Chapter 25

Avril yawned for the fifth time. They were in the middle of their second movie. Thomas smiled to himself, his eyes never leaving the TV screen, but his every fiber sensitive to her movements. He was careful to keep his arms above the blanket that they both shared. He couldn't trust himself not to be tempted to feel her smooth skin.

"Tired?" He smirked.

"No." She cleared her throat defiantly, sitting up straighter, her arms crossed. Her leg grazing past his from the movement. He inhaled sharply and attempted to ignore the heat rising in his.

He gave her ten minutes tops. He looked at his watch to time his accuracy. Sure enough her stubbornness wore out, her eyes closing, head lying back eight minutes in.
He smirked unbelievingly as he checked his watch. "You never let me win do you." He shook his head as he turned off the television and placed the controller down.

As he was getting up, her head slid down onto his shoulder. His body stilled. He turned to notice her lips so close...she shifted and cuddled closer to him. Before he had considered his actions he shifted so that he could guide her into his arms. Her head and shoulders resting comfortably across his chest. He gathered the blanket over them, laid his head back, and closed his eyes.
*********
Avril's eyes eased open naturally. She blinked a few times for her surroundings to come into focus. She noted that she woke up on the sofa. Damn! She must have fallen asleep last night. The memory of watching movies with Thomas flooding her memory.

"Good morning." a low voice grasped her attention. She gazed to see Thomas occupying the space between the door frame. A mug in his hand.

"Good morning." she echoed, stretching her arms above her. She loved looking at him, if there was nothing else she could admit to herself, she could admit that the sight of him in the morning put her in a good mood.

"I can't believe I fell asleep on my break." She scoffed. " Sorry, I probably ruined the movie for you and sent you to bed earlier than expected." She looked at him genuinely. She'd been waiting all night for something to happen. For him to say something to her, or maybe for them to have a repeat of their almost kiss. But she waited in vain. Perhaps it really was a mistake the first time.

"It wasn't so bad." He raised the cup to his lips.

"I can't believe I am saying this, but that was the best sleep I had in a while," Avril commented as she sat up. " I should sleep here more often." She seriously considered it. She woke up refreshed and in a good mood, two things that never happened to her in the morning.

"You're so quiet." Avril turned her attention to Thomas who briefly gazed at her before delving back into his mug. She felt unnerved at his silence and that encouraged her to continue filling the space.

"Didn't you have a good sleep? Or did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" She teased.

"Actually my neck feels like crap." He twisted his neck from side to side in a demonstration, his face contorting in discomfort.

"Maybe you should have slept on the sofa instead." She responded innocently.
Thomas didn't respond, faintly registering that she told him that she had to get started on work. She left the room and Thomas went over to the sofa and lowered himself. Last night screwed him more than he thought. He yawned.
He remembered when he woke up that morning. Trish had entered into the living room, her footsteps, and expression of utter surprise alerting him. He had instantly placed his index finger over this lips to signal she remained quiet. He didn't want her to drive Avril out of her slumber. Nor did he want to deal with the situation if Avril woke up in his arms to find both him and Trish staring.

He had lifted her slightly and slid out from the sofa, resting her gently down.
He met Trish in the kitchen. She stared at him. "She fell asleep while we were watching a movie." He explained, her attention making him uneasy.

"Ahhh." Trish responded, clearly dumbfounded.

"It's nothing...perverse. I just didn't have the heart to wake her up." He slid his hands down onto the counter and slouched onto it. His forehead resting on the counter. His body ached.

"Will this end up being awkward? The two of you avoided each other after dinner the other night." Trish reminded him of their strange behavior. They couldn't decide whether they liked or hated each other's company.
Thomas was silent. He straightened and looked at Trish.

"She won't think of it as a big deal. Not like she is the only woman I let sleep in the same place as me...with me," he responded with a lie.

"As long as she doesn't feel awkward," Trish emphasized. She realized that the two of them were in a game of cat and mouse. She wondered how long it would take them to make a decision or a simple move.

"Except...she is the only woman who ever slept next to me," Thomas said to himself. Avril would definitely not think it was a special or strange circumstance for Thomas, given the fact that he constantly made it aware of his level of experience. However, he never once slept next to a woman for solely her comfort at the expense of his own.

Trish raised her brows. She didn't quite understand Thomas, but before she could have questioned him further, he broke the silence. "If she doesn't remember falling asleep on me, I won't remind her. It would be less awkward for both of us."
Trish nodded, knowing better than to tell Thomas how he should handle a situation. She wouldn't waste her breath.

***********
Thomas ran his fingers through his hair...he felt a little disturbed at how intimate last night felt. He quickly shook off the feeling, not digging into it any deeper.
He instantly set to work. There were a couple of jobs that needed his special attention. He had emailed his father requesting permission to deal with one of them personally last night. He fired up his laptop and prayed for affirmation, at least that would get his mind off of unwanted thoughts.
He smiled at the confirmation email and immediately began putting things into motion. His calls and preparations took most of the day.
He leaned back and stretched his muscles, cringing at the tension gripping his neck. He checked his watch and decided to get a snack he hadn't even realized the rumbling vibration of his stomach.

******
Avril prayed to just be done with this course, just one more question and she could move on. She still had readings and notes to make. The semester seemed to be going by faster than she expected. It almost felt impossible to get all of it done in time and, in addition, to study effectively. And Avril needed a lot of time to study for her upcoming exams, she would have to leave sufficient time to at least review everything twice. It took her brain a while to absorb information. She was envious of those brilliant people who learned quickly, she wasn't that fortunate, her memory was not that good.
The knock at her door startled her. She called for whoever it was to come in.

"I brought you a sandwich." Thomas walked in and placed the tray on her desk.
Avril was stunned for a second, not knowing what to say.

"Your welcome." He smiled as he sat on the edge of her bed.

"I am going on a business trip for about two or three days, so I thought I'd let you know."

"When are you leaving?" She tried to hide her disappointment. She silently begged herself to deal with her attachment issues.

"Tonight." When Avril did nothing but shook her head in agreement, he continued, " well I won't keep you back any longer from your responsibilities. Trish will stay with you until I get back" with these words he left.
Avril couldn't help the images of last night. She didn't want to fall asleep, she wanted to enjoy the care free company, but yet she wasn't surprised when she realized she had indeed fallen asleep.
The one thing she hadn't accounted for was falling asleep in Thomas' arms. She had woken up sometime during the night to find herself wrapped up in his arms while he slept. Her first reaction resulted in her heart racing so fast that she thought the vein at her temple would explode but then she did something that she felt guilty for. She cuddled back into him and fell asleep.

She didn't dare mention to Thomas that she knew about it, but then again he made no move to tell her and she was happy for it. It would be less awkward especially since she didn't think she could stop herself from blushing if he ever mentioned it and she didn't want him to shy away from her thinking she had feelings for him.
Because, no matter what her body or heart may think, her brain knew fully well that the heart breaker, Thomas Lynne would never be satisfied by her. She'd be playing a rigged game