She liked how he kept giving her space. How he wouldn’t ask. He just waited for her to tell him on her own. She liked it a lot.
When he pulled her close and kissed her on the forehead, Eden had a hard time containing her smile.
“I will take a long time,” she declared. “And it’ll be your fault.”
Sterling wrapped his arms around her waist and pouted at her playfully. “You’re a big meanie. You know that?” he muttered, pressing a soft kiss to her temple.
Eden set her hands on his shoulders and fought off a blush. It didn’t work. He looked so adorable.
“I know,” she purred, cupping his face in her small hands. “But you had it coming.”
“And a tease, it would seem,” Sterling mumbled against her skin, trailing kisses back to her mouth from her ear.
Eden sucked in a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut when he trailed kisses to her mouth. Thankfully, she was fine with it. It wasn’t her neck—it was her face. And it was Sterling. She liked him. It should be okay if he did it.
“You tease me, too,” Eden closed her eyes, waiting for him to place his mouth on hers. “Only fair I return the favor.”
Sterling hummed and kissed right below her bottom lip. “Is it? Hm, are you sure…?”
Eden barely held in her whimper. Why was he like this?
“Yes,” she breathed. “It is, isn’t it?”
“You don’t sound very sure,” Sterling breathed, his mouth hovering over hers. He opened his eyes to look into hers, a smirk tugging on his lips.
“Sterling,” Eden glared at him, lips parted, breathing harsh. “Please. Kiss me.”
“As the lady wishes,” Sterling chuckled softly. He leaned down further and pressed their lips together, pulling her closer.
Eden immediately wrapped her arms around him, fingers raking his hair. He was such a tease, wasn’t he?
After a few seconds, Eden pulled away, though very reluctantly.
“All right,” she breathed. “Bathroom.”
Sterling grunted softly when she ran her fingers through his hair. Then she pulled away, and he let out a slow breath. “Okay. I’ll wait here for you, then.”
“All right,” Eden nodded, stepping away from him and walking to the bathroom. Just like she said, Eden took her sweet time. She relieved herself first, then washed her hands and face before brushing her teeth. After wiping her face, she opened a drawer and took out her lenses container. Once she was done with that, she took out a spare toothbrush from her drawer and set it aside.
When sh walked out, she smiled at Sterling.
“I took out a spare toothbrush for you,” she said softly. “You can use the bathroom now.”
Sterling has sat down on the bed as he waited for Eden. Since she was taking her time, he had sighed and laid back over the bed the short way. When she stepped out, he pushed himself up and smiled back at her.
“Thanks, E,” he murmured, standing and wrapping his arms around her quickly. He kissed her forehead before pulling away and disappearing into the bathroom himself.
While Sterling was in the bathroom, Eden made
her bed. She folded her blanket before fixing the bedsheet. Once she was done with that, she walked over the mirror and tied her hair in a bun, sighing when she noticed her worn out appearance. She rubbed cream on her face, applying a small amount of makeup as quickly as she could. What? She didn’t want to look like a mess in front of her boyfriend.
When she was done and satisfied with her appearance, she walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. What could she make for Sterling?
Sterling stepped out of the bathroom to an empty room. He raised his eyebrows when he noticed how clean it was, then made his way out to the kitchen. Upon seeing Eden, he stepped up behind her silently and set a gentle hand on her shoulder. He didn’t want to scare her by suddenly wrapping his arms around her from behind.
When she felt the hand on her shoulder, Eden whirled around, startled, nearly dropping the eggs she was holding.
“Sterling,” she breathed in relief. “You surprised me. I didn’t hear you come in.”
Sterling chuckled softly and reached out to take the eggs from her. He set them back in the fridge before taking her hand.
“Sorry. I’m just a naturally quiet walker. Ask anyone in my family how many times I’ve accidentally snuck up on them, and they’ll tell you it’s been too many to count,” he said with a smile.
Eden blinked when he set the eggs away.
“I was going to make omelette,” she said to him before looking at his hand holding hers. She smiled softly before lifting her other hand and holding his. She pressed their palms together, chuckling when she saw just how small her hand was compared to his. “I have long fingers, but your hand is still bigger.”
Sterling chuckled with her and leaned forward to kiss her softly. “I like it. It’s cute. Your smallness is cute,” he said, teasing her lightly. “What can I do to help with breakfast?”
Eden rolled her eyes and looped her arms around his neck. “Why are you so tall?” She muttered. “Just kiss me? That would be plenty helpful.”
Sterling kissed her forehead. “I meant with food, beautiful. How can I help with food?” he chuckled softly before connecting their lips again, looping his arms around her waist.
“I know,” Eden’s words were muffled by his mouth, but she paid it no attention. She kissed him back, standing on her toes, fingers pushing into his hair as they kissed softly.
Sterling hummed contentedly into her mouth, enjoying the feel of her fingers in his hair. With one hand holding her waist, he lifted the other to twist her hair around his fingers. He loved kissing her like this, soft and slow. Even if he did want to kiss her harder, to press her up against the wall and kiss her until she remembered nothing but his name… that could wait until she was ready for it.
Eden loved kissing him like this. Slow and soft, gentle like he was with her. Though he wanted to take it a step further, she knew, he still kept it at the pace she could handle. When he twisted her hair around his fingers, she felt a shiver run through her.
She pressed her mouth a little harder against his, stepping closer to him, feeling his heat radiate off of him.