by Lisa Simmons
“Thank you, Abby,” he said quietly. “I don’t know what would have happened if you weren’t here...”
A pang of fear struck my chest, suddenly terrified of that very situation. What if I hadn’t been here and he’d had the attack alone? I shuddered.
“Of course, Reece. Does that happen a lot?” I asked, needing to collect as much information as possible.
“No,” he said with a shake of his head. “Only when I’m... really active.”
I blushed lightly and suddenly felt guilty. He’d been active, alright- active sleeping with me.
“Have you ever had an attack when you were... doing that?” I asked, not wanting to picture him sleeping with someone else and going through what I’d just gone through with him.
“No,” he said again. Relief coursed through me. “I can usually feel it coming and just stop whatever I’m doing or get my inhaler before it really hits. I get it when I run sometimes.”“So you don’t have full attacks like that very often?” I clarified.
“No, I haven’t had one that bad in forever.”
I nodded slowly at his explanation, relieved he didn’t usually have such severe attacks. Guilt flashed through me as I realized I had probably influenced the attack.
“Could you feel that one coming?” My fingers never stopped tracing across his chest as his gaze never tore from mine.
“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you stop, Reece?” I asked in horror. I couldn’t imagine knowing the feeling that was about to hit and doing nothing to stop it.
“Because I wanted you to feel good,” he said as if it were obvious.
“Reece,” I said seriously. “That shouldn’t be what you’re worried about if you’re about to have an asthma attack.”
I frowned at him but he just shrugged. “I didn’t think it’d be that bad.”
“You can’t do that again, Reece, you scared the hell out of me,” I scolded lightly, scooting closer to him. Nearly every inch of our naked bodies were pressed together beneath the covers. “I know, I’m sorry,” he muttered. He didn’t seem nearly as shaken by this as I did.
“I mean it, Reece! I don’t want you putting yourself at risk just because of... um... what we’re doing,” I said sternly. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I’m fine,” he argued lightly, eyebrows pulling together defiantly.
“Yeah, now,” I muttered. “Please Reece.”
“Okay, okay, if that ever happens again, I’ll stop,” he conceded. I sighed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you.” I leaned forward to press a light kiss to his lips, his puckering softly in response before I pulled back.
“Hmm,” he hummed. His arm tightened around me, pulling me even tighter to his chest. My cheek rested against the swallows inked on his chest, and I pushed my lips into his skin. He was clearly worn out from our activities and the ensuing asthma attack because I could feel his body melting into mine. “Fuck,” he mumbled suddenly. Panic flashed through me once more, afraid something else was wrong with him now.
“What?” I asked, my body tensing and my voice on edge.
“Ah, hang on,” he muttered, releasing his tight grip on my torso to roll onto his back. His hand disappeared below the covers for a few seconds before pulling it back out, his fist clenched around something before he tossed it in the trash can near his bed. I blinked as the realization hit me and I tried not to giggle. He still had the condom on.
I decided not to say anything since he seemed content to roll back into me and throw his arm back around me, pulling me closer to him once more. I nuzzled my face into his neck again, kissing the dip above his collarbone lightly. Almost immediately, his body melted back into mine just as it had before, and I felt his lips press to the top of my head as he clung to me.
“Sleep, baby,” I whispered softly, knowing he would be too proud to admit he was exhausted.
“I don’t wanna,” he grumbled, his muscles against wherever he touched my skin.
“Shh, Reece,” I mumbled against his skin. “Sleep.”
He sighed heavily, his chest expanding beautiful against my own. “Okay, Abby.”
“I’m glad you’re okay, babe,” I whispered. I couldn’t tell if he hadn’t heard me because my voice was so quiet or because he was already asleep, but either way I was relieved he had finally listened to me. To be honest, I was wide awake as I laid in Reece’s arms, the fear that had been instilled in me sending adrenaline coursing through my body and making sleep seem impossible. I had been so terrified he would never breathe normally, completely convinced he would pass out and die before I managed to help him in any way. The was so grateful for the memory of the girl in my gym class, because even though asthma was fairly common, I was in such a state of shock that I couldn’t realize what was actually happening to him until that memory had surfaced. I felt a small sense of relief, however, that his extreme attacks were fairly uncommon. If this had been his first bad attack in years, that meant he had it pretty under control. My main concern would now be making sure he didn’t put himself in that situation again, because I already knew his nature would be to please me first and worry about himself second as he had just proved. As long as he listened to the warning signs his body gave him, he would be all right.
We would be all right.
I took the opportunity of the beautifully sleeping man to really listen to the way his lungs worked now that he had recovered. The air whooshed softly as he inhaled, his chest expanding slowly beneath the tight muscles of his chest before it sifted back out through his parted lips. Listening now, I never would have guessed this physically fit man would be capable of making such scarring wheezing noises, but I knew they were sounds I would never forget. The image of him struggling to breath, his face slowly turning red as he clutched at his chest, would be burned into my brain forever. The gasping wheezes and the tight whistling as the air struggled to move through his trachea continued to ring through my ears, despite seeing him sleeping soundly before my eyes. I prayed I never had to hear the sounds again, because I had never been more scared for someone in my entire life. His skin as so soft beneath my finger tips as I traced little patterns across his chest. The dark ink that stained his skin felt no different that his clear skin, the tattoos long healed and smoothed out. I ducked my head forward to press my lips into his skin once more, a faint tinge of sweat appearing on my tongue from the sweat left over on his body. I took a deep, shuddering breath, forcing myself to really believe that he was okay and sound asleep, his body long since calmed down despite being physically exhausted. My heart beat slowly in my chest, matching the rhythm I could feel of his through his ribs as he slept, reassuring me once more. With one final press of my lips to his chest, I let myself into his arms and attempt to fall asleep. My mind slowly calmed down, the soothing sound of his breath leaving his body and the feel of his skin against every inch of mine finally making it possible to fall asleep. My last thought before I fell asleep was how very terrified I had become in that moment that I would lose him. The realization of how much that thought scared me made me realize just how deep my feelings for him went; I had started crying almost instantly, the tears stinging to my eyes before I even really realized what was going on. It was like my body knew how much I felt for him before my heart had, reacting physically nearly the second the threat of losing him had begun.
Whatever this was with Reece, it was already more real than nearly anything I’d ever felt before, and I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be- in Reece’s arms.
A loud pounding shook me from my sleep hours later, Reece’s room drastically lighter now in the morning than the darkness of the night we had fallen asleep in. Once again, we had shifted positions in our sleep even though we remained as hopelessly tangled together as always. Reece’s arms were wrapped around my shoulders, my back pressing into his chest as his leg pushed through my thighs. I could feel the reassuring tickle of his breath blowing across my cheek as
he breathed evenly. My eyes blinked open, the first thing they settled on being Reece’s inhaler that had been relatively abandoned last night after resolving his issues. The events of last night flashed in front of my eyes- Reece rocking his body into mine, both of us hitting our peaks, Reece collapsing on top of me, the horrible, horrible sound of the wheezing from his lungs, and what felt like a blur of me frantically trying to figure out how to fix him before finally getting it right. Relief flooded through me again as I remembered how his breathing had evened out finally, his lungs accepting the air he craved so desperately.
Another round of pounding jolted me out of my reverie, my body jumping involuntarily at the loud, urgent sound. Reece groaned behind me, clearly being woken up as well by the sound. He nuzzled his face into the nape of my neck.
“What the fuck...” he trailed off, his words muffled by my skin as another round of pounding set went off. This time I recognized the where it was coming from- his front door.
“Reece, wake up,” someone shouted from the other side, the voice barely audible through the wood of the door and the rest of Reece’s small house. I didn’t recognize the voice, but it was definitely a man.
“You gotta be fucking kidding,” Reece muttered, squeezing me tighter to him as if trying to fend off the unwanted intrusion.
“Reeceyyyy,” another man called, this voice different from the first one. Reece groaned again.
“No,” he said, seemingly to them even though there was no way they would hear him.
“Who is it?” I asked, twisting in his grip to lie on my back, my head falling to the side to look at him. His arms stayed wrapped firmly around me as we lay beneath the covers.
“Fucking idiots, that’s who,” he muttered, his lips pressing into my shoulder now.
“Who, Reece?” I pressed, confused.
“My friends.” He did not look the least bit pleased to have such a rude awakening, especially since he seemed so intent on clinging to me. I blinked, unsure how to react to this news. “Will they go away?” I asked hopefully. As curious as I was to meet his friends, all I wanted to do right now was stay wrapped in Reece’s arms and the warmth of his bed. Plus, I was sure to look like hell after what everything that had happened last night, and I wanted to at least attempt to make a good impression on them. It was clear that this thing between Reece and I wasn’t going to end anytime soon, so meeting them seemed inevitable. “Probably not. They’re dickheads, I told you,” he grumbled. Despite his statement, he made no moves to move or get dressed.
“So what do we do?” I asked, suddenly nervous they’d force their way in and see us lying here naked. He sighed heavily, his eyes still not opening as he thought about what to do. A second thought occurred to me as to why he would maybe be upset about their unannounced arrival.
“They don’t know about me, do they?” I asked even though it sounded more like a statement. I had always suspected as much, but now we were finally about to be confronted with the issue.
“No,” he admitted.
I thought about his answer for a few seconds. I wasn’t sure if I should be upset with him or not before he cut off my thoughts. “Looks like they’re about to find out.”
"And at once, I knew I was not magnificent."
Chapter 31
Reece's POV
You've gotta be fucking kidding.
Were they seriously here right now, about to bash down my door, when I had finally gotten Abigail back? They were absolutely ruin what should have been a good morning with her, and I wanted nothing more than to run them over with my car. Another round of pounding made me groan out loud as I buried my face in Abigail's neck.
"Better get dressed, babe," I muttered, kissing her shoulder automatically before pulling myself reluctantly from her tangled grasp. She didn't respond but followed my suggestion quickly, her fear at being caught naked evident as she scrambled to find her clothes. I had managed to pull on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt by the time she'd found her bottom articles of clothing and her bra. She pulled them on quickly before her eyes scanned the rest of the room, a sudden look of realization dawning on her as she looked at me with wide eyes.
"My shirt..." she muttered. I blinked. Could she not find it?
"It's out there by the table..." she explained, seeing that I wasn't following. Shit.
"Um, let me go get it," I offered. She nodded quickly, running a slightly frantic hand through her hair.
"I look awful," she grumbled seemingly to herself. I shook my head at her in disbelief. Like she could ever look awful.
"You look beautiful," I said casually, realizing this was probably the first sincere complement I'd given her. I shook my head, still trying to discover where this side of me had come from as I quickly left the room in search of her shirt. I scurried past the front door, hoping they wouldn't see my shadow through the tiny window as they continued to pound on the door and shout through it.
"Reece, you fucker, we know you're in there," the voice I recognized as Samuel' called.
"For fuck's sake, hang on a minute," I finally called back, hoping they'd finally shut up and quit their incessant assault of my door. My eyes scanned the tiny dining room area, my brain already forgotten what shirt she'd even been wearing when I spotted a white bit of cloth hanging off one of the chairs by the table. I reached out to grab it, the soft fabric feeling familiar in my grip as I jogged lightly back to my room. I found Abigail sitting on the bed, her knees bouncing up and down anxiously.
"Are you nervous?" I asked, surprised. She looked at me in shock.
"Very," she admitted.
"Don't be. You're way better than them so there's no need to worry," I said honestly.
"Reece, don't say that," she scolded distractedly as she pulled her shirt over her head and smoothed her hands down her front. She frowned as she looked down, her plain white v-neck and athletic shorts clearly not her ideal outfit to be meeting anyone in but it would have to do. Personally, I thought she looked incredibly sexy, which worried me because I knew my friends would, too. If they even looked at her...
"Reece! Let us in you idiot!"
"Um, how do you want to do this?" I asked her, ignoring their loud requests.
"Uh... I'll just... wait in the kitchen?" she said, her statement coming out as a question. It was a good of a plan as any, I supposed.
"Yeah, alright."
I stepped forward suddenly and gripped her chin between my fingers, my head ducking down so I could kiss her lips lightly.
"Just... don't listen to them," I begged, extremely wary of what they would have to say about this situation.
"Okay," she said, grinning good-naturedly. Again, I was in awe of her ability to roll with the obstacles that seemed to constantly be assaulting our relationship. I pecked her lips once more before releasing her and moving down the hallway. Her light footsteps told me she was following until she peeled off and went to the kitchen to do what, I didn't know. I took a deep breath as I reached the front door, telling myself not to punch them on sight for ruining my morning with Abigail.
"What do you want?" I asked in annoyance as I pulled the door open.
"Good morning to you, too, bro," Samuel said, a wide grin on his face as he held up a case of beer in each hand. "We bring you gifts and that's how you treat us?"
Luke stood next to him, cases of beer in each of his hands as well as he grinned at me.
"What are those for?" I questioned. My interest in beer right now was somewhere between rainbows and teddy bears- I just wanted them gone. If I could get them to leave before discovering Abigail was here, even better.
"Dude you gotta get out of whatever the hell mood you've been in the last few days 'cause you're sucking the life out of everyone around you," Luke said. I think it was meant to be supportive but it just came out as insulting.
"Um, no, I'm alright," I said. They ignored me and pushed past me dropping their cases of beer on the ground as they bent to undo th
eir shoes.
"Bullshit, you need to get drunk and find a girl to fuck so you can get back to yourself again," Samuel said as he straightened up. His eyes focused suddenly on my neck, and my hand automatically rose to touch where his gaze fell. I winced slightly, the bruise there hurting under the pressure of my fingers. Fuck.
"Or maybe you already have, judging by that hickey," he said smugly, eyes lingering on the spot Abigail had undoubtedly caused before smirking at me.
"Who was it this time?" Luke questioned, joining in on the inspection of my neck. I pinched the bridge of my nose, already beyond annoyed by the both of them.
"You guys know it's a Monday morning, right? Who drinks on a Monday morning?" I asked, hoping to change the subject. This was not how I wanted to introduce Abigail to them at all. They rolled their eyes, noting my obvious subject change.
"Whatever man, I'm just glad you finally fucked someone. I feel like it's been ages," Luke said, clapping his hand on my shoulder like a teammate who'd done well in a sports game.
"Yeah, like... since that hot blonde chick," Samuel added and I instantly felt like slapping my hand over his mouth.
"The one I still haven't seen," Luke added. It was like they were trying to make it sound as bad as possible- like I had talked about how I'd bagged the hot blonde chick, who happened to be Abigail, when in reality I hadn't spoken a word of her to either of them. For obvious reasons, now.
"Um... yeah."
"Well let's go, this beer isn't gonna drink itself!" Samuel cheered. The fact that his reason for drinking gone now that he thought I'd slept with someone was clearly not going to stop him from drinking anyway. I watched in horror as they picked up their cases and started to move toward the living room where they would surely have a clear view of the girl they had just been discussing while she hid in the kitchen.
My feet acted before my brain could, thankfully, because I darted ahead of them quickly and turned the corner first. My eyes instantly locked on hers as she tried her best to appear casual as she leaned on the counter in my kitchen, a glass of watcher clasped in her hand as she took sips from it.