Episode 16: Sleepwalking

Episode 16: Sleepwalking

Leslie felt warm.

It was a pleasant kind of sensation.

One that couldn't be conjured up by her own body heat and it made her confused.

It felt like she was wrapped up in her own personal and safe cocoon.

Her lips twitched upwards at the comfort it brought her.

It had taken her forever to be consumed by sleep because she had been too busy entertaining her foolish thoughts about Christopher.

When she finally surrendered to the state of unconsciousness, it was a relief for her, but she was also bitter about not being able to keep the man company.

As she rolled onto her side, Leslie felt a deep breath fan against her face when she settled and couldn't help how relatively confused she was by it.

What in the...

Her eyes snapped open to see a form resting beside her.

It was Christopher.

The man was lying there, like a baby, holding her tight and was sound asleep.

When he cuddled up further into her, she felt her jaw drop in disbelief.

For the first time, she actually felt terrified by having this skin-to-skin interaction with him.

The woman knew very well how he had his boundaries. She couldn't believe that her stupid legs had—somehow—found themselves into his room in the middle of the night.

Just how much more imposing can you be Leslie Quinn? She scolded herself.

However, to her surprise, when her eyes slid across the room, it was a familiar one.

It was her room.

Not his.

At this point, she was so wide awake it was crazy to think she had been in slumber less than five minutes ago.

Leslie thought this was her goal. A short-term one when it came to a man like Christopher. To get physically closer to him. But she didn't dare imagine his reaction when he found out she had done it in this way. Her lungs refused to breathe and her heart did not beat. Not with his hands on her, his body being so close it had her focusing solely on remembering how to breathe.

But wait.

If this was her room, did that mean she wasn't the one that broke the nonverbal rules?

He was in her room.

Did that mean he sneaked in out of his own free will?

She couldn't help the way her eyes tore open at the realization that he had.

This felt like a big deal. It was equally shocking as it was terrifying. Her breathing commenced and it was in such a heavy breath—a desperate one for survival—that he stirred in his slumber. Her form froze as his face came closer to hers.

He had willingly come to her room in the middle of the night...and slept beside her? Christopher had? It was such a ridiculous conclusion that she ran over the other possibilities.

Maybe he had...sleepwalked?

That seemed more practical.

Him being in such an unconscious state and doing something so unfitting was a better assumption.

Leslie glanced down at him, noticing his slight sleep apnea and concluded maybe he was one of the many adults who had troubles growing out of such a habit.

Looking at him had her toes curling and even though they had been on common grounds of having a relationship she still felt awkward. Especially when he was unaware of what was going on. It felt like she was taking advantage of him.

The time you kissed him when he was sick and asleep says otherwise, her subconscious reminded her mockingly and she couldn't help but squeeze her eyes shut in embarrassment.

Was this going to be a remake of that scene? She couldn't help but think fearfully when he started moving again.

But this time when his long lashes slowly lifted themselves and he stared deep into her anxious eyes, his were relaxed ones.

She held her breath and braced herself for his rage.

"I didn't..."

Her explanation faded while looking into those blue eyes.

Christopher, who was still gazing at her in a somnolent state, licked his lips and then in the most needy manner drew her body back to his.

Her sharp inhale filled the air.

The man didn't seem bothered by it and cuddled closer to her, inhaling her scent like it was a naturally addictive pheromone.

Sleep in my arms, sleep in my protective and loving arms, it was as if he was telling her this without actually saying anything at all.

Leslie could fight it for only so long.

She rested her head against his chest with a sigh.

"Just remember that I tried to tell you but you wouldn't listen."

It was a feeble attempt of justifying her lack of enlightening him of what was going on. He probably thought this was a dream. If he did, did that mean he actually longed for these moments with her? Then why was he always so shy and reclusive in reality?

Her brain hurt trying to understand everything about this man.

Soon enough, she was infected by Christopher's slow rise and fall of his chest which pulled her to sleep unknowingly.

Late at night, the man on the bed opened his eyes lazily and rubbed at them.

But even after just waking up, his pupils were still working at a high level of perception. Even in the dark he could see something that shouldn't have been there.

He squinted a little to recognize a person's figure.

Christopher thought it was a dream.

Yes, it must have been.

There was no way he could be this casually physical with someone without there being some kind of consequence.

Until...he suddenly felt something unusually soft in his embrace and his fierce expression relaxed and he lowered his head to look.

Under the cold glow of the moonlight, he saw a girl snuggling in his arms like a little kitten, sleeping soundly.

For a moment, his empty chest was suddenly filled and his suspended heart returned to his body.

The man's arms tightened at Leslie's face.

She really had sneaked into his room, hadn't she?

He felt astounded by the level of boldness she possessed and let out a chuckle of disbelief.

His lips sealed quickly afterwards feeling her moan in disapproval at the outward interruption to her sleep. Since he was afraid he'd wake the girl in his arms, he quickly relaxed.

It took a lot out of him, being someone who wasn't used to this kind of body to body contact, but for Leslie's sake he managed to do it.

Her soft lips and peaceful expression played a huge part in that.

His fingers twitched by his side to touch her and he swallowed uncomfortably.

He stared at the person in his embrace with a complex look on his face.

Ever since he had met her, his actions had been harder and harder to control.

He felt a strange connection to her since the moment they had met.

Strong emotions he couldn't describe came every time he saw her and it made him always want to engage in a conversation with her.

Now, here he was after being drawn by every single aspect of her, laying with her in his arms.

Although a part of him liked the change, no longer having books and the internet as his main company, the intoxicating sweetness of her was too unreal, causing him to feel uneasy.

It made him feel like all of this was just his mind's doing. That he hadn't met the daring and beautiful woman who was Leslie Quinn. She hadn't stormed into his mundane life and flipped it upside down. This occurrence was only an illusion caused by his deepest and darkest desires.

After all, he had always wanted someone patient enough to put up with him and his shortcomings.

Not every woman could endure his dislike for being touched, much less his inability to show and verbalize his feelings. Feelings that he himself couldn't make sense of or decipher the category in which they fell into.

Growing up, he was always told he had less empathy than the regular person. It didn't make him on the level of a sociopath, just that certain topics were hard for him to relate to much less show understanding for. His family doctor had advised his parents to have him socialize more to avoid any possibilities of him being restrained from operating like a "normal" child. Too bad that was practically impossible with the things they made him engage in which gave him little to no spare time.

He closed his eyes, trying to shake away the painful reminders of his past.

Pain.

If he didn't feel anything, he certainly felt that in high degrees.

It was rare and commonly linked to his memories but he couldn't deny the impact it had on him.

Though these days he was discovering a new emotion.

Thanks to this outgoing woman, he was being introduced to a recently developed heart-racing, breathtaking feeling.

He didn't know what to classify it as but he had grown brave enough to acknowledge that it made him want to keep her by his side.

Christopher didn't want to lose out on Leslie because of his stubbornness.

He knew she brought him some source of comfort as well as happiness.

It came in such effortlessly disastrous waves.

It made him want to act irrationally with her all the time and that was dangerous.

He was never known to be that type of person and doing things like that made him fear for what he was capable of when he made his emotions override his common sense.

Rationality meant a lot to him but she always challenged his level-headed nature.

But...

He liked that.

Christopher was so consumed by the charm of her impulsiveness and her confidence that it drove him insane.

His exterior would be showing a calm and collected response but inside there a fire burning.

Nervously, his hand came up and brushed away the strand of hair that was caught between her lips and his fingers couldn't help but linger.

No matter where he looked, she was beautiful.

Did he even deserve to have someone like her?

He knew he didn't but right now he was going to be selfish for the first time in a long time and have her stay.

He was going to let her stay for as long as she wanted to.

***

A/N:

Okay, but can we take a second to talk about how profoundly Christopher thinks about Leslie??? 🥺

That should be me...*cue the chain lyrics comments*

Haha, anyway guys don't forget to vote & share because it helps in a story being more discovered.

Stay safe! x

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insta: @writtenbyzan_]