Passionate Exchange

Chapter Fifty-One

I wrack my mind for an answer to his question. Why would he need to know where my room is? It's a justified question to ask. He doesn't need to know where I'm going to be sleeping for the next few nights. Why would he? We'll be spending the day downstairs and then he'll be sleeping there with Penny. It's not like he's going to be coming to my room...

Archer stands up to his full height. I have to tilt my head to meet his gaze. "Is this your way of inviting me here in the night?" Amusement dances in his rich brown eyes as a smirk settles on his face.

My heart jumps out of my chest as a pink flush crawls up my neck, settling on my cheeks. It does sound like that, doesn't it? Am I inviting him here? It would be risky and probably not a good idea. I wouldn't mind him sneaking into my room though. Of course, I would never admit that to him.

"I thought I'd tell you just in case you needed anything." I try to play it off, shrugging to make my lie more believable. His eyes pour into mine for a beat too long causing me to shift on my bed. My hands find their way into my sleeves.

"I need a lot of things," he grins, stepping closer to me. I gulp as he leans down. His lips brush across mine causing my heart to race. It pounds in my ears so loud that I'm sure he can hear it too. He doesn't kiss me though and it takes all my willpower to not close the distance.

"I'll be sure to come if I need anything you can help me with." He whispers, his smirk growing. My throat instantly dries.

And then, as if nothing happened, he walks away. He starts looking at the light grey walls again. How does he do that? I need time to recover from his attack. I can't go back to normal after that. My eyes widen as I gulp in as much air as possible. His presence alone drives me crazy.

"So, this is your room. It's not what I was expecting." He reveals plainly. His words do nothing to make me feel better. Does he have to be so serious all the time? Can he not simply tell me everything at once instead of making me wait.

Once my breathing has returned to a somewhat normal pace, I respond. "What were you expecting?"

His gaze moves to mine before returning to the walls. That's enough to send my heart into overdrive before I've even managed to fully recover from the last time. "Maybe more posters."

"I had posters before, a lot of them. They were the covers of movies that Leonardo DiCaprio had been in." I admit and my cheeks heat up again.

"Of course, they were."

"Now all I've got is this," I take the board of photographs off of the wall and lay it on my lap. He sits next to me to get a better look at it. I try to focus on the photographs rather than his hot breath fanning across my skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

"Is this your mum?" He points to her.

I nod. That's my mum, Hayley. I always looked up to her, I still do. She was so beautiful. When she would pick me up from school, I used to walk out of there thinking that all the other parents were jealous of her beauty. Her chocolate brown hair was never styled but always looked perfect. It was soft to the touch. Whenever she would hug me, I would be enveloped by the scent of her coconut shampoo.

Her eyes were hazel and kind looking. People say that the eyes are windows to your soul which was definitely true for her. You could always see the happiness dancing around in them, even when she was having a bad day. She was the happiest woman I knew.

I always loved her clothes too. She never really progressed from the nineties when it came to fashion. She wore a lot of denim and plaid shirts. I have some of her shirts hanging in my closet still. I wear them when I want to remind myself of her. I wish I had even half of the confidence that she had, wearing the plaid shirts convinces me that I do for a while.