·before i put another notch in my lipstick case·

[❀ Melíssa]

      Natalia puttered around nervously on the rooftop patio, anxiously watching for his car to slowly ascend the driveway. She’d made up her mind that it was going to happen; she wasn’t going to force it, or try to make it happen, but she wasn’t going to stop it if it did. Knowing that he might not be prepared, she’d already gone to the pharmacy that morning, and the green box now rested in the nightstand drawer, next to her bed.
      When the first of the motion-sensor floodlights softly illuminated the driveway, Natalia ran to the front edge of the patio and leaned slightly over the railing. Watching as the next lamp started to glow with life, guiding the way for vehicles to safely traverse the winding driveway and park around the side of the house, she drew in a slow breath as the Silver Cruze drove into the garage that she’d left open for him, and ran down the stairs to greet him.
      "Hey," he spoke softly, hauling his bag out of the backseat.
      "Hey yourself," she practically whispered, scenarios playing out in the back of her head as she studied the way the muscles in his back and arms moved in conjunction with each other as his shouldered his bag and closed the car door.
      "So we have this place to ourselves for the whole week, huh?" Tony, one of Natalia’s cousin’s step-brothers, slipped his hand into hers as they entered the house.
      "Yep. Parents are on the European tour so my grandmother is in New York with the kids," she took a breath. "Let me give you a tour." She led him through the separate living rooms, kitchen and dining rooms, the courtyard and the pool, before showing him up to her room on the raised level of the house.
      Tony let out a low whistle as Natalia slipped his bag from his shoulder and tossed it on the bed. "This is an amazing view!" he stood at the window, overlooking the Santa Monica Mountains. "You can get some great songwriting done here, I bet. Hmm… no curtains," he reached out to grab her hand and pulled her next to him. "Is that because you like people to be able to see what goes down in here?"
      "No one can see in here, silly," she looked out the window. "We’re too high up. And too far away from anything."
      "Wanna bet?" In one fluid motion, he’d turned her around and pressed her spine against the glass. Standing in front of her, he leaned closed, and whispered, "Think anyone would watch this?" and kissed her, entangling his fingers in her often unruly curls, and pressed himself against her.
      Sighing, she closed her eyes and returned the kiss, sliding her hands around his waist and holding him close. She spoke around his lips, "You’re just hoping the paparazzi is hiding in the bushes and will take pictures of you."
      "That would be kind of awesome," he laughed. "Would it be so bad?"
      "Yes! Oliver would kill you!"
      Allowing the thought to bounce around in his head, Tony stepped back, with one last kiss. "You may be right. Let’s go test out that hot tub I saw anyway," he pulled his shirt over his head.
      "I haven’t bought a new suit yet," Natalia pouted. "The old one doesn’t fit."
      "Who needs a suit?" he tugged down her shorts. "You’ve got underwear."
      She giggled and swatted at him. "Who needs underwear?" she countered, and darted away, yanking her top off and flinging it at him.