“You don’t have to be scared. Even if you can’t help it, just… try to think of something else. Anything else. Get your mind off of it,” Sterling murmured, his face still buried in her hair. She smelled good… She smelled really good. Like a flower or something. He couldn’t quite put his finger on the name of it, but it was definitely a flower. “Focus on your breathing, or on your surroundings, or… or on me. Focus on my arms around you. Focus on my voice. Focus on anything and everything else.”
Eden obeyed, sagging in his hold, thinking of his arms around her. She focused on the way he breathed against her, his face buried in her hair. His chest rising up and down with every breath he took. She shivered, not because of the cold or fear but because of the way he breathed down on her neck. She thought of his strong arms, the warmth of his body against hers. She thought of the way she felt so strangely comfortable in his embrace, far more safe than she had felt in any other male, not counting her brother or her father. And she thought of his voice, the way it rumbled out of his chest. The way it vibrated in his throat, the deep sound reaching her ears.
Her breathing evened and her heartbeat slowed. She relaxed in his hold, her eyes closing again.
"Thank you…" she murmured. "For being here. For not–not laughing."
Sterling kept his own breathing even, though it was more difficult because of the girl in his arms. He liked this. He liked this a lot. It was mice having her in his arms, being able to breathe her in, to lightly touch his lips to her head.
And he realized that he liked her. A lot. When he started liking her, he had no idea, but he definitely liked her. And he didn’t want anything to happen to her.
“I would never laugh at you for something like this. I wouldn’t laugh at you for being frightened of something, even if I don’t understand why,” he promised softly, running his fingers through her hair again.
Eden shifted in his lap, making herself a little more comfortable. She shouldn't, but she liked it. She liked being in his arms. She liked the safety it brought her as if the nightmare outside didn't exist. It made her feel like she was safe. Like nothing could get her, nothing could hurt her. How long had it been since she last felt so protected?
And then he started running his fingers through her wet hair again and Eden leaned into his touch, more of an unconscious movement than a conscious one. She liked that, too. Liked him running his fingers through her hair, touching her scalp, providing her warmth. She did jump a little when she heard the sound of thunder again, but she didn't feel like she was drowning in her fear.
"I… wasn't always afraid of it," she admitted in a quiet voice, breathing in his scent again. "I used to love it as a child."
“Do you… Do you want to talk about it?” Sterling asked gently, his arms tightening around her again. He took in another breath of her, closing his eyes as he did so. “You don’t have to, but I’m here if you want.”
"No," she responded, sighing in relief when he tightened his arms around her. At this point, she wished he never stopped holding her like this. Though there was still a part of her that wanted to bolt, she wanted to remain in his arms. "I don't want to."
Sterling nodded slowly, his head brushing against hers as he did so. “Okay. Just know that I’ll be here for you. Even if I’m not physically here, you can just call me. If you want to or need to, no matter the time.”
Eden’s eyes opened as she looked up at him straight into his eyes—were they always so breathtaking? Were they always so dark, so pretty? She let a small smile cover her lips.
“I don’t know why it’s always you,” she murmured. “Every little weakness of mine, every stupid moment I have, it’s always you who catches me.”
It felt like he couldn’t breathe. She met his gaze, and his world stopped. A smile pulled on her lips, and his heart pounded in his chest.
He smiled down at her softly and ran his fingers through her hair again. “Well, I’m glad for that. It means that I’ve become more than just an annoyance to you,” he chuckled, winking at her teasingly.
Eden’s eyes closed again when his fingers raked through her hair. Was this okay? Should she be doing this—should she put herself in such a vulnerable position again? Despite her better judgement, Eden said yes to herself. She rested her head back on his chest, rolling his eyes at his wink.
“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered, half-teasingly. “More than just an annoyance. Definitely.”
Sterling smiled and began rubbing circles on her back again when she leaned against him. He listened to the quiet for a moment before realizing something: it was quiet. There was no thunder, no flashes of lightning. All that could be heard was the steady beating of rain on the roof.
“Hey… Do you hear that?” he started, gently pulling her away to grin at her. “The thunder stopped.”
Relief flooded through Eden at an incredible rate. It stopped. The thunder stopped. She didn’t have to be afraid anymore. Tears glistened her eyes and she released a breath, exhausted.
“Thank God…” she quivered, going weak from both the grin on his handsome features as well as relief. She went limp in his hold. “Thank God…”
Sterling’s smile softened at the relief on her features, then it slowly dropped as he thought of something. He would probably have to let her go, now… He really didn’t want to let her go. It was nice getting to hold her this way.
“I think it’s still raining pretty hard, though, so… Sorry, I might need to stay a little longer,” he sighed, his grip on her loosening slightly.
She didn’t want him to go, Eden realized. Thank God it was still raining heavily. That meant he could stay longer. She liked that. She liked that a lot.
Then his grip on her loosened and she sighed. Did he want her off of him? Maybe he did. Maybe he was tired now. After all, their position wasn’t comfortable at all.
“I should—I should remove my lenses,” Eden murmured, giving him a chance to let her go. “I forgot to take them off before.”
“Oh. Sure, yeah. Of course,” Sterling murmured, letting go of her. He immediately missed the warmth of her pressed up against him, and he held back a sigh. “I’ll go sit in the couch while you do that, I guess.”
Eden nodded, pulling away from him. The second she did, she wanted his arms around her again. She missed his warmth and his strong body pressed up against hers again, but she shook it off.
“You can watch anything you want,” she pointed to the TV. “I’ve got Netflix, too, if you want to watch anything on that…”
Sterling have her a small smile and stood. He held his hand out to her to help her up.
“Cool. Thanks, Eden. Sorry to be a bother and having to stay longer,” he said softly.
Eden looked at his hand, bit her lip and took it. Her hand was so tiny in his… and how was his so unbelievably warm?
“No,” she breathed. “I don’t mind. I don’t mind at all. You’re not a bother.”
Sterling helped her to her feet, keeping his hold on her hand eve after she stood. He looked into her eyes with a smile, which only grew at her words.
“Well, good. I don’t want to intrude on you. The only time I want to bother you is when I’m teasing you,” he joked with a chuckle.
Though she desperately wanted to, Eden didn’t look at their hands. If she did, he might take his own away. She liked the way he held on to it, as if it was glass. As if it would break.
She glared at him at his words. “Funny, Sterling. How do you tease me, exactly?”
Sterling grinned, winking as he entangled their fingers. “I have my ways. Mostly with saying something to you, though.”
Heart exploding in her chest, Eden’s eyes betrayed her commands and flickered to their intertwined fingers. Not good. Definitely not good. She should pull away, but she didn’t want to. At all. “Like what, Sterling?”
“I suppose it’s less of teasing and more of flirting,” Sterling mused, noting the way her eyes shifted to look at their hands. “But I’ll have you know that everything I say to you when I flirt is the truth. I don’t lie to flirt.”
Eden’s eyes went back to his, maintaining eye contact. The truth, huh? Cute wearing glasses. Cute wearing his hoodie. The truth.
“Is it?” She murmured. “Well, I don’t know how to respond to that. I’m out of snarky comments at the moment.”
Sterling smirked. “Have I rendered you speechless? Simply by telling you that it’s true when I say you’re cute?”
