Tongue Tied

The boys' night out was short. Nathan wasn't feeling it as much as the rest of them. He left earlier, getting back to his room just after midnight. He opened the door quietly. He saw Alex asleep in the bed, so he tried to be even quieter. He slowly changed out of his clothing into some sweatpants . He looked at her, noticing her bare back and her bare leg draped over the blanket. She was naked. He let out a growl. He'd have to be a good guy and wake her up.

"Hey, Al," He whispered, shaking her.

She shot up. The blanket fell, leaving her bare body in view. She furrowed her brow at Nathan before she looked down. She rolled her eyes, standing up. She walked completely naked to her suitcase where she pulled out a pair of shorts and one of Nathan's old shirts. He watched her the entire time. No way he was missing that view. She caught him and her eyes traveled down. She laughed.

"Been a while for ya, huh?" She teased.

He cocked a brow before he looked down. His body had betrayed him and he was showing how excited he was to see her nude. She took that into account. While Nathan was gone, she did some thinking. She missed this. The last two days of this fake relationship had done nothing but have her miss their relationship. She'd put up such a front when she came to Colorado. She had this wall in front of her and she didn't want anyone to get over it. Now? She didn't want the wall up anymore.

She walked towards him. She walked slowly. She stopped in front of him, looking up. He just stared down at her. Her hands trailed up his torso to his neck. She pushed onto her tip toes and brought her lips to his. He kissed back. His hands held onto her bare waist. They continued to kiss before Alex pulled away. She kissed down his neck, her hands sliding into his pants. He groaned, grabbing her wrists and pulling her hands away. She looked up at him in confusion.

"Why are you doing this to me?" He sighed.

"I,"

"You don't get to do this, Alex. You were angry with me three hours ago and now you're," He took a deep breath. "All you've done is remind me how shitty I was, you never gave me a chance to show I was better and I don't know if you deserve to."

"But I think I do want to give you the chance now." She explained. "I look at you, and I just love you, and it terrifies me. It terrifies me what I would do for you. You make me forget about how fucked up my life is."

He frowned at the tears building in her eyes. "Six months ago, you were trying to convince me to say without actually asking. But I didn't. If I would've, maybe things would've been different between us. I miss us and all the good talks we've had but I just don't know anymore. I'm sorry."

She nodded, looking down. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She held onto his torso, holding him tight. He kissed the top of her head and left his lips there. He pulled away. He went through his suitcase for a shirt. He couldn't stay here tonight. He slid on a black t-shirt and turned to her. She was putting on the shirt and underwear she had pulled out earlier. She looked to him, a pout on her lips.

"I'm gonna go stay with one of the guys for the night." He told her. She nodded. "Call me if you need anything."

She nodded again. Nathan nodded his head once and walked out. He walked to Mack and Darcy's room. They were closest to his. Darcy opened the door and furrowed his brows. Nathan exhaled and walked in. Darcy closed the door and followed. Mack stared at him from his bed. Nathan dropped onto the end of Mack's bed. Mack sat up.

"Dude, what's wrong?" Darcy asked.

"Alex and I argued about being together and she said she didn't want to. So I just got back and she basically tried to fuck me and then she broke down and told me she wanted me again. I don't get it." Nathan growled.

"She loves you." Mack rolled his eyes.

"I got that." Nathan huffed. "I'm just sick of games."

"Well, you have to fly home with her tomorrow so I guess you'll figure it out then." Mack shrugged.

Nathan got to share a twin with Mack for the night. A twin bed with two six foot, 200 pound hockey players in it. It resulted in them spooning. Mack was the big spoon. Nathan wasn't sleeping, he was on his phone. Alex was liking photos on Instagram and for some reason, he wanted a text from her. As if she read his mind, he got a text from her. She just apologized for her outburst. He told her it was okay and to get some sleep for tomorrow.

The morning came too quickly. Nathan woke early and went back to his room. Their flight was an earlier one. Alex was up when he walked in. She was sitting on the bed, fully dressed with her suitcase on the bed. Nathan saw his things were all together and his suitcase was neat. She looked up from her phone and he saw the bags under her eyes. She didn't sleep a bit last night. She took a deep breath. He smiled at her, grabbing a change of clothes and his toiletries.

There wasn't a word said between them. He carried her suitcase for her to Zach's car. He sat in the front while she was in the back with Jo. The other guys were driving to the airport in their own cars. Everyone had to head out today. They got to the airport and everyone stood around each other. They chatted while Alex stood on her phone. Stefan frowned and pulled her into a hug. She jumped but hugged him back.

"Don't be a stranger, eh?" He said as he held her.

"I'll try not to be." She smiled.

One by one, their flights were called. They hugged and said their goodbyes. Alex and Nathan's flight was called and off they were. Silence walking to their gate. The flight was just as quiet. The waiting in the airport was silent as well. And the ride home had nothing but music filling the silence. He dropped her off at her dorm. She thanked him and climbed out. He raced out of the car to grab her suitcase. She sighed when he beat her to the trunk. He carried her suitcase to her dorm and up to her room. She unlocked the door and it was empty.

"Thanks." She said again, grabbing the suitcase from him.

"Text me tomorrow, please. I want to talk more." He begged.

She nodded. He smiled at her before leaving. He walked out to his car and climbed in. He let out a long breath before driving home.

Notes