When I woke up, I was in Kyle’s arms.
My right arm was locked around his waist, my face pressed against his chest, like my body had betrayed me in my sleep and crawled back to where it was most used to being.
For a few stunned seconds, I just lay there.
Then embarrassment crashed over me.
I’d spent so long falling asleep wrapped around him that even after deciding to stop, my body had gone searching for him on instinct.
If he woke up and saw this, he’d definitely be annoyed.
Holding my breath, I started to pull my arm back as carefully as I could.
I was almost free when his hand suddenly closed around my wrist.
I looked up at once and met his eyes.
He looked like he had just woken up too, his voice still rough with sleep.
“What are you doing?”
I panicked and snatched my hand back, then pushed lightly against his chest to put space between us.
“N-nothing. It’s late. We should get up for work.”
He didn’t move.
He just stared at me with that unreadable, expressionless face of his. Even without touching him, I could feel a chill coming off him.
Then the comments came back.
Of course he’s in a bad mood. She hugged him in her sleep again.
Seriously, who wants to be held all night? That sounds miserable.
She’s a full-grown adult. Can she please learn some boundaries?
My lashes trembled.
For the first time, the comments made me feel ashamed.
Before I could think of anything to say, Kyle spoke again, his voice low and impossible to read.
“You want to make up yesterday’s goodnight kiss now?”
I froze.
Whenever he went on business trips and missed a good morning kiss or goodnight kiss, I always made him pay it back later. Sometimes I even joked that I was basically a loan shark. Miss one kiss, owe me ten.
The first time I said that, he had looked half-amused, half-exasperated.
“Ella,” he’d said, “do you realize how unreasonable you are?”
I hadn’t. I had just cupped his face and kissed him until I felt satisfied.
There had been so many moments like that that eventually he stopped showing obvious resistance.
But now, with the memory of his slight lean away from me last night, I couldn’t stop thinking that maybe he had never wanted any of it.
So I shook my head quickly.
“No.”
The word came out too fast, too nervous. I dropped my gaze and added in a small voice, “Actually… we don’t have to do morning kisses or goodnight kisses anymore.”
Kyle went very still.
His eyes darkened.
After a long pause, he said, almost like he was angry, “Whatever you want.”
I secretly let out a breath.
And at the same time, something inside me hurt.
Because his answer told me exactly what I was afraid of.
Those things had been a burden to him all along.