it's just across the hall."

I nod and take my necessities to the bathroom. It's clearly designed by their mom, because the shower curtain is a soft blush pink that isn't obnoxious, and there are patterns on the towels. I smile and strip down to my underwear, stuffing my bra between my discarded pants and shirt.

I don't usually wear pajama pants, I usually just wore underwear and a t-shirt to bed, but I made sure to pack some pants because of us having to sleep in the same bed.

Maybe some other day, I think.

I put on my black silk pj pants and the matching short sleeve top. I do my skincare and brush my teeth then leave the bathroom. Dylan is standing in the hallway and my lips tip up at the sight of him in a pair of sweats resting low on his hips. He also wears a plain white t-shirt. I'd be lying if I said I wanted him to keep it on.

I bite the inside of my cheek as I walk by, and say, "All yours."

He smiles down at me the whole way I walk to his room, and when I peep back out to see him still staring, he finally walks into the bathroom. I giggle as I close the door behind me.

I stuff my things back into my small duffel bag and realize as I turn toward the bed, I stop. I take a breath and decide getting in before he gets in here will probably be better, but when I start to pull the comforter back I stop. Maybe that's intruding? I settle for sitting on the duvet and pretending to scroll through Pinterest.

When I hear him leave the bathroom and enter the room I look up. He smiles as he puts his stuff in a hamper and pulls the duvet back. He lays down and plugs his phone in. He turns over onto his left side so he is facing me.

"Want to lay down?" he asks. I nod and slowly turn around.

He laughs, "You said you were going to be okay, and since Rain is sleeping in her bed tonight, it's her or me."

I bite the inside of my cheek, and before I can think about it, he's grabbing my waist and pulling me on top of him. Two seconds later I'm under the covers and laying on the other side of the bed. I laugh and the next second the lights are out.

In the dark, it feels like he's not there, so I reach out for his hand. He takes it right away and says, "Will you be okay tonight?"

"Yeah, I'd just never slept in the same bed as someone like this."