#vegasbaby

I laid down sleepily in the soft white sheets of the bed in Berkely and I's room. I thought it was a shame that I had to ruin the nice made-up sheets, but oh well. I sat the pillow up on the bed so that I wouldn't fall asleep before Zak got back, and I had grabbed a Stephen King book out of my suitcase before I hopped into bed so that I would have something to occupy me. I knew that Zak wouldn't be long, but I had started this book on the road trip to Vegas, and why not finish it so I wouldn't have the mystery on my mind?

I didn't read much, though, considering the fact that I was thinking about kissing Zak again the whole time. I had never done anything like what I had done only about a half an hour ago, and it was strangely nice to do something weird and unexpected. I settled into my pillow and closed my eyes, smiling at the memories of those nice few moments we had shared. I was interrupted (just when I was getting to the good part) by a knock on the room door. I knew it was Zak, but I checked the peephole just in case. Yep, it was him. He stepped right on in like he owned the place when I opened the door, and he headed straight to the bedroom, peeling his t-shirt off as he made his way toward the bed.

Oh dear Lord, I almost melted into a puddle of nothing when I saw him shirtless. Goodness gracious, he had the biggest arms I had ever seen, and his back muscles rippled with every move that he made. He plopped himself down on the bed over the sheets, and I stood in the doorway staring at him like a lost puppy. I shivered a little when I thought about going to lay next to him, and felt almost obsolete in my plaid flannel pajama pants and holey UL t-shirt. He was in a grey pair of sweatpants, but even those looked good on him. I just decided to get rid of my insecurities and walked to the bed and laid next to him.

"So, I'm guessing you're tired," he said as I got under the covers and yawned for the millionth time in the past ten minutes. I nodded and grabbed my book off of the nightstand. I sat up against the pillow and opened the book while Zak put his arms around me and put his head on my stomach. I read a chapter or two while forcing my eyes to stay open, and when I finally decided it was time to quit, closed the book and put it back on the nightstand. "Stephen King, nice choice." I laughed and squiggled down under the covers. I turned on my side and felt Zak spoon against me. I giggled and realized I hadn't (literally) slept with a boy in...forever.

"Goodnight, Zak," I said and turned off the lamp. He squeezed me and told me "goodnight" too. I sighed happily and pulled my legs up to my chest to get comfortable. I closed my eyes and fell right asleep.

When I finally woke up, it was 7 o'clock. When I saw the clock, I was surprised that I had slept past my mental alarm clock. That had only happened a few times before, and it was when I had been seriously tired or had slept extremely well. I turned over and looked at the ceiling before realizing that Zak was sleeping right next to me. Oh, I had forgotten about him. He was sleeping on his stomach, his face turned away from me. His right arm and leg were hanging off the side of the bed, and the sheets were completely on my side of the bed (I had always been a sheet hog). His hair was relaxed again, and I couldn't help but snuggle up to his side sheepishly. He made a little sleeping noise and I almost giggled. He was too cute! I put my head on his left shoulder and looked at the tattoo on his back. I had noticed the wings sticking out of the collar of his shirt, but I had never seen the whole tattoo. It was detailed and really beautiful.

I reached out and put my fingertip on the bottom of the tattoo, careful not to press too hard so that I wouldn't wake him. I traced it carefully, following all of the lines and curves. When I was finished studying the tattoo, I ran my finger down his spine, stopping at his pants and going back up to his neck. I put my fingers in his hair, and that's when he jerked up and almost screamed at me. I pushed myself back to the edge of the bed as he looked around and finally landed his eyes on me. I'm sure I looked like a deer in headlights, and I guess that's why he automatically grabbed me and cradled me in his arms. I was a little shaken from that because I had never had someone react to me that way. He rocked me back and forth as I muttered "sorry" over and over again. He had just looked so shaken from one little touch, and I didn't mean to scare him like that.

"It's okay, Brie, it's okay..." He told me as he looked me in the eyes and smiled. I gave a weak smile back and closed my eyes again, wishing I could go back to sleep. But I had dancing to practice... I went to get up, but he kept me where I was. "No, you're staying in bed this morning. You're tired, I know it." I was tired, and I felt sore in my legs and arms. Maybe I had slept the wrong way, but I was still pretty darn tired. I laid back down, but this time I faced Zak when he cuddled up to me.

"I'm sorry for scaring you." I told him, and he just shook his head while it rested on mine. I didn't know why that had startled him so much, but I hope it wasn't realizing that he was waking up next to me...