Ariana’s POV –
I dream of warm fingers stroking the bare skin on my stomach. I shiver underneath his touch, the skin erupting into goose-bumps immediately.
“Alex,” I breathe out, sunlight streaming through the windows and settling around us. The air is crisp with a slight morning chill to it. Underneath the blankets, our bodies are pressed tightly against each other in an effort to stay warm.
“Yes?” He whispers, his lips inches away from my ear. I shiver again, breathing deeply.
“This is a really good dream,” I whisper, my body growing heavy. Behind me, he stills before chuckling quietly. His chest vibrates against my back, arms loosening ever so slightly.
“You’re not dreaming hermosa.”
My eyes snap open and I freeze, tensing my body up. I can feel my heart begin to thump against my chest as I blink sev-eral times, studying my surroundings.
“What did you just say?” I ask cautiously, biting down on my bottom lip nervously. I’m wide awake now as I wait anxious-ly for his reply.
“You’re not dreaming. I’m too good to be true though, right?” He smirks, leaning up and propping himself up on his el-bows. He glances down at me, brown eyes sparkling brightly. He laughs again as notices my surprised reaction.
I must look like a deer caught in headlights.
“Buenos días Hermosa,” he whispers, reaching over to brush a strand of stray hair. He tucks it behind my ear, the touch of his fingers lingering against my skin.
“Good morning to you too,” I reply quietly, the events of last night coming back to me slowly. I don’t remember the last time I woke up feeling so. . . okay. I don’t feel broken, I don’t feel sad, I simply feel okay.
“You’re a nice surprise to wake up to.” Alex says, his smirk stretching out into a lopsided smile. I feel butterflies fill my stomach and I smile at him in response, breaking eye contact. Looking into the swirls of his brown beautiful eyes always causes my heart to beat insanely fast.
“I was drunk last night, wasn’t I?” I groan, faintly remembering stumbling into Alex’s apartment. Alex’s apartment. Not mine. I breathe deeply and sit up, avoiding Alex’s burning stare.
“I should go home,” I mumble, running a hand over my face. “This is the second time I’ve woke up in your bed,” I say sheepishly, feeling the empty shallow feeling fill my stomach once again. The first time I was in a happy relationship with Justin.
This time, I’m single, alone, empty.
“Technically, this isn’t my bed. It’s my floor.”
“You know what I mean smart-ass.” I say to him, rolling my eyes. He grins at me before sitting up, the blanket falling from his body onto the floor. My eyes immediately snap to his bare chest and I can feel my cheeks grow hot.
His warm skin is smooth, tanned and toned. The muscles in his stomach ripple as he stands up, stretching his arms over his head. Underneath, he’s wearing a pair of denim jeans, hung loosely on his hips. The colour of them contrast beautifully against his golden skin and I simply can’t stop myself from staring. I’ve never seen a male body look so good in the flesh.
“Alex, can you put a shirt on please?” I mumble, tearing my eyes off him. I have to clear my throat because my words sound strained, forced.
“Do you not like my body hermosa?” He asks me, smirking as he walks over to his kitchen. I watch him as he leaves, his back equally as defined and sexy as his front. I get the urge to run my hand down his skin, feel the warmth of his body spread through my fingers. I close my eyes and breathe deeply, forcing my brain to clear.
“Well?” Alex asks me, re-appearing a few seconds later. I can hear the kettle boiling the water in the kitchen, the bubbling sound filling the empty silence between us.
“It’s distracting Alex, that’s all.” I mumble, standing up myself and stretching. My body aches from lying in an uncomfort-able position but my mind feels well rested. I feel disgusting from the night before and I motion towards the direction of the bathroom.
“Can I shower? I feel gross.”
Alex nods, leaning back against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. He holds eye contact for a few moments, his chocolate eyes staring deeply into mine. I feel myself rooted to the spot, sucked in by his stare.
“Can I watch?” He smirks, the corner of his lips twitching upwards. I manage to snap out of the trance he has me in and I scowl, shooting him a glare.
“Over my dead body.”
“Wow, harsh.” Alex replies, his tongue brushing over his bottom lip. His tone is light hearted, teasing me. I can feel my lips twitch upwards into the beginnings of a smile. I don’t remember the last time I genuinely smiled.
“Thank you Alex,” I say quietly as I head for the bathroom. I can still feel his eyes burning into my body as I walk away. My skin tingles and the fluttering feeling inside my stomach deepens as I hear him reply, his voice echoing around the apartment.
“You’re welcome hermosa.”
*****
Twenty minutes later, my hair is freshly washed, smelling slightly like male shampoo. I’m dressed in one of Alex’s plain white shirts, leaving my legs bare. None of his pants fit me but his shirt is long enough to cover me.
As I walk into the kitchen, Alex stops eating, dropping his apple back down onto the plate. He simply stares at me, his eyes roaming down my body and lingering on my bare legs. I immediately blush bright red, my body burning up intensely. A shiver runs down my spine and I pretend to ignore him, turning my back on him as I get a glass of water. I hide behind my hair as I run the tap for a while, the sound filling the silence between us.
“And she wonders why I call her hermosa,” he grumbles under his breath. A small smile flickers across my face and even though my back is turned, I hear him but don’t comment on it. With my glass in hand, I whirl around, resting against the kitchen side.
“I want to apologise, for yesterday.” I mumble, feeling embarrassed. Alex takes a bite of his apple, his eyes trained on my face. He stands up from his seat and leans back against the wall before throwing the core of the apple. It lands directly in the bin on the opposite side of the kitchen.
“Wow, I’m impressed.” I smile briefly.
“You don’t need to apologise for last night. Can I ask you something?”
I blink several times, slightly taken aback but I slowly nod, bracing myself for his question.
“Why are you sad?” Alex suddenly asks me, his voice low. He breaks eye contact with me for a second, his eyes dropping to the floor before flickering up again to meet mine.
Leaning against the wall, shirtless, in denim jeans with messy hair and intense eyes, he looks too good to be true. I shake my head, feeling guilty for lying to him.
“I’m not sad.”
“Yes you are, I see it in your eyes. In the way you move, you’re unhappy. Triste.”
“I’m getting over a break up Alex,” I murmur, glancing at the shiny black floors of the kitchen.
“It’s not just that, is it?”
I snap my head up to his eyes, a frown on my face. I can feel my breathing begin to quicken up as my defensive walls start building up around me. My fists clench and unclench by my sides and I shake my head.
“It’s just the break up, nothing else.” I lie but my voice wobbles, threatening to break at any moment. I close my eyes and breathe deeply, pushing the thoughts to the back of my head.
Thoughts of Justin, my dead mother, my father…
There it is again, the pain inside my chest. The unbearable feeling of someone grabbing my lungs, squeezing the life out of them. I can’t stop it, I can’t stop the pain from flashing across my face, twisting my features up as I struggle to not break down.
“Hablame, por favor.” Alex whispers, standing in front of me. I shake my head, squeezing my eyes shut tightly as I strug-gle to breathe. A single tear escapes my eye and I lean back against the kitchen furniture, needing something to steady my-self against.
“Estoy asustada Alex,” I reply, my words barely a whisper. My mothers face flashes through my mind and I whimper, wanting to reach out and touch her. Instead I feel his hand slip into mine, intertwining our fingers together.
“Don’t be scared, I’m right here.” He murmurs, resting his forehead against mine. I keep my eyes shut tightly because I’m afraid if I open them, I’ll break down. I don’t want Alex to see the broken little girl inside my eyes, I don’t want him to see how vulnerable and weak I really am.
“You’ve been learning Spanish?” He asks me quietly, his tone surprised and impressive. I smile at his question, feeling the salty tears line my lips.
“I was fluent in Spanish as a child. My mother taught me,” I explain, ignoring the stabs of pain at my heart. I suck in a deep breath and squeeze his hand, feeling his warmth heat me up.
“I tried to forget everything about my mother when she died, including Spanish. I thought it would be easier that way. She taught me German too but I struggle with that language. Spanish was always my favourite. . . ” I venture off, remembering all the good memories. Alex remains silent, his hand firmly wrapped in mine as I continue.
“It’s always good to be educated Ariana, that’s what she would say to me. She was the most intelligent person I knew. When she died, I stopped learning Spanish, I couldn’t do it anymore. Slowly over the years, I began to forget it and pushed it to the back of my mind. I locked it away with all the other good memories because the bad ones seem to overtake them.” I say quietly, struggling to form my words together. The tight hold on my lungs begin to loosen and I breathe normally.
“When I met you, you bring all those memories back Alex. Not just the spanish. . . it’s your eyes, your smile. I see the sun inside your eyes Alex. The sun reminds me of my mother. When I realised I barely understood what you were saying to me, it felt like I let my mother down. So for the past few days, I’ve locked myself in my room, studying Spanish again. I’ve forgotten how much I love it and I want to make her proud . . . I want to make you proud.” I reveal, finally gaining the confidence to open my eyes.
I breathe in a sharp intake of oxygen as I stare up into the most beautiful set of eyes. His expression is one of surprise and adoration, the brown in his eyes melting my insides completely. There it is again, the sun.
When he opens his mouth to speak, it takes all the strength I have not to lose the ability to breathe.
“Fuck hermosa, I knew you were special.”
And then, he kisses me.