The Boy Next Door

ｓｅｖｅｎｔｅｅｎ

Rachel

It is not often that I can really connect and open myself up to someone and show them every part of me. But with Colton, that was all possible. I felt nothing holding me back from doing so. That couch became the spot of conversation for us. We laid there talking about anything and everything. Even when I was ranting about nothing, he was still listening to me, pretending to care about what I was talking about even if he really didn't. I could easily tell that he cared for me and what I had to say. This made me more comfortable around him. There wasn't one thing that I felt I couldn't tell him now.

When he first asked me to come with him on this trip, I was nervous that we were going to go alone. Even though I knew he wouldn't do anything like Luke did, the thought of the possibility lingered in the back of my head. He respects me and my choices, so he knew that when I decided it was time, it would be time. Despite how he came across when I first met him, he is not someone who would push me into anything.

While we were talking, I started to fall asleep, but I kept jolting awake to listen to him talk. What he was talking about was not boring in any way. It was just late and I couldn't manage to keep my eyes open for longer. The words moved off of his lips as my eyes sealed shut.

A hand running under my shoulders woke me up. The other hand slid under my knees. I kept my eyes closed, avoiding the light. He had picked me up and was carrying me to another room. He set me down on a bed and pulled the covers over me.

"I'm not going to let you keep sleeping on couches when there are perfectly usable, comfortable beds available." He said. The bed dipped down as he got into the bed and under the covers with me.

"Colton?" I whispered.

"Shh. Go back to sleep. Sorry, I woke you." He whispered back.

"No, Colton. I really appreciate you. I just wanted you to know that."

He kissed my shoulder as I was faced away from him. "I appreciate you too, baby."

I let the heavy covers consume me with warmth as I fell back asleep in the cold room.

---

Large arms wrapped around my waist. Against my back, lungs expanded as air filled them. At first, it freaked me out, but then I realized it was Colton. My movement must have woken him up. He stretched out his arm and let out a groan before his eyes fluttered open. I rolled to my other side. "Good morning, beautiful," he said, kissing my head.

I couldn't help but blush. "Good morning." I smiled. It felt so good to just be so close to someone with no one to come between. His brown hair was messy, but his smile still lit up his face.

"Damn, I love it when you blush." He said.

I blushed again. "I will be right back." I told him.

"Okay." His arms unwrapped from my body. I stood up from the bed and walked toward the bathroom. "Woah, woah, woah." He said.

"What?" I asked. It was in that moment that I realized I didn't have pants on. While I fell asleep with pants on, I must have taken them off in my sleep. My whole life I have not been able to sleep with pants on. It is either shorts or nothing. "I'm sorry. It is out of habit."

"I'm not complaining, it is just something different." He said.

"Well, enjoy the view while you can." I suggested.

"You're telling me that we can't go cook breakfast in our underwear." He said jokingly.

"You wish." I said. I found the pants at the bottom of the covers and slid them back on. I smiled as I walked over to the bathroom and closed the door. I splashed my face with cold water. Then, I brushed my teeth to get rid of the morning gunk and nasty breath. I rummaged through my bathroom bag, searching for my glasses case. I had accidentally slept in my contacts the night before. Once I found it, I put my glasses on and went back into the bedroom. Colton was laying in the bed still, looking at his phone.