Chapter 27

There was no denying waiting a few weeks before sleeping with Justin had been the right choice. Not because I would have regretted it if we'd made it here sooner, but because this moment was absolute perfection.

Justin's chest was warm, and a little tacky with sweat against my cheek, but also the most comfortable place in the world. I drew in a content breath as his fingers traced circles on my bare shoulder.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked quietly, pressing his warm lips to my hair.

I'd been examining the intricacies of his tattoo, not really thinking about anything other than what we'd just shared. "Nothing and everything," I admitted. "What are you thinking about?"

His chest shook a little and I could tell without seeing that his lips had curved into a smirk. "Just replaying a few moments."

I turned to rest my chin on his chest. "Hmm, and which moments were those?" I asked, trying hard to conceal my smile. Without a word, he leant forward to capture my lips and tell me exactly what he'd been thinking about. "Yes, those were good moments," I agreed when he pulled back. He settled against the pillows with me against his chest.

After a few more minutes of cuddling, I found my eyes wandering around his room again. They soon rested on the small wooden box, the one I'd asked about earlier. While that may not have been the right time to bring it up, I was genuinely curious.

"So," I began with slight caution, "What's in the box?"

Justin followed my gaze, his chin brushing against my hair. He sighed but didn't hesitate to reveal its mysteries. "They're letters from my mum."

I froze. "Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to pry," I apologised, propping myself on my elbow to look down at him, hoping I didn't just spoil the moment by bringing up painful memories.

"No, it's okay," he smiled, noticing my panic. "They're a good thing."

"When did she write them?"

Justin glanced back at the box. "I'm pretty sure she wrote them when she was in the hospital. There's one for each of my birthdays. Dad gives me one each year."

"That must be lovely, but also hard."

He shrugged. "A little. This year more than others."

"Why's that?"

His eyes glazes over for a moment. "The last letter came on my 21st birthday."

A letter each year until a few months ago. How do you respond to something like that? "Oh."

Justin sensed my uncertainty. "It's okay. I came to terms with mum's passing a long time ago."

"Do you still read them?"

"All the time. They're full of my mother's sage life advice, and her hopes for me. It's nice to pull them out every now and then."

What a beautiful gift Lillian Hart had left her son. I couldn't even imagine what writing those letters would have been like for her, or how they made Justin feel each time he received one.

When silence fell again, I moved to get out of bed. "Be back in a moment." After cleaning up a little in the en suite, I re-entered the bedroom to find Justin sitting with his back against the headboard. He'd put on boxer shorts.

Glancing around the floor, I gathered my undergarments and put them back on. When I sat at the edge of the bed untangling the suspenders, which had somehow gotten twisted in the stockings, Justin bounced over to me, his warm lips pressing a small kiss to my waist.

"Why are you getting dressed?"

I shrugged. "I should probably get going," I admitted softly. "It's really late."

He rested his head in a palm, watching me curiously. "Do you want to stay?" There was a glimmer of hope in his eyes alongside the worry that always seemed to be there. It was a genuine offer. "You can wear some of my things and I'm pretty sure Darcy keeps a pack of toothbrushes in the main bathroom," he offered, knowing those things would be at the forefront of my decision.

The question was not foreign to me, but I'd always had the same answer until now. "Sure," I agreed without hesitation, leaning down to kiss him.

He shot up almost immediately. "Shirts are in the second draw. I'll go find that toothbrush." Justin was out the door a few seconds later in nothing but his boxers.

I shook my head and fell back against the sheets. For someone who claimed to be so exhausted earlier tonight, he still had an unbridled amount of energy.

~

The dim sunlight peaked through the gaps of Justin's curtains. Barely daybreak and I was wide awake.

Justin lay face down beside me, cheek heavy against his pillow, shoulder blades rising and falling with steady breaths. He was a heavy sleeper. I'd already been out of bed to tidy up in the bathroom. While I attempted to be quiet, it was a small space, and the walls were thin. Even climbing back under the covers didn't jostle him. Now, I sat up against the headboard planning my week on my phone, waiting for him to wake. It was another half hour before he did.

With a groan, he rubbed his face against the pillow. "This isn't going to work," he mumbled, voice muffled by cotton and down.

I looked to him quickly. "What?"

The corners of his lips curved at my reaction. He reached up to take the phone out of my hands. He locked it and threw it carefully onto the comforter near our feet before reaching for me. "You're a morning person," he continued in a husky voice, pulling me down and wrapping his arm around my middle.

"And you're not," I guessed, a sense of relief coursing through me as I nestled into him.

Justin kissed my shoulder with warm lips. "Sometimes," he admitted, snuggling into my back.

We lay together, embraced in each other's warmth. Content in his arms; it felt like the most natural thing on Earth to be so close with him.

"You're wide awake," he sighed when I started to squirm, a little restless.

I rolled in his arms, bringing us face to face. His eyes were closed. "Sorry. When I'm up, I'm up." I also wasn't accustomed to waking up next to someone in a bed that wasn't my own.

His hooded eyes barely opened. "It's okay, I can be up too."

Reaching through the circle of his arms, I brushed the dark hair from his eyes. "How about you rest a little more while I go downstairs to make us some coffee."

The corners of his mouth curved. "That would be nice," he murmured.

I kissed the tip of his nose before bounding out of bed. "I'll be right back."

"You better be." So much for being sleepy. His gazed followed me around the room as I rustled through his draw looking for pyjama pants and stayed on me until I walked out the door.

The house was quiet, and I couldn't deny it felt a little strange to be walking through it barefoot and wearing my boyfriend's clothes. This was a first. I smiled to myself walking down the front hall, already thinking about being upstairs with him again and liking how it warmed my chest.

Those thoughts were thrown out of my mind the moment I walked into the kitchen.

"O-oh," I stuttered, taking a step back. "Sorry."

Emily and Darcy pulled away from each other, both attempting to tame their dishevelment by patting their hair and straightening their pyjamas.

I took another step back, ready to leave them be. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

Darcy's face glowed a bright red and she avoided my gaze. Emily also blushed and tried hiding her smile behind her hand. "It's okay," she said, tone bright.

Darcy cleared her throat. "I'll be upstairs." She grabbed a teacup from the bench and gave me a sheepish smile as she passed through the door. "Morning."

I turned back to Emily, who could no longer contain her bright smile. "Clearly I've missed something huge!" I whispered, unsure if Darcy was out of earshot.

The last thing I expected to see this morning was the two of them locking lips by the kettle. Things started clicking in my mind. The tension between Emily and Isaac. The arguments between Isaac and Darcy. And all the little things I'd assumed were the acts of a close friend but were clearly something else.

"How long?" I trailed, attempting to put it all into a timeline.

"Technically it's only just happened," Emily admitted. "But it's been building for a while."

I paused before asking my next question but did so anyway. I needed to know. "Is this why she and Isaac broke up?"

Emily shrugged, playing with her cuticles. "Partly, but they had a lot of other issues before this became one."

Now that the shock had worn off a little, I could see the concern in her eyes. "Well, I'm very happy for you both," I smiled, hoping to ease her worries.

It worked. "Thank you." Emily straightened up, shaking her hands. "We've been close for so long, and so comfortable around each other, but now I'm nervous all the time."

I could empathise with that. "You'll both get used to it," I said, unsure how I could possibly give advice on the matter when I was still a bumbling ball of nerves myself.

Her smile faded again. "I know, I just hope I don't screw it up."

"You won't." The confidence in my tone seemed to help.

After a moment of silence, Emily grabbed her teacup and started towards the door. "I should go and check on her."

While I had so many more questions to ask and memories that needed clarifying, I let her go without another word. Did this just start last night? How long had they kept their feelings a secret, from each other and from their friends?

Needing to find out more, I made quick work of the coffees. A double shot for Justin and sweet macadamia syrup for me. Then I walked swiftly up the stairs and opened the bedroom door with my elbow. As soon as I closed it behind me, the words were out of my mouth. "You won't believe what just happened in the kitchen."

Justin sat up to lean against the headboard. He took the coffee I held out to him. "You made me two cups?" he queried jokingly.

"You wish," I laughed, walking around to my side of the bed, placing the mug on the table. "No, I just walked in on Emily and Darcy."

"And?" he pressed, taking a sip of his cappuccino.

"And they were kissing!"

Justin let out a laugh and looked to the ceiling. "Finally!"

"What? You knew?"

He continued with an apologetic tone. "It was just an assumption. The sexual tension has been driving me nuts for weeks."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me," I mumbled, exaggerating my disappointment.

Justin placed his mug on the bedside table and reached for me. "I'm sorry. Like I said, I wasn't sure and I'm too scared to ask Darcy what's going on. She can be terrifying when people get in her business. They need to figure it for themselves, and they'll tell us things when they're ready."

That was fair. While my curiosity was flaring, I knew I needed to respect their privacy. Emily and I had a rough start when we first met, but now things were different. If she was happy, then that was all that counted, and if she considered me a friend the way I did her, then she would tell me more when she was ready.

I turned towards the bedside table, ready to start my morning coffee, but Justin had other plans. He grabbed at my waist, spun me around and pinned me in one swift movement. With his weight on me, I barely had an inch to move, not that I wanted to.

"So," he began, voice low and lips barely a breath away from mine. "Any big plans for today?"

I sucked in a deep breath, relishing the scent of him mixed with coffee. Two of my favourite things in one. "Well, actually," I feigned disinterest. "I was planning on having a lazy day. Might spend it all in bed."

"Oh really?" he smirked, readjusting his position on top of me. "Need a companion for that?"

"Well, it is your bed, so if you happen to be lazing about as well, I'd have no objections." I couldn't keep hold of the serious tone and let out a giggle.

"I also have no objections," Justin mumbled before capturing my lips in a warm kiss.