What was Still is

Chapter 1: James

My hand desperately is searching for the cooling comfort of my sheets, but as the fog of sleep evades me, my desperate need for a cooler spot has jerked me from nice romantic dream to now. I flip over my pillow and as I do, I feel the motion of the body producing the heat that sent me on a search for the artic. Ely flops his arm over me and pulls me closer, shifting trying to let some of the heat escape I slowly peel his arm off. He puts off this amount of heat even when he's hoovering over me awake. But I can't help but to sneak a peak at him and instantly I melt, he is so peaceful his long dark lashes splay over his cheeks. The soft angle of his chin is turned into the pillow, and his soft pink lips are sated. I cannot believe that this man is in my bed, the longer I look the more I question a previous stance, not settling down until I have a career seems pointless and childish. What's even harder to believe is the wild night date night turned into, maybe that was childish!

"Don't wake him, don't wake him" I repeat as I slowly exit the bed staying as perfectly still and moving all at the same time.

"James, where are you going?" Ely slurs as he wakes from my oh so subtle exit.

"I need to pee, go back to sleep" I say as I slip on his shorts over my panties, panties that I can't believe I still have on. Typically I have to replace at least one pair after a drunken trust in the sack. Ely's snoring picked back up mid-response leaving me rolling my eyes to the heavens, "God how can I not love him?" but a knowing smile spreads across my face and in that moment I don't know if I could have hidden it from an audience.

As I make my way to the bathroom, and my muscles begin to wake followed by my brain, The memory of just why my boyfriend is laying in my bed on the verge of spontaneously combusting. A whole lot of liquor, terrible old school board games, and begging and whining that lead to me being out of bed before the crack of dawn.

              "Ha! Sorry!" I say flipping over the next card from the pile effectively moving his last pawn back home giving me a great head start getting my last one home. He blanches, our rules for the Sorry game are slightly different from those intended, for every pawn moved home you have to chug what you have in your solo red cup. For every pawn you swap places with you have to down the shot in the middle of the board next the pile of cards we are drawing from. Ely swallows the contents of his cup in two gulps, turning to fill from the bottle we have been drinking out of only to realize we are out of our liquior. "Who's idea was this" he sways slightly "the things empty" he says shoving the bottle to her face. James can't help it she collapses across the board laughing, laughing so hard that small snorts are starting to happen which in turn makes her laugh more and then snort more. Ely starts to laugh at her not with her when the first snort comes, James doesn't snort when she laughs like this sober but her and Ely have polished off a fifth of tequila so her snorting is more than warranted. Soon James opens her eyes to see Ely staring back at her with eyes, his lids drooping to indicate he is no longer playing. This has James swallowing down the last of her laughter and while pulling in her bottom lip. Before she realizes what happens Ely has spun her around using the game board as a turntable and his lowering himself down between her legs. As he gets closers her hands automatically reach up and pull at the hem of his shirt lifting it up so that she can touch skin, as soon as her fingers graze his skin it ignites a fire deep down in her. Ely's lips lightly brush her lips before she arches into him begging for more than skims and grazes of each other. James is ready for more from Ely and Ely is more than ready.

As the cold water hits my hands I have realized that I have gone to the bathroom and started to wash my hands it what seemed like a second and it's thanks to the memories of last night coming to the forefront of my mind, memories I do not mind rushing back to me at all.