12 Chapter 12

We stayed up talking for most of the night and he ended up just sleeping over. I had never shared a bed with anyone before, but sleeping curled up next to Vic was beyond comfortable. I found out that I loved the comfort of having him there next to me.

The next morning I learned that waking up in the arms of someone I love is literally the best feeling in the world. When my eyes fluttered open, my head was still against Vic's chest, and he had an arm draped over me.

"Good morning," he breathed, shifting his position. I didn't even realize he was awake.

"Morning, how'd you know I was awake?" I chuckled. He still had his eyes closed, but I guess that didn't matter anyway. I noticed a small grin.

"I can just tell," he smiled, before letting out a long yawn that I found absolutely adorable. He rolled towards me as he stretched and placed a kiss against my forehead.

"Did you sleep alright?" I asked him, trailing my fingers along his shoulder. "I know the bed is small, but . . ."

"I slept well, Kellin I promise," he chuckled reaching out and clasping his hand against my cheek. "Thanks for letting me spend the night."

"You're welcome," I said, cheerfully, putting my hand over his. "Actually as in, you are welcome any time . . . I mean unless Justin's here and he doesn't want visitors -"

"Right, roommate agreements, I got you," he laughed, kissing me again. "So what's on- hold up, someone's at your door."

I frowned, because he said that at least a full beat before the doorknob turned and the door swung open. Well then.

"Wow, you really do have great hearing," I said, admirably as I propped myself up on one elbow to see Justin coming in. I held my breath, hoping he wasn't still angry with me. I wanted to be pleasant either way, and I wasn't one for staying hostile. "Hi Justin."

"Shhhhhh. . . Volume. Please . . ." He groaned, dropping into his own bed. He kicked his shoes off and pulled the covers over him. "I've got the worst hangover ever."

"Are you okay?" I asked, still concerned.

"Yeah just . . . Too much alcohol," he muttered, folding his arms over his face. He took a deep breath, letting himself settle in before he turned to me again. "Looks like you had some fun while I was gone."

"Oh yeah, I did, Vic came over and we just-"

"Whoa, whoa, I don't want to hear about it," he laughed, which confused me. At first I thought he was just back to being mean again, but then I realized what he meant.

"Why not? We just- oh. Oh. N o- no, Justin that's not what happened," I insisted, feeling my face turning bright red. This was so awkward. He thought we slept together. Which, I mean, we did, but we didn't sleep together. Oh man.

"Sure it isn't," he smirked.

"He's just teasing," Vic sighed, casually. I dropped it as Justin laughed and rolled over so that he was facing away from us. I didn't know why I got so awkward about things like that. I mean, I had never like, had sex with anyone before. I wasn't sure if Vic had or not, but even still just thinking about it made me nervous.

After lying around for just a little while longer, Vic and I got up to go and get breakfast. According to him, there was a diner we could get to by bus that served great waffles and offered a student discount. I thought it was pretty cool how he was so in-the-know about these sorts of things.

"Hey Vic?" I asked him, as we left my building to walk to the bus stop. "Can I hold your hand?"

"I don't need help, Kellin," he reminded me, which happened to be the exact reason why I asked him about it first. He was very adamant about his independence and I didn't want to intrude on that. That was the last thing I wanted to do.

"I know, I know, I just meant . . . as like a couple-y thing to do. I just want to hold your hand," I said, getting excited just at the thought of walking around with my hand wrapped in his. It sounded so romantic.

"Um, I mean . . . Okay, yeah," he said, finally relaxing and just holding his free hand out. Our fingers felt like they fit together perfectly and that made me so happy. I also tried my best to make sure Vic was at least half a step ahead of me at all times so he didn't think I was trying to lead him anywhere.

"Okay, so then can I ask you something?" He said, only a few moments after we connected. Our fingers were laced together tight.

"Yeah, of course," I said, smiling.

"I don't mean to make things awkward, of course, but I was just thinking about what Justin said this morning," he started, and I immediately felt myself getting nervous. What about what Justin said? "I mean, would you be interested in that?"

"I . . . yes? I've never done it before, though, like, I don't know," I breathed, trying to sound as casual as possible. I was especially going to feel awkward if it turned out that it wasn't something Vic was nervous

about at all. What if he was like, some sex expert or something? Yikes. I could feel the heat rushing to my cheeks already.

"Neither have I," he laughed, and just like that the anxiety lessened.

"Wait, really?" I asked, just for the reassurance. At least I could know that I wasn't alone in this.

"Yeah, I mean, I'm not exactly anyone's ideal hook-up," he chuckled, and I thought that was just absurd.

"You'd be my ideal hook-up," I said, without even thinking. It just slid right out, just so natural. But it was cringe-y as hell. "I mean, not that I would even want to hook up."

"So . . . wait so you do or you don't?" he asked, taking his own turn to be confused. I really wasn't making any sense with my ramblings.

"Ugh, I mean I do. I just . . . I love you and I don't want it to be a hook-up, you know? I want it to be so much more than that . . . and at the same time I just don't want to disappoint you," I admitting, ending my sentence on a significantly lower note. Sex was such an intimate thing, and I didn't want to mess it up. Especially not with Vic.

"Well, I highly doubt you would disappoint," he assured me, lowering his voice slightly. "I already like kissing you, and I was already getting turned on when we made out in your bed last night."

"Yeah," I said, already missing that experience. My breathing faltered as I got this bit of a rush in my chest. I suddenly couldn't wait to hold him that close again. "That was pretty hot."

"I know you are," he smirked. I just laughed and gave his hand a squeeze, thankful that even talking about awkward things was pretty easy with him.

We had breakfast at the diner and I listened in awe as Vic went on about his favorite things on the menu. I didn't know exactly what it was, but there was just something incredibly attractive about watching him talk about food. It was like you could just see the passion in his mannerisms and hear it in his voice. I also knew how significant it was for him, as if he appreciated his other senses simply because he lost his sight. I would never be able to fully understand what that was like or what that meant.

After breakfast, we went our separate ways as he had to get back to his apartment to find out if it was in shambles from the frat party the night before. I, on the other hand, headed back to my dorm room where Justin was looking a little bit more awake and functioning.

"Hi," I said, albeit nervously. I wondered if he was being nice earlier because Vic was over. I hoped he wasn't about to go off on me again, because I wasn't quite sure I could handle something like that.

"Hey, how was breakfast?" he asked in a surprisingly friendly tone. I eased up a little, appreciating the effort.

"Um, it was good. I had waffles," I said, going over to my side of the room. I took a seat on the edge of my bed.

"Hey, look, Kells, I just wanted to apologize about last night, okay?" he said. I spun around, smiling. It was actually great to hear him apologizing because it showed that he cared about the fact that he upset me. "And I want to make it up to you."

"You do?" I asked, feeling that glimmer of hope.

"Yeah, I um, for Alpha Sigma Sigma's next event we can each bring a guest, and I want you to be my guest," he said, giving me a warm smile. I smiled brightly, already set to accept the invitation.

"That sounds great!" I said, excitedly. I knew Justin was just having a bad night. He was still my best friend and things were going to be okay between us after all.