Ceri made a comment after she parted from their kiss. He hardly heard it again, from the feeling of her hand against his bare chest and her gaze on him. He pouted, face warm and red as he looked away.

"Not my fucking fault you were so..."

What?

He couldn't even finish the sentence without withering away into his pillows.

Elliott finally gained the courage to look back at her, still splayed against his chest and looking at him. She was so fucking cute. It made his chest ache.

"Ceri, I... um..."

Biting his lip, he breathed through his nose harshly before spitting it out, his eyes squeezed shut because he couldn't look at her if she said anything that was like denial.

"I think I like you. Like... more than a friend."

Some weight finally released off his shoulders, but there was tension from him as Eli waited for her response.

It was out in the open now. His "maybe" feelings for Ceri. Elliott's eyes were still squeezed shut, until he felt her lips peck the tip of his nose.

He opened one eye, slowly following the other to peer down at her. There she went again, calling him cute.

"I'm- I'm not cute!" he weakly protested.

Suddenly, it's like she was upon him. She was the huntress, and Eli was her prey. He looked at her with wide eyes as her hands remained firmly on his chest, looking directly into his eyes.

This had to be one of the most intimidating moments of his life.

"I... I, uh..."

Elliott's brain was short circuiting. With her precarious position on top of him, he felt the blood rushing to his head... perhaps elsewhere as well. He wasn't sure how to react or what to do. His hands were sweating, and as he reached to touch her sides, she could probably feel how warm they were through her shirt.

"A lot?"

Shit, shit, shit.

Ceri was making this all worse. She was above him now, straddling his hips, and he was sure that she knew his dirty secret now. He was sweating bullets, unable to form words because she was so close to him.

This had never happened to him before.

He had no idea what to do in scenarios like these, besides melt into his mattress.

She leaned down to kiss his lips between each word she spoke. Elliott's eyes were squeezed shut once again, his hands gripping the sheets tightly like he might float away if he let go.

"Wait. You do?"

He opened his eyes to look at her when she finished, looking confused.

Elliott made a face as she pinched his cheeks, pulling them. He was tempted to slap her hands away, to snap at her to quit it.

But also it was Ceri. He couldn't exactly bring himself to do that.

"Okay... so..."

He paused, looking at her with furrowed brows.

"What does that mean, then?"

When Ceri climbed off of him, there was a mixture of relief and disappointment.

Relief because he felt like he could actually breathe again. Disappointment because she had been so warm, so soft... it had awoken something in him that he didn't realize he had.

Elliott scooted to the side to allow her some room, crossing his hands over his chest. He tapped his sternum as he thought over what she said.

What did he want it to be?

Even he didn't know.

"I don't know. I've never had a relationship before. I don't even know if I want one. I just know I have these weird feelings. Does that make sense?"

Elliott glanced over to her.

"Is that weird?"

Well, he explained it to the best of his ability, and if she claimed it was weird, then it probably was. Elliott couldn't help that anymore than how he felt.

He was grateful when Ceri suggested he take time to think about it. He nodded, turning his head to look up at the ceiling that was provided in the sub's dormitory.

"I would like that, honestly. I don't want to rush into something and come to regret it, especially if it's going to fuck something up in the end."

Maybe that was why he was hesitant. He didn't want to mess up.

"I'm sure I won't take that much time..." Right?

Who knew.

But from Ceri's response, it almost sounded like she herself didn't know what she wanted.