69

~Darlina's POV~

When I woke up the next day, I once again found that Atlas was beside me in bed when I woke up, causing me to curiously glance at the clock to see what time it was. He and I had work today, and he was always up and out of bed before me on those days, so to see him still in bed was really rare.

To my surprise, it was past six thirty AM, which meant that he and I had to get to work in less than an hour—even less, actually, in his case.

I quickly sat up and gently shook him by his shoulder to wake him, causing a tired, husky groan of complaint to rumble from deep in his chest. "Atlas." I said softly, shaking his shoulder again when I noticed he seemed to just be falling right back asleep. "Hey, wake up. We have to get ready for work." I told him quietly. Though reluctantly, his eyes finally fluttered open and he sat up, running a tattooed hand through his messy hair. "What time is it?" He mumbled and glanced at the clock, eyes widening in surprise when he saw the time. "Fuck," He cursed, throwing the blankets off himself.

"Do you want to join me in the shower? We'll save a little bit of time." I suggested as I slid out of bed, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. He looked down at me as he raised to his full height. "I'm not sure if we'll save time if I've got you naked in front of me, but I'm also not going to say no to that offer. So let's go." He muttered, voice still husky from sleep. A soft giggle left me as I followed him into my bathroom and started up the shower after I lent him a spare toothbrush, joining him at the sink while the water warmed up.

Atlas glanced at me through the mirror and turned to face me, his muscles flexing when he leaned back against the sink. I placed a kiss on his chest and then began to brush my teeth as well, a comfortable silence between us.

Once we had finished brushing our teeth, I checked to see if the water was hot before we both got in. The tiny amount of space caused his chest to brush against mine and I flushed, glancing up at him as I stood beneath the water. "You must've been really tired last night." I stated as I slicked my wet hair back so the strands didn't get in my face. "I mean, you're always awake first thing in the morning." I hummed, grabbing my bottle of shampoo.

He just shrugged his shoulders, taking a step closer so that I backed up against the cold wall while he took his turn beneath the showerhead as I washed my hair. "Not really, actually." He responded, his voice coming out as a mutter.

"It just seems to be that I really sleep well when I'm beside you." He said, running his fingers through his wet hair to slick it back. I flushed at how handsome he looked doing so, my eyes trailing over his features as if I was in a trance. "You put me at ease, so I guess it's easier for me to sleep longer...although I haven't slept in that late in years." He told me.

His arm suddenly wound around my waist as I smiled up at him, pulling me into his chest. The water began pelting down on me as well, rinsing the shampoo from my hair and down the drain. My head tilted back further to look up at him as I grabbed the bottle of shampoo and squeezed some into my palm before I reached up, pushing onto my toes to be able to wash his hair. He smirked in amusement at the effort it took me to be able to reach his head, but then slightly ducked down to make it easier for me.

A grin formed on my lips as I managed to make his head covered with suds from the shampoo, giggling to myself when he stood straight and stared down at me with a flat look on his face. His hair was messily piled into a small mohawk on his head and it very quickly flopped down when he stood straight, shampoo suds sliding down his tattooed neck.

I giggled and rinsed off my hands before grabbing the conditioner, squeezing a bit into my palm before coating the ends of my hair with it. In the meantime, Atlas decided his time was best spent wandering his hands over the length of my body, pulling me firmly into his chest. I could feel his hardness pressing against my lower belly and flushed, leaning my head back to again rinse my hair out. My eyes searched his features for a moment before I spoke, barely going above a whisper.

"You called me yours last night." I mentioned, brushing my fingertips along his tattooed bicep. "Does that...I mean, does that mean we're actually dating now?" I asked, unable to help the hope that slid into my tone.

Atlas just stared at me, his smirk fading to nothing. There was no longer any trace of a smile on his face as he trailed his gaze over my features, likely picking up on my hopeful feelings. He could read me so easily. For a moment, I worried he'd say no, that he'd reject me again, especially as the silence stretched longer between us.

"Yes." He decided eventually, murmuring his response. "If you'll still have me as yours, too."

Giddy, a beaming smile broke across my lips despite how I tried to stifle it at first. "Really?" I asked excitedly, leaning into his chest more. Amusement flashed across his features and he glanced away, grabbing my strawberry scented body wash. "Really, smalls." He said in affirmation, the edge of his mouth tugging up into a barely there smile. "Though I'm surprised you were willing to wait for me." He added as an afterthought.

Slightly confused, I furrowed my brows. "Why wouldn't I?" I hummed. "I was the one who asked you. I was the one who wanted this first." I teased, a smile growing on my lips.

He cringed as if not liking to be reminded of that. "Well, it's not that I didn't want to date you or some shit." He responded defensively, frowning down at me. "I just didn't want to rush this. I wanted to be sure we weren't going too fast or that your feelings for me wouldn't change." He said.

I slid my fingers up his arm and into his wet hair on the nape of his neck, pushing up onto my toes while pulling him down into a kiss. His hand tightened around my hips and he groaned, growing harder against me. "Don't start this with me right now, smalls." He warned as he broke away from the kiss, sounding breathless. "You know I can't afford to be late to work...Though it'd be worth it if it meant I get to fuck you against this shower wall."

My cheeks flushed and I put some distance between our bodies, shaking my head at myself. "No, you're right." I agreed. "We should finish up quickly." I said, taking the body wash from him and popping open the lid. He shook his head slightly and we finished up quickly in the shower, one of my towels barely big enough to fit properly around his hips when he wrapped one around to cover the large length between his muscular thighs. I rolled my lips into my mouth to hide a smile as I pranced past him out of the bathroom, hearing him huff in annoyance at the fact that my towels were too small.

"How the hell do you use these?" Atlas grunted as he came walking out of the bathroom, just holding the towel up in front of himself. I giggled in amusement, digging through my dresser for a pair of undergarments. "They're not exactly meant for you. Not my fault you're weirdly tall." I teased.

Atlas scowled. "More like you're freakishly fuckin' small." He grumbled, approaching me from behind. I opened my mouth to respond, feeling defensive, but he gripped the front of my neck before I could and forced my head to tilt back. A surprised squeak left me as his lips came down on mine from above, causing my heart to flutter. He pulled away as quick as he had initiated the kiss, smacking my butt before he turned away. "I'm gonna go get dressed." He noted to me, already exiting my room, still holding the towel in front of himself. I gaped at his bare ass, a blush creeping up my neck and into my face. Somehow, his butt was even more shapely without anything covering it.

And I couldn't help but to pout as I turned back to my dresser, sulking over the fact that his butt was bigger than mine.