Silence (Silence #1)

At one point, Jasper thought she was doing it for attention, but that wasn’t like her at all. I wanted to help her so badly. I wanted to make it better so she could talk. I wanted to hear her say my name and laugh again. Would she still sound similar? I sighed and kissed the top of her head, hoping that one day she would trust me enough to let me help her.

It was almost six in the morning, and I needed to sneak back to my room soon, but I was too comfortable, even with her sprawled out on my chest. I doubted anyone would be up at this time, but I couldn’t risk getting caught and not being able to sleep in her bed again. Waking up next to her was amazing and I only had five more days to do it.

After another ten minutes of just staring at her like a crazy stalker, I gently rolled her over and got out of bed. She sighed deeply as I moved her and settled back into the pillow. Stop being a creep and leave! Throwing on my clothes, I took one last look at her and left.

Last night was incredible, without a doubt the best night of my life. I’d had a couple girlfriends before, but nothing serious; it didn’t last long with either of them. Every time I got close to a girl, I would pull back, always comparing them to Oakley. Although there was nothing wrong with them, they were not her. Now I was so glad that I never had sex with them. Oakley being my first meant so much more than it would have with one of my exes.

I got back to my room and headed for the shower. There was no way I could fall back to sleep now so I might as well just get up properly. As I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I froze. Damn it, should I have left a note for her? She would wake up alone. That was what had been happening the whole time, but it was different now. Idiot! Glancing at the ceramic clock on the wall, I saw that it was now six-forty-five. Too late to sneak back. If you hurry up, she might still be asleep when you go back.

She set her alarm for seven-thirty, so I had to be quick. Rushing around, I had a shower and clumsily got dressed. I was in such a rush I kept stumbling around and shoved my leg through the wrong hole in my shorts. Just calm down, I demanded from myself. I was worse than a pre-teen at a boy band concert!

With just minutes to spare, I was ready. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my phone and wallet and headed to her room. The problem I had now was that her door was locked, and I didn’t have a key. Whatever happened, she would wake up the morning after losing her virginity and be alone. Nice one, Cole.

Shaking my head at myself, I knocked on the wooden door and waited. As the seconds crept by, I thought a thousand different things. ‘She regrets last night so she’s ignoring you. She’s mad because you left her. You were crap in the sack and put her off men for life!’

The door swung open, and she smiled shyly.

“Hi,” I said, nerves bubbling up so rapidly I felt like a volcano ready to burst. What now? She moved aside for me to come in. I followed her into the room and sat on the bed. I loved that bed. Say something. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Shit, this was awkward. It shouldn’t be awkward! Seriously say something!

Gulping, I searched for the right words, not knowing what they even were. “Are you okay? You’re not sore or anything?” Biting her lip, she shook her head. “Sure? I mean your first time is meant to hurt, and if you’re sore we can get you something,” I rambled like an idiot.

Oakley shook her head and stood up, busying herself by getting her bag ready.

“Okay. Good.” I frowned. She rarely admitted when she was ill or in pain. I just wanted to look after her though.

When she had finished shoving her camera in her bag, I got up and wrapped my arms around her.

“I love you,” I whispered, running my hands through her soft hair. She stroked my cheek and my heart felt like it had literally stopped beating. Was I going to feel like I was going to explode every time she touched me now?

Reaching up, she pressed her lips against mine. I kissed her back, pulling her tight against my body. I hated that we had to meet our parents for breakfast; I just wanted to take her back to bed for the rest of the day.

Pulling away to catch my breath, I rubbed my nose against hers.

“You ready?” I asked. Her breath seemed to catch in her throat, and it made me feel a thousand feet tall that I had that effect on her. She nodded slowly, not taking her eyes off mine for a second. I kissed her quickly and then we left for the buffet restaurant.

We got into the lift, and she smiled apologetically, pulling her hand out of mine just before we got to the ground floor. Right, so no one saw us together.

“It’s okay,” I assured her. “I want to be able to spend time alone with you too. We can tell everyone we’re together when we get back, right?”

She nodded eagerly, and practically skipped out of the lift as the door opened. Thank God, she wanted to tell them too. I was a little worried that she would want to keep it secret, and I just wanted to tell everyone.