“You going to let me go?”she asks, when she catches her breath.
I shrug.“I’ll think about it,” I tease.“For now, I think I’ll just keep you trapped here.”
Carleigh sighs.“Fine,” she concedes, and for a minute I think I’ve won.But then, she starts wiggling her hips rhythmically, back and forth, and god damn her, she’s teasing me and trying to get me worked up enough that I’ll let her go, and it’s definitely working.
“You’re a little devil,” I tell her, as I release her.
She giggles.She’s free now, but she doesn’t move off of my lap.I desperately want to read into this.
“Sorry,” she says, not sounding apologetic at all as she relaxes into me, tucking her knees toward her, but the roll of her ass over my one leg sends an unpleasant pain into my femur and I swear under my breath.Carleigh sits up immediately.“Oh no, I hurt you,” she frets, trying to pull her legs toward the floor so she can get off me.“I knew I was too heavy, Bryson, you should’ve said I was too heavy-”
“Give me a break, Carleigh, you’re basically a doll.I told you, I got bad knees!”I readjust and gesture for her to come back.She looks at me dubiously.“Come here.”
“No way,” she refuses, shaking her head.“I almost broke your leg.”
I roll my eyes.“Oh my god, no you didn’t.”I sigh; it’s been two weeks, and I just really - I really want to hold her again.“Will you lay with me?”I ask.“If I lay down, will you lay with me?”
Carleigh’s eyes are soft when she looks at me.“Yeah, okay,” she says quietly.“But if I hurt you-”
“I’ll tell you,” I assure her, scooting my big ass down on the couch until I’m laying down - as much as I’ll fit, anyway; my shoulders and head are propped up against the arm so that my legs will fit on as well.Carleigh then gingerly places a knee between mine, brackets her other leg around mine, and lowers herself down until her head is on my chest and her arms are on either side of me.Our hips are aligned in this position - I hadn’t quite considered that, that could be a problem - but otherwise, she fits perfectly, feels perfect, like a pretty weighted blanket, melting my anxieties away.
Carleigh’s left hand rests on my bicep.My muscles are sore, still adjusting to being back at work after having been away for a short while, but her hand is delicate, and so pale against my more tanned skin.Her nails scratch lightly, which feels amazing.
Christ.I think I might love her.
“Carleigh, I’m warning you, I think I might fall asleep.”
“Mm.”Her thumb rubs my arm.“It’s alright.Me, too.”
“Catnap?”I suggest, and when she nods, I turn off the TV.It’s only seven o’clock, but our apartment faces east and it’s dark in the evenings, even now.I close my eyes, feeling my chest rise and fall and her along with it, then sleep comes.
We wake up spooning.
I’m not even sure how, logistically.The couch is not large enough for both of us to comfortably sleep here.But here we are, doing it anyway: she’s tucked in front of me, with one of her legs kicked back between my thighs and the other bent to match mine - as best as she can, anyway, considering our height difference.My right arm is bent, my own head in my palm, hers resting on my bicep; my left arm is wrapped tightly around her abdomen, palm curved around so far that my knuckles are pressing against the couch.
It’s only seven, but it’s darker still in our apartment, and for a minute I consider just closing my eyes again and sleeping until morning.But she hasn’t finished packing, and I have texts to send and arrangements of my own to finalize.I nudge the back of her shoulder with my chin, over the thick fabric of her shirt.“Carleigh, babe - wake up,” I whisper.
“No,” she whines, turning her face into my arm.“I don’t want to.”
I smile; she’s so cute.“You have to finish packing.”
“Oh.”Carleigh turns around, somehow managing to stay on the couch, and slips her right knee between mine.She buries her face in my t-shirt, as if she’s able to get deep enough into me, she can hide forever.“You’re the worst alarm clock ever.”
I laugh softly and grab her hip, so she doesn’t fall off of the couch.“No, there has to be worse alarms than me.”Then, feeling daring, I reach down, grab her ass with my open palm, and smack it.“Up and at ‘em!”
Her eyes fly open.“Bryson!”Carleigh yelps, giggling as she reaches around to the edge of the couch and sits up.“Oh my god.”
“Worked, didn’t it?”I shrug, winking at her.
Carleigh stands up and flips her middle finger.“Fine, fine, I’ll go finish packing.”She gives a heavy sigh, one that I recognize: it’s the same one I breathe whenever I have to go do something I don’t want to.
I clear my throat.“Hey, Carleigh?”
She stops before turning the corner into the hallway.“Yeah?”
“You’re going to do great,” I tell her.“Don’t worry.”
Carleigh smiles.“Thanks,” she says, then she’s gone.