A gentle warm breeze brushed against the back of my neck, causing me to stir a little. I took a deep breath in, and further relaxed as I smelt the delicious smell of a masculine fragrance. Everything on the bed smelled like him - the pillow, the sheets, probably even me. And I loved it.

The warmth of his body completely shrouded my naked back, and I smiled as I noticed his thick forearm was still draped over my bare waist. I rubbed a hand groggily over my eyes before sparing him a look over my shoulder.

A lazy smile instantly worked its way onto my face as I took him in. His face was softly innocent, and his chest rose and fell with each breath he took.

Once I had taken enough time to admire him, I turned back around, and as I did, he groaned softly under his breath and pulled me closer to him. I had to stifle the urge to aww at the fact he was snuggling me in his sleep. I laid there peacefully for a while until the light through the gap in the window grew brighter. Figuring it was probably a good time for me to get ready, I made a move to get up. 

Heck, I was in such a good mood, I think I might even go for a spontaneous jog.

Carefully, trying not to wake him up, I shuffled forward on the bed, causing Nathan's hand to limply drop from around my waist.

Seconds away from swinging my legs off the bed, large hands wrapped around my waist, causing me to squeal in surprise. "Oh, no, you don't, get that cute ass back on the bed. You're not sneaking out on me," Nathan whispered against my ear as he pulled me back onto the bed.

His fingers moved quickly against my stomach to tickle me, and I tossed in his arms in surprise. "Stop," I squeaked. "Why are you tickling me?" 

He chuckled deeply, the sound vibrating against the back of my neck before his fingers soon eased. 

"It's your punishment for rudely trying to sneak out on me. That's very naughty," he said, kissing the back of my neck.

I rolled in his arms to face him and couldn't help but smile as I saw those beautiful eyes of his. "I was going to come back, you idiot. I was only going to go out for a jog," I explained with a chuckle.

His nose wrinkled in confusion. "Why?" he snorted.

"Because I want, exercise, Mr judgy," I replied sassily.

 Instead of looking grouchy like I suspected him to be, a mischievous look passed through Nathan's eyes. "You want, exercise, huh?" he smirked. 

Before I could wrap my mind around his way of thinking, Nathan's slid his warm hand from my waist down to my hips in a tantalizing manner. "Why leave when I can give you plenty of exercise, right here, hmm," he offered as he traced smooth circles against my hip bone. 

I got lost in the sensation for a while before I recovered from my shock and rolled my eyes at him. He knew exactly what game he was playing.

"How are you not tired? You literally kept me up half the night," I teased.

"Didn't hear many complaints from you, only moans," he smirked with a wink.

My face heated up at the memory, and I narrowed my eyes. "Tease me about that again, and I promise you that the next time we have sex, I will literally moan out Natalie," I said flatly. 

The humor in his eyes swiftly changed to one of fear. "Point taken," he said quickly, not seeming too fond of the idea.

Soon enough, his gaze softened, and he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "But trust me, after having to hold myself back from you for the last five months, lack of energy is the last thing I'm missing," he said with a bitter laugh.

My smile grew wider. "Five months, huh? You've seriously been attracted to me that long," I joked.

"Why do you think I moaned your name that time," he snorted. 

I pointed a finger at him in triumph. "Ha, I knew the lie detector was right," I bragged.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," he said, his smile still never leaving his face. "Also, fun fact, you made me go celibate for about five months, so thanks for that," he said drily.

My eyebrows shot up in even further shock. "Five months?" I repeated. "This whole time, you haven't... you haven't – Holy crap, this whole time," I whispered in shock. 

I could hardly believe it, considering he was reluctant to even call me his friend through most of our relationship.

"Yup," he snorted. "And I totally blame your sexy chair dance; it had way too much of an effect on me," he said, his teeth breaking through his smile.

I laughed at the memory, remembering how flustered he got. Clearing my throat, I remembered my task at hand. "Okay, no, but seriously, I actually want to go on my jog now, so let me go," I smiled as I started to sit up slightly. 

His mouth opened in protest. "But I'm coming back," I added quickly.

He let out a heavy sigh. "Hmm, fine," he mumbled as he reluctantly slid his hand off me.

I shook my head at him before slowly sliding the sheets off me and climbing out of bed. Instantly feeling a chill against my naked body, I surveyed the area around the edge of the bed to see where Nathan had chucked my underwear. And as I did, I felt a very intense pair of eyes watching my every movement.

Pervert...

Well, he was a cute pervert; I'd give him that, but a pervert nonetheless.

Finding my bra quickly enough, I put it on, but it seemed to take me forever to find the bottom half of my underwear.

"Looking for this?" Nathan suddenly said from behind me. 

I looked back at him and saw him lazily supporting his head up with his arm as he dangled my black panties between his fingertips. 

"How did it get over there," I said with narrowed eyes as I marched my way over to him.

 His lips curved up. "Simple – because I tucked it under my pillow," he winked. 

I stopped in my tracks and looked at him long and hard. "What the fuck, Nathan? Are you trying to collect my underwear like fucking Pokémon cards or something?" I snapped.

He shrugged. "Why not? I don't think there's anything wrong with collecting my girlfriend's underwear," he said, his smile growing wider. My heart fluttered on the word girlfriend like a giddy schoolgirl, but I chose not to comment on it.

"Well, I hope my boyfriend knows that I want the bra he stole from me back," I said pointedly.

Nathan's smile broke out into a full-on grin when I spat out the word boyfriend. Once he'd actually registered what I said, he rolled his eyes.

 "Sophie, relax. I'll buy you as much underwear as you want," he smiled. "Hell, I'll even sit with you in the changing room to help you pick the right ones," he said, his eyes twinkling with amusment.

"Wow, what a sacrifice," I muttered sarcastically. He merely snickered in response.

"Okay, you've had your fun; give it back," I said as I walked to the edge of the bed.

Not moving an inch, he stared at me with a mischievous spark in his eyes. "I'm not going to hand it to you. If you want it, come and get it yourself."

Nathan was positioned quite centrally in the bed and had my underwear now tucked under his elbow. I narrowed my eyes, remembering he had done this same shit when I was trying to get my bra off him the other time.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Come crawl over here and get it," he chuckled. 

"Nathan, I'm not playing games," I said flatly. 

"Who said we were playing?" he fired back, a devilish look in his eyes.

Giving in, I climbed onto the bed and leaned over him with an exasperated sigh. As my hand wrapped around the edge of my underwear, a hand suddenly slapped down on my bare arse, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin.

 "Nathan!" I gasped, looking down at him in absolute shock. 

"What?" he said, staring up at me all innocently. I mean, he might have been convincing if his lips weren't twitching as though he was controlling the urge to laugh.

I swiftly reached out and flicked him between the eyebrows with my fingers before snatching back my underwear. I was about to get off of him before Nathan stopped me with a hand around my waist.

 "Wait, hold on," he whispered. 

The lowness to his tone, coupled with the feel of his hands rubbing circles on my back, halted me. I swallowed as he lifted his mouth up to my ear while still continuing those tantalizing patterns. 

"A quick one before you go, hmm," he whispered in my ear, his words drifting like music against my ears. 

"I..erm..uh," I stuttered, forgetting where I even was.

My breath sharpened as he nibbled the corner of my earlobe while softly pressing his fingers into my back, so I pressed flat against him.

When the sucking and neck kisses became too mind-numbing, I grew frustrated and snapped. "Okay, fuck it, I'm in," I groaned.

 I felt his lips twitch up into a smile against my skin. "Amazing, doing business with you," he whispered against my ear before slowly trailing his arm upward and flicking open my bra strap with a single flick.

-----

"Yeah, Nathan, that was really quick," I spat sarcastically as I aggressively tied my hair up into a high pony. 

Pretty much dressed now, I stared down at a very satisfied-looking Nathan from my position standing at the end of the bed.

Still sprawled in bed, Nathan lifted up his eyebrows in half-amusement. "I literally asked you if you were up for another round, and you said, and I quote: 'Just shut up, and do it."

I paused and felt my cheeks burn slightly, realizing he might have a point.

"Doesn't sound like something I'd say," I lied. Nathan shook his head at me, clearly figuring it was best to stop fighting with my delusional ass self.

Adjusting the last bit of my clothes, I walked over to the bed and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Okay, I'll probably be back soon," I called out before turning to leave.

He grabbed my hand. "Wait, Sophie," he said, stopping me. 

I sighed and turned back around. "I swear to god if this is another attempt to seduce me," I said warningly.

Nathan shook his head with a smile. "Well, first of all, I didn't attempt to seduce you - I succeeded. And second of all, no, I wasn't. I just thought I should give you this."

I watched in confusion as he rummaged around for something in his drawers. Then opening up the palm of my hand, he laid something metallic down in the center of it. 

"These are my spare, but they're yours now," he smiled.

I looked down and saw two sets of keys in my hand. "Are these for your flat?" I asked slowly. 

He nodded his head. 

"Why?" I asked in bafflement. 

"Because you live here now," he said simply. "Well, if you want, of course," he added quickly.

I stared at him in surprise, having to take a couple seconds to process his words. Soon, not able to help myself, an excited smile pulled to my face at the prospect of living with him. 

"You seriously wouldn't mind living with me?"

"Yeah, of course not, but there's a slight change from what I proposed to you yesterday," he explained quickly. I

 furrowed my brows. "What change?"

"I'm not giving you the guest room anymore. I want you in here with me," he stated plainly.

I quirked up an eyebrow. "That's cute that you thought I wasn't going to automatically take your bedroom?" I snorted. "But no, seriously, thanks," I said as I held up the key. 

"No problem," he said.

As I made my way to the door, Nathan cleared his throat. "Oh, yeah, and Sophie, if I'm in the shower when you come back in, feel free to join," he called out at my retreating figure. "You know, to save the water and all..,"

"You're not slick," I called back out with a laugh before finally leaving the room.

-------------------

I was about ten minutes into my jog through the park, and no matter what, I couldn't wipe the enormous smile from my face. I didn't even care that the wind was icy cold or that my trainer's soles were too rough on my feet. The only thing I cared about was that Nathan Woods loved me.

As I rounded the corner of the path, I suddenly felt my phone buzz through the thin pocket of my leggings. I came to a halt and quickly fished it out to see what it was about. My eyes widened as I saw it was Brandon. 

Shit, he didn't know why I didn't come home last night.

I quickly fumbled to press the answer button before hurriedly lifting it up to my ear. "Oh my god, Brandon, I'm so sorry-

"Where the hell have you been!" Brandon hounded through the phone, sounding audibly shaken up.

"Sorry, I stayed over at Nathan's last night and-"

"You what? You did! And was there dick?" he yelled rapidly through the phone.

"Woah, calm down," I snickered through the phone.

 "Answer the flipping question, Sophie, dick or no dick," he spat out frantically. 

"Alright, alright, I got dick, okay," I said lowly, my cheeks going slightly red. 

If it wasn't obvious, Brandon was way more comfortable talking about matters of the body than I was. I remember when we did sex-ed in school, he made the teacher nearly go into cardiac arrest from all the questions he was asking. My confession was immediately met with a long-drawn-out gasp.

"Yes! I'm so fucking proud of you," he called out rejoicingly. 

 "Bit of a weird thing to be proud of me, for but okay," I chuckled.

"So, how come you've finally grown a brain?" he asked curiously. 

I rolled my eyes at his insult. "Well, we talked a lot, or maybe sort of yelled at each other last night. And we both spit out some things like how we loved each other, and he told me he would never judge me...," I explained softly.

"Awww," Brandon cooed through the phone. "But you told him the truth as well, right?" he asked abruptly. 

I paused and looked down to the floor in shame. "Right?" he repeated a little louder this time.

"I might have decided to leave that out," I said slowly, guilt seeping into his tone.

 "What? You slept with him, and you didn't tell him?" Brandon said.

"Yes, I did, but I swear, I will tell him soon. I need a little more time," I explained desperately.

Brandon let out a heavy sigh. "Okay fine, but the longer you leave it, the worse it's going to be when he finds out."

I picked at a loose string on my jacket. "I know," I mumbled.

He cleared his throat. "But anyway, back to our original topic, how was the sex?"

"I'm hanging up," I said simply. 

"Sophie, be mature about this, I'm a curious guy, and we have an honest friendship. There's no shame in sharing and-"

I quickly pressed the red hang-up button and shoved my phone back into my pocket.

What? I had warned him I was hanging up.

Shaking my head free of that embarrassing conversation, I headed back down the path to finish the rest of my jog.

---------------

Humming myself a cheery little song, I shoved my new key into the door before pressing my hip against it to let myself in.

"Yo, Nathan, I'm home," I called out as I closed the door behind me. I scanned around the kitchen and living room area to see if he was there, but when I failed to find him, I made my way over to his bedroom.

As I rounded the corner, I paused, finding Nathan sat on the edge of the bed, fully clothed with a book on his lap. 

I smiled down at him in excitement. "Still want that shower?" I teased. 

Instead of looking up at me with a playful spark in his eyes like I thought he would, he kept his head down. He didn't move at all. It was like he couldn't even hear me. 

"Nathan?" I called as I slowly edged my way closer to him.

I grabbed his chin and gently lifted his head up to meet mine. I was taken aback when I saw his expression. He looked like a ghost of himself, his eyes all far-away looking and lost. The light in his eyes was gone, and all I could see were brokenness. Suddenly, he jerked his head away from me as though my skin was made of acid.

My eyebrows knitted together in concern. "Nathan?" What's wrong?" I questioned, my eyes flickering back and forth between his in confusion.

He swallowed thickly, causing the whites of his eyes to redden. Before I could ask him again, he closed the book in his hands with shaky hands so that I could see the cover. The moment I registered, exactly what book it was, my blood ran cold, and I felt like I couldn't even breathe. It was my book. The book that had started so many problems in my life. 

Written messily across the front of the hardcover were six god-awful words - My plan to destroy Nathan Woods. 

--------------------

Author's note: 

Dun, dun, dun!!!!

Let me hear your thoughts? Scared, perhaps? 

Next Update: Friday (6-8 PM - UK time)