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Carlos liked fiddling with his many different projects. It kept his mind occupied without drifting off – that much – to the past. It meant that he didn’t get stuck on the same negative thoughts and memories that his mind liked to keep bringing back up.
He also liked working on things when he was bored, like now. Jane was meant to meet him in his dorm twenty minutes ago. Not that he was angry, but he was worried that she had maybe forgotten. Or was too busy. Or didn’t want to come at all. His mind always seemed to scream those negative thoughts at him; no matter how unrealistic they seemed.
They had been dating for around two months now. It had been great; they spent every day together. He was the happiest he’d been in a long time. But as soon as there was - yet another - royal party thing coming up, Jane was asked to help plan the whole thing, (alongside Audrey), since she’d done a great job last time.
She had been rushing around and permanently with a phone to her ear ever since. She barely had time for his company recently; even though she tried to spend every free minute she had with him.
He decided that he would go look for her. There was no point in waiting around any longer, something had obviously happened or gotten in the way of (what was meant to be) their time.
As he threw open the door, who else but Jane would be standing right there? Her hand was in the air, like she was just about to knock.
“Oh, hey Jane!” He automatically smiled at the sight of her. “I was about to come look for you.”
“Hey, sorry I got held up; Audrey can really talk.” She said, sounding unusually tired.
His smile wavered a bit as he noticed a tablet in her hands; a sure sign she was still in the middle of planning and organising for this party.
“So, are we still good to study?” He asked eagerly.
By the way her eyes immediately dropped from his, he didn’t like his chances.
“Um, well, I was coming over to tell you that I have this meeting with Audrey and-”
“But you said we would definitely hang out today.” He couldn’t hide the disappointment in his voice.
“I know.” She said sheepishly. “But this just popped up and I need to be there.”
Of course, he should have known.
“Just say you’re sick or something.” He suggested, not meaning for that bit of irritation to seep into his voice, he just wanted to spend time with her. “I really miss you.”
“I know.” She smiled sadly. “I do too… Miss you, I mean. But I saw Audrey like a minute ago. She’ll roast me if I don’t turn up. I swear I won’t be busy tomorrow, we can-”
“You said that yesterday.” He pointed out. “And the day before.”
She sighed.
“You’re always busy.” He added quietly.
There was an awkward silence that soon followed. She wouldn’t look at him, instead with her gaze directed everywhere else. She looked so guilty and sad. He just wanted to wrap his arms around her until she was her happy self again. He didn’t mean to make her feel bad. He was just so excited to hang out with her today, that it was nearly impossible to hide his disappointment.
Carlos suddenly got an idea.
Maybe if he could get her thoughts elsewhere for a bit…
“What about just… spend five minutes with me?”
She sighed again. “I-I can’t. I’m sorry, I’ll see you later OK?”
She went to walk away, but Carlos caught her arm.
“Jane, come on.” Times like these called for drastic measures; he needed to use the puppy dog eyes. “Just five minutes, that’s all I ask.”
She looked up at him, realised what he was doing, and frowned. “Don’t you dare.”
He tilted his head, pouted his lips and batted his eyelashes. She hated when he did this, it worked every time. He was too damn cute for his own good (and hers obviously.) There were a few seconds of complete silence, with her silently glaring at him. He knew she was trying to resist; he could almost see the battle she was having inside her head. Eventually she groaned in defeat and walked past him, right into his room.
“Yes!” He whispered to himself.
He closed the door and when he turned to face her, he noticed she placed her tablet on his bed. He appreciated this gesture, as it meant she was going to give him her full attention. Which he needed for his upcoming plan. Her gaze landed on him and she crossed her arms over her chest, visibly annoyed.
“So?” She looked at him expectantly. “What can we do with five minutes?”
“Plenty.” He answered with a wink.
He was definitely planning to kiss her. They hadn’t had a proper moment alone in days. All the teachers (especially Fairy God Mother, understandably so) were really weird about it. Whenever the pair managed to find a moment alone, any one of the teachers would pop up out of nowhere and remind them about the “Public Displays of Affection” rules. They both would blush, mumble a “sorry” and quickly take off.
It was really no surprise (to him at least) that you had kids “getting it on” in the locker and dorm rooms. The teachers could pretend that nothing was happening (ignorance is bliss!) but seriously, you can’t try and talk away feelings. It doesn’t work that way.
She raised an eyebrow, obviously not convinced. He realised she didn’t understand what he meant, but he wouldn’t keep her guessing for long.
He walked towards her until he was standing right before her. She looked up at him and he noticed a blush forming on her cheeks. The annoyance had subsided, he noticed, and was replaced with a softer expression. Curiosity maybe? She was so beautiful.
He took her hands in his and pulled her closer, so now they were toe to toe and only inches apart.
He could tell that now she got the idea.
Without wasting another second, he quickly closed the gap and connected their lips.
He could feel all the tension and stress rolling off her and he vowed to change that in the (few?) minutes they had left. See, for the most part, they both got completely lost in each other when they kissed. But Jane was usually the one who sobered the quickest.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, keeping her as close to him as possible. He noticed that she was stiff to the touch and almost completely still. Her lips were moving with his, yes, but other than that it was like kissing a statue.
Not that Carlos knew what that felt like.
Suddenly her hands were at his chest, gently moving him back.
She broke the kiss and he stared down at her, confused.
“Um, we should… not do that,” she stuttered, “because I have to…”
As she was talking, he took the opportunity to invade her personal space again and press kisses from her lower jaw and down her neck. Whatever words she planned to continue with, were quickly forgotten. She trailed off with a quick intake of breath; which he was pleased about. Exactly as he had planned, the kiss had gotten to her. He was feeling it too and he wanted more.
“Have to what?” He asked gently.
Her hands were at his upper arms now, clutching onto the material of his jacket. He knew she was trying to find the will to move him back, but by now, he knew her weak spots.
It made him happy that he was able to affect her in this way; that he could bring her pleasure from this. It was nice to know that he could return the favour, since she managed to affect his whole being with the simplest/ smallest touch.
When he noticed no answer to his question, he chuckled softly into her neck and rested his hands on her hips.
He was gonna try and stretch this out as long as possible. At some point she would snap out of it and run off to this meeting – maybe a little more flustered than before. But until then, he would try and keep her distracted.
After planting a small kiss to her collarbone, he lifted his head back up and rested his forehead against hers. Her eyes were closed, and she still hadn’t broken his hold of her yet. He could tell that even though she was run off her feet, stressed and tired, she wanted this too.
After a few seconds he connected their lips again and that hesitation and control she had before, was completely gone. She melted into him, circling her arms around his neck.
He was pleasantly surprised at how quickly her resistance had vanished. He had expected that she’d let him get away with stealing a kiss or two and then be on her way. Maybe she had missed him as much as he missed her.
Teenage hormones were a dangerous thing. Not even a minute ago he made sure to really think through everything he did to keep her in his company. Every touch, every kiss: pre-planned for the best result. But now… It was all action and absolutely no thought.
He gripped her waist and lead her backwards, although it may have looked more like awkward stumbling. They couldn’t pry themselves, even an inch, away from each other. Where were they headed? He didn’t know! A wall, a bed, a desk; he didn’t care. He wanted her closer. He needed her closer; and standing upright in the middle of the room just wouldn’t cut it.
They finally bumped into something which must have been his desk, going off the height. That’ll do. He didn’t even think about lifting her up onto it, he just did. She completely went along with it. He couldn’t even manage to string a thought together. There was nothing else but this moment; the outside world didn’t exist.
He leaned further into her with his hands at the small of her back, supporting her; and at the same time pulling her into him. She responded by wrapping her legs around his waist and, Jesus Christ, he couldn’t breathe. There was a heavy feeling (want, hunger, something more?) in his gut and it just kept growing. No matter how much he kissed her, it wasn’t enough.
He knew she felt it too; she was just as ravenous as he was. She kissed him back with the same urgency, which only fuelled his more. Her hands were everywhere.
He’d never wanted to be touched, romantically, until her. He didn’t know you could be touched lovingly and it wasn’t meant to hurt. It made his heart swell with happiness, like he’d never felt before. And she knew him. She knew he didn’t like rough and she never was. Her touch was always light, gentle, reassuring and loving; even when they got carried away. That’s why they fit so well together, neither one was rough and that’s how they both liked it.
Unfortunately, the dreaded moment came. In the back of his mind, he knew it was coming, but it still pissed him off anyway.
Jane’s phone started to ring.
“No.” He said against her lips and he could feel her smile.
She went to turn her head away from his, but he followed her movement and reconnected their lips once more. He was in total denial about this moment coming to an end.
She chuckled into the kiss but quickly pulled back and halted him with a hand on his chest.
“Hang on.” She murmured.
She retrieved her phone from her pocket and quickly answered it. “Audrey?”
He sighed in disappointment and hung his head.
He couldn’t hear what Audrey was saying, but he could imagine she wouldn’t be too impressed.
“No, I know, I just uh, forgot my phone. Got it now, obviously, so I’ll be there in a bit... Ok, bye.”
When he lifted his head to look at her, he expected annoyance and stress and rushing to be on her way. But no. She continued to sit on his desk, making no move to leave yet. Still being this close to her, parts of his body tingled from where her hands had been and his mind screamed “more more more!”
She stared at him for a few seconds with her signature gentle smile. That was his favourite. It was such a warm and easy going smile (everything Jane was) and it made his heart stop every single time. Not to mention her beautiful kind eyes. When she looked at him like this, he became completely entranced and lost track of everything else.
“I have to go.” She sighed.
She hadn’t seemed to notice he had been frozen in her gaze, but those words brought him back to reality.
He took a deep breath and nodded. “I know.”
He stepped back and away from her.
She got down from his desk and walked past him, retrieving her tablet from where she had placed it on his bed.
She looked back at him with a shy smile. “That was… something.”
He didn’t quite know how to take that at first. She didn’t seem angry or anything, but was the “something” good or bad? His people pleasing tendencies kicked in for potential damage control.
“I know, I’m sorry. I just get so-”
“I’m not.” She interrupted.
When he looked back at her, her smile grew wider. He was pleased he hadn’t crossed the line in any way… and at the possibility that maybe this could be continued some other time.
“Anyway,” she cut through the silence, “how do I look?”
She gestured to herself with an uneasy expression.
“Stunning.” Was the first word that came to his head, because duh.
She rolled her eyes playfully. “Do I look like I’ve just been making out with my boyfriend?”
He studied her for a few seconds. Her hair was messier than before (completely his fault), but not noticeable enough to be suspicious. Apart from that, she was beautiful, as she always was.
He shook his head with a smile. “As I said, stunning.”
She blushed, as she always seemed to do whenever he complimented her. He knew she didn’t think of herself that way, which saddened him. At least now she wouldn’t turn away, subtly shake her head and change the subject like she used to. She was making progress and he would never stop letting her know how beautiful she was to him. He would get her to believe it one day.
“Thank you.” She said gently. “As are you.”
Now it was his turn to slightly blush at the sincerity in her voice. She also never failed to remind him of how great she thought (knew) he was. He appreciated it. But it was so different to the harsh, cruel words he received growing up, that he automatically wanted to reject any and all pleasantries. They were both very alike in that way, but for entirely different reasons. He chuckled to try and shake off the discomfort he was suddenly feeling. Maybe, with time, he would accept compliments easier as well.
“Ok, I really do have to go.” She said and he could hear the stress creeping back into her voice.
She took a few steps towards him absentmindedly, but stopped short and gave him an accusatory look, narrowing her eyes slightly.
“I was going to kiss you goodbye, but are you gonna behave yourself?” She demanded light heartedly.
He wanted to joke that he absolutely could not make promises like that. Come on, she had to have known that by now. But he wasn’t sure if he would see her again today and she needed to go; like right now. It had been significantly longer than the five minutes she had agreed to, so he would try his hardest.
He nodded, maybe a little too eagerly. “Cross my heart.”
She smiled and continued towards him.
She cupped his face gently and pressed her lips to his.
Before he could kiss her back, she broke away and surprised him by wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him into a hug. He automatically wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Not that he had much experience, but she gave the greatest hugs. He always felt safe in her embrace, which was a rare feeling for him.
He kissed the top of her head. “Don’t wear yourself out, OK?”
“I’ll try.” She said, her voice slightly muffled by his chest.
She pulled away and gave his hand a small squeeze. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Bye.”
He had to focus on staying completely still and keeping himself glued to the spot. With everything within him protesting profusely, he watched her walk away. But before she disappeared from sight, she paused in the door frame.
“To be continued?” She threw a (flirty, teasing?) look back at him and he almost went slack-jawed.
She gave him a wink and continued down the hall before he could even wrap his head around what she said.
Damn, the things she did to him.
“Anytime.” He called out. “Preferably soon, maybe even after this meeting?”
He didn’t hear her respond, but he could’ve sworn he heard a chuckle.
Sometime soon, indeed, would be great.