Heartaches Grow a Little Bit Stronger

Light kisses caressed my cheek trying their hardest to pull me out of my slumber. I muttered a few words under my breath, words that were incoherent even to myself, and tried my best to bury myself further down into the blankets.

"Baby, wake up." Kyle mumbled before he pressed his lips to mine, kissing me lovingly.

Too tired to do anything, though, I laid there and let my boyfriend do as he wished. Due to my lack of participation, however, Kyle soon lost interest and pulled away, growling as he did so.

"Allie J, wake up." He demanded.

"Kyle, it's too early." I protested, though my tired lips were barely even able to form the words.

"Sweetheart, come on." Kyle insisted. "I'm wide awake."

"Kyle, what time is it?" I asked.

"Its five forty-five." He replied. "Give or take a few minutes."

"Burns! What the fuck are you doing up this early?" I asked, opening my eyes to focus on his face looming just above mine.

"I woke up because I was thirsty, so I went to get something to drink and all I have it Mountain Dew and tap water. I hate tap water so of course I opted for the Mountain Dew." He said, all his words seeming to come out in a rush.

"Kyle! Mountain Dew? Its basically sugar." I huffed. "How many cans did you drink?"

"I had two and a half." He admitted shyly.

"Kyle William," I sighed, "you're psychotic." I mumbled. "I'm going back to sleep."

"Alyssa," he whined. "I'm bored though, get up."

"I'm going to sleep." I repeated and then made a move to roll over, but Kyle placed his hands on my shoulders, pinning me in place.

I growled lowly and then brought my knee up in a sudden gesture that made Kyle squeak and roll off to the side of me so that he was no longer above me.

"That wouldn't have been nice if you actually made contact with my balls." He huffed. "I would have kicked your ass out into the hallway."

"Leave me alone." I mumbled. "I'm tired."

"Here, have the rest of my Mountain Dew and you'll be up and awake like me." Kyle said, pressing a cold can of soda to my lips. "I need you to be awake with me, so that I'm not so bored."

"Burns," I sighed, dropping the rest of my argument because I knew that Kyle wasn't going to let me get any sleep, not while he was running on two and a half cans of caffeine. Giving him a mean look, I sat up and then took the Mountain Dew away from him, drinking the last of it. "Happy now?" I asked, handing the now empty can back to him so that he could set it on the bedside table.

Giving me a cute smile, he nodded his head and then leaned over, placing some playful kisses on my neck. Unable to say mad at him for long, I smiled to myself and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer to me until his lips moved over a tender spot on my neck, and I gasped quietly, pushing him away.

"Owch," I muttered, rubbing the tender spot. "Babe, my neck is sore." I said slowly, trying to figure out what I could have done for it to ache like it did.

"I told you I was bored." Kyle whispered.

"What do you," I stopped my sentence and then stared at Kyle with wide eyes. "Kyle, did you leave hickeys on my neck?"

Smirking softly, he nodded his head.

"Kyle!" I gasped, hitting his leg, not too hard, but hard enough to let him know that I was sort of upset. "I have four classes tomorrow that I have to teach, and there isn't a single one that I can go to, sporting hickeys on my neck." I huffed.

Kyle laughed in amusement and then took my hands in his, holding them tightly as he leaned over and started kissing his way along my exposed chest. He pulled away slightly, giving me a mischievous smile. "Shall I leave some that will be hidden by a t-shirt then?" He asked.

"Burns." I blushed. "You're in trouble now. Get away from me and go and wait for me in the living room while I do my business in the bathroom."

"The living room?" He questioned. "But ... what are we going to do out there? It's nice and warm in here, can't we just stay in here?"

"Nope." I said. "I said you're in trouble, so now you're going to help me put together the packets for my students. And you're going to help me get rid of these damn monkey bites." I added.

"But ... I don't know how to get rid of hickeys." Kyle said slowly. "I've never actually been in the situation where hickeys were ... bad."

"Well, when you work for a university ... they're bad." I said, and then thought to myself for a few seconds before I added, "I don't know how to get rid of them either."

Kyle's bright smile returned to his face, and he pulled my arms behind him, wrapping them around his middle before he snaked his own arms around my shoulders. "How about, you just call in to school sick tomorrow?" Kyle suggested. "So that way, tonight you and I can stay up late, and watch the sky for any shooting stars, and then we can come in and make love until the sun comes back up again."

"Kyle," I smiled softly, "you know I can't call in sick tomorrow. But ... if you want we can still stay up late and watch the stars."

"Well," Kyle paused momentarily, thinking to himself. "Okay, that'll work." He said, before he kissed my lips softly and then hugged me tightly. "I'm cooking dinner for you tonight." He insisted suddenly as he pulled away. "I've just decided that."

"Okay." I laughed quietly.

He rocked slightly, and then stood up, still holding me tight in his arms so I wrapped my legs around him, holding on so I didn't fall. He readjusted me slightly, getting a better grip, and then carried me out of the room to the darkened hallway, where we ultimately ended up in the dark living room.

"What are you cooking for dinner?" I asked curiously, given that Kyle hardly cooks, even though he's an excellent cook when he does decide to make something.

"Not sure." He said before he gently sat me down on the couch, and then crossed the room to turn on the light. "Okay, where are these packets you said we had to put together?"

"Um ... I have a cardboard box over there by the table." I replied. "Everything we need is in there."

Kyle nodded his head and then picked up the box I was referring to. Without another word, he set the box on the coffee table and then pushed the table closer to the couch before he came around and took a seat beside me.

"Alrighty, where do we start?"

Laughing softly, I opened the box and pulled out the papers that were crisscrossed every so often to show the different sections. Quietly, I set the box aside and then separated the papers by the different sections, in the order that they would appear in the packet.

"Now ... we just take one from each like so," I said, demonstrating as I put a quick packet together, "and then staple them."

"That's it?" Kyle questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Mhmm, that's it." I confirmed. "If you were expecting something a little more exciting, then I'm sorry to disappoint you."

Eyeing me, he frowned softly and then sighed heavily as he started a packet. "Being a teacher is lame." He pointed out.

"Its not so bad." I admitted. "I mean, I like it. Usually I wouldn't have to do these by hand, but our copier in the Language department just kicked the bucket, so I had to use the Art department's copier that doesn't separate the packets out, and staple them for me."

"You mean there are actually copiers that do all that for you?" Kyle asked incredulously. "Cool."

I giggled softly at his remark, but didn't respond to it. Getting to work, we sat in silence for the most part, besides the faint sounds of papers being moved around, and the sound of the stapler when we had finished putting together a packet. Before long, we were halfway through the papers, and the sun was just beginning to rise, warming up the living room as it shone through the windows of Kyle's apartment.

Yawning, I finished putting together the packet I was working on and then stretched out on the couch, resting my head on Kyle's leg. He eyed me with his light blue stare momentarily before he set his packet aside and then leaned back, his long slender fingers roaming gently through my hair.

"Are you ready for some breakfast?" He asked softly.

"Are you gonna cook for me?"

Kyle wrinkled his nose as he shook his head. "I was thinking more along the lines of McDonald's." He admitted. "Egg McMuffin's and hash browns?"

"Sounds good." I mumbled. "Are you going to run to the drive thru?"

"Yeah, unless you want to dress up and go with me."

"No." I mumbled. "But, can you do me a favor and stop by my apartment to pick up my folder filled with homework?"

Kyle whined softly, but then agreed to pick it up all the same. He carefully cradled my head and then stood up, laying my head gently on a pillow before he went to his room. He emerged a couple of minutes later, tugging a sweatshirt on over his bare chest and then sat down on the edge of the couch. With a small frown adorning his lips, he pushed my stray hair aside and then leaned over, kissing me lovingly. When he pulled away, his eyebrows were furrowed together, indicating that he was thinking hard about something. I raised an eyebrow, giving him a questioning look.

He bit nervously on his lip, before he finally asked hesitantly, "do you want to move in with me?"

Caught off guard by his question, I stuttered slightly, unsure as to what my answer should be. "Move in?" I repeated. "But ... do you think it's kind of soon?"

Kyle shrugged his shoulders slightly. "We've only been together for a month and a half I guess." He mumbled. "But ... I was just thinking that since you're always over here anyway, you might as well just move in with me." He licked his lips lightly before he added, "and plus, when I'm gone on tour you still come over here and sleep in my bed."

"How do you know?" I asked with a slight huff.

"I found a pair of your panties in my sheets when I came home from tour." He said, smirking softly.

I blushed lightly and then sighed. "They got lost in the blankets so I just left them." I admitted.

Kyle laughed loudly and then took my hand in his, bringing it up to his lips before he kissed it gently. "They were way down at the foot of the bed." He told me.

"Oh." I whispered.

Kyle continued to smile down at me for a little while longer before his smile faded away, and he watched me with thoughtful eyes. "So ... what do you say?" He asked quietly. "About moving in?"

"Can I think about it?" I asked quietly.

Kyle nodded his head and then kissed my hand once again. "Of course." He said. "I'm not going to pressure you into moving in or anything."

Giving my hand a quick squeeze, he released it and then stood up, grabbing his keys and wallet from the table in the dining room. Making his way to the door, he paused after he opened it.

"Need anything else from your apartment?"

"Can you grab my board too?" I asked. "It's in my room, and the homework is in the computer room."

Kyle nodded his head. "I'll be back in a little while." He said softly, and then disappeared out the door, shutting it gently behind him.

My eyes still staring at the place he had just been standing, I took a deep breath and then let it out in a long sigh. If I were to move in with Kyle, would we be taking things too fast? True, we had actually been dating for a month and a half like Kyle had pointed out, but we had been sneaking around together for a month prior to that. Would it be cheating if I said that we've actually been together for two and a half months?

I wasn't too sure what to think about the entire thing. Moving in together is a big step, a step that had taken Mason and me a year a half to accomplish even after we graduated high school. But then again, Kyle wasn't Mason now was he?

Pulling out my cell phone from where I had abandoned it at the foot of the couch the night before, I quickly dialed Kyle's number. "I'll move in with you." I said simply when he answered, and then ended the call before he had a chance to reply, and before I had a chance to change my mind.

Who cares how long we've been together, Kyle and I are ready for the next step. At least I hoped.