Waiting For August

Part 8~The morning after

When I awoke, I found myself on my side. August was wrapped up in my arms, and I was spooning him. He had fallen asleep last night with his head on my chest and soon after, I rolled him off me and snuggled him in tight. I'd fallen asleep absorbing his heat, breathing in his comforting scent, and feeling utterly and completely at peace.

As I stirred, he awakened too, and rolled on his back to look up at me. His sleepy eyes widened, and he immediately pulled himself up, his brow furrowed. I realized all at once that I'd been correct in waiting. He wasn't ready to handle this. Not yet.

"Nothing happened." I said gently. Hell, we both had our pants on. I was still wearing shoes. He nodded and slipped out of bed, headed to the bathroom.

I followed suit, raising myself up to sit at the edge of the bed. I found my cellphone and gaped at the time. It was ten-thirty. I slept for more than eight hours. I couldn't remember the last time I had slept that long. My early twenties, maybe? There were also several texts which for the moment, I chose to ignore.

When August appeared a few minutes later, I indicated towards his bathroom. "Do you mind?" He shook his head and as we passed one another, I was hit by his scent yet again. It was so powerful, so tempting. It made me ache with desire. Was it always going to be like this?

I took my time. Emptied my bladder, washed my hands and face, and then set about finger combing my hair. My waves could turn into curls if given the chance and I wet my fingers as I attempted to style them into place. When it was as good as it was gonna get, I went back out into the bedroom.

August had changed into a pair of blue jeans and what appeared to be a rib-knit tank along with a blue-plaid short-sleeved shirt, which he wore open over top. I noticed that he hadn't bothered with his glasses. They were on the night table next to the bed. He was watching me carefully, probably trying to decide what to do about me.

I shoved my hands deep into my pockets, feeling a bit anxious. There was no question that August felt our connection too, the way he had buried his face in my neck before falling asleep. He was attracted to my scent as badly as I was to his. It was now a question of what we were going to do about it.

"When are you due back at work?" I asked quietly.

"Not until Thursday. They're giving me some time so I can hopefully find a place." At least he had made eye contact with me as he spoke. That was a definite improvement.

"Did you maybe want to spend the day with me?" I swallowed. Damn I was nervous. I felt like a teenager asking a girl to the prom. I hadn't felt this unsure of myself in ages.

He dropped his eyes and stared at the floor as he considered. "Yeah, okay." When he looked up, he once more met my eyes. "Sounds like a plan."

We walked to the tavern, retracing our steps from the night before. It was only a couple of blocks from the hotel, and I imagine that Denae had chosen it because of that fact. We reached my truck and August hopped into the passenger side alongside me as he glanced around admiringly. My truck had leather seats, a kick-ass stereo, and a full bench seat in the back as I was often hauling around kids.

"Nice truck."

"Thanks." It was, apart from the cargo bed which had been put to good use hauling equipment and supplies for the farm.

I drove out of the city and less than thirty minutes later, was pulling up the laneway to my farm. I pulled off to the side behind a couple of cars. Ben's jeep was there as well as Jackson's truck and Naomi's little coupe. Apparently, they had all spent the night at my place, perhaps thinking I would return so they could interrogate me over the events of the evening. I chuckled inside as I thought about it. It was nice that they cared, and I wondered how they were going to react when they realized August was with me.