He smirked at me and wrapped one arm around my waist, cinching me to his side as he rolled the both of us over so that my back was facing the wall. "Smartass," he teased. Then his face fell back into its serious expression. "If it were only that easy. It seems that no one knows where it started. There's speculation from the families–like my mom–they connect what happened to the girls with the change in their activities. None of their new behaviors started up until they came back from that camp, but it could have already been in the works before they went. No one knows. And as much as I understand where the families are coming from, it's a little difficult to swallow the beliefs of grieving parents. They're looking for anyone to blame because it's hard to accept, sometimes, that there might notbeanyone toblame."
I stroked his arm and pressed a soft kiss to his cloth covered chest. "You'll figure it out," I said with complete faith. "You're dedicated, and you know what you'redoing."
"Knix isn't sure that we'll be able to officially investigate because...well, like he said at dinner, people change all of the time. It's not like there's someone hovering over these girls, forcing them to act the way that theydo."
"Maybe you should sleep on it," I suggested. There was nothing else he could do tonight but worry over it and worrying too much wasn'thealthy.
"Maybe you're right," heconceded.
I sighed when he released me and rolled over to sit up with his feet on the floor. "I'll see you tomorrow?" My statement turned into a question as Marv reached over his head and gripped the back of his shirt, tugging it upward and over the lithe muscles of his back. My mouthdried.
"What?" he asked, turning back around to grace me with a full-frontal view of his chest. I gulped, my face reddening as I jerked my gaze up to meethis.
"Uh...."Say something!I screamed at myself. I mentally slapped myself when all that slipped from my lips was another stupid, "Uh..."
"Turn over and scoot, I need some room." Marv motioned for me to move over. I did so numbly, watching as he lifted the sheets and climbed beneath. I blinked for a moment and realized that I was still on top of them. I struggled to move my legs all the way up to my chest as Marv pulled the sheets down for me to slip under alongside him. He reached up and hit the light switch above my bed that plunged my room into darkness before he turned and pulled me back into his arms, against his chest. Marv, the cuddle maniac, back again. Only, this time, he was shirtless. My heart rate sped up and I pressed my thighs together. Lord, helpme.
I tried to get as comfortable as possible. But the hard chest at my back made my thoughts scatter. No matter how many times we slept in the same bed, Marv had that effect on me. Finally, as Marv’s breathing evened out, I relaxed enough to slip into sweet, oblivious sleep. Just as I did, though, I felt shifting and the slight press of lips to my temple. The scent of coffee – Marv's own personal obsession – filled mynostrils.