And She Was Strong.

When Lily woke up the next morning, she wondered where she was. And that’s when it hit her: I’m at Matt’s house. She had gotten tired the previous night, after she and the rest of the boys had decided to hang out before having to return back home. They all had been drinking, and although Lily had not had more than one or two beers, she did not want to return home.

In fact, she couldn’t; Matthew had to first drive her back to the café so that she could be reunited with her car. It was hardly a problem; however, Lily would take this opportunity to sink into everything associated with Matthew. His home was immaculate, though what Lily was most concerned with at that moment was how comfortable the couch was. After a moment of simply lying there, debating upon the idea of the couch’s comfort level, she decided that it was just soft enough and just stiff enough so that she had received a good night’s rest.

Her eyes fluttered open, slowly embracing the light that poured through the room’s windows.

But that’s when she realized that light wasn’t the only thing being embraced; her eyes, along with the sunlight, landed upon the sleeping form of Matthew. His arms were snaked around her waist, and she was pressed up tight against his chest. Perhaps she had not noticed it quite at first due to her sleepiness and early-morning light-headedness, but when she did take note of the situation she found herself in, she wasn’t really sure what to do about it.

Pry yourself away, her mind ordered her. Get yourself out of there as soon as you can. It doesn’t matter if you’re only friends; Jeremy is waiting for you at home.

Lily’s mind was a stranded argumentum; although it made so much sense for her to leave the warmth that Matthew’s hold, she couldn’t bring herself to wake him up. She also couldn’t bring herself to leave, not when she knew how warm she felt. And her soul was warm; it was like the morning had lit it on fire, and just being held in Matthew’s arms was making her sweat.

But it was a good kind of heat. It felt like summer.

Inhaling sharply, she gave herself enough time to take him in, the breathe in everything that she knew he stood for and everything attached to him-- both emotionally and physically. His arms were large and heavy, weighing her down and compressing her deeper into the mattress. Though, from the weight his arms provided, they made up for in this feeling that Lily was sure emitted from her core: it was what Lily felt to be compassion. Carefulness. And to be taking it a little farther than she knew she very well should have… she might have even called that feeling love.

And, although she knew that she should at least feel guilty for thinking such things about Matthew, she couldn’t deny that it didn’t feel wrong. Instead, it felt as if that reaction to Matthew’s touch was completely reasonable and sensible. It was illogical, yes, but from Lily’s point of view, it just felt right. Natural.

Matthew was just beginning to wake up; he assumed the sleep position, pretending to still be fast asleep while taking the opportunity to hold Lily for just a few moments longer. That passion he had for her was still inside him, and he was just taking advantage of the situation.

The night before, when Lily had fallen asleep on the downstairs couch before the others had left, Matthew decided it might be a good idea for him to bring her upstairs and lay her down there, instead. Surely she wouldn’t have it in her to drive home so late, and Matthew knew that he couldn’t possibly drive her back to her work and watch her leave. Maybe it was his teenage hormones catching up with him again, but ever since he had seen Lily back at home, something had set off inside him.

He didn’t know if it was right or not, but it made him feel good just laying there with her in his arms.

She began to stir. He squinted, his eyes only open a fraction if at all, taking his time to observe Lily’s waking moments. It had been so long since he had seen what she looked like when she opened her eyes for the first time in the day. In fact, he hadn’t witnessed that innocence in her eyes since they were teenagers.

But he had to admit that even after all of the years that had passed, she still looked beautiful. He couldn’t even deny that much to himself anymore. She was beautiful and somehow, flawed so perfectly that it didn’t make an ounce of sense to anyone but him. It was okay that way, though. He didn’t really mind.

Lily, as her eyelids fluttered and she finally woke, she curled herself deeper into Matthew’s chest. She realized what she was doing, but her mind suddenly stopped working, almost as if it had shut down completely. Her senses intensified to their maximum capacity and then some.

Something inside of Matthew tightened; he felt like his heart weighed a thousand pounds, and that someone had rung his insides out like a towel. Everything Matthew felt right then were things that he burned into his memory: the way she felt in his arms, the slightest breaths that blew from between her lips, and her warmth… They were all so surreal to him. They were all so impossible.

And beautiful, he thought. So different. And so beautiful.

“Good morning,” he whispered, pulling her closer.

His mind was telling him so strongly that what he was doing was wrong, that Lily would react in ways he didn’t want her to because of his childishness. But his arms reached for her and held her all on their own, and it was as if he had no control over anything anymore.

She inhaled sharply, and for a moment Matthew thought that everything was over…

Until she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck.

“Good morning.”