Caught || TWENTY-TWO

Erica awoke the next morning to the sound of birdsong outside the window… quite unsure as to where she was. She lay with her eyes closed, breathing evenly, until the music died away. The two collared doves that had perched on the windowsill flew off.


She slowly began to regain full consciousness as she lay there, curled up in place. Now she could register only the sound of deep breathing that wasn’t her own. The inhales and exhales enveloped her ears in a way that only a positively enormous set of lungs could produce.


Then the memories of last night came streaming back into her head… and she remembered where she was.


With a sleepy little murmur, the human pushed herself up onto one elbow — encountering some difficulty — and opened her eyes. Her vision was blurred, and so at first she couldn’t quite make out the hand that was lying right there next to her; the thumb of which she was grasping tightly to herself in an unconscious embrace.


She let it go and dropped back on her side, tucking her arms in against herself. Now lacking in the warmth of that digit, Erica shivered, and it was then that she registered that she really wasn’t wearing very much. A green polka dot bra and a completely mismatching set of undies — blue boxer-briefs with frolicking rabbits across the fabric — were the only things that kept her modesty.


A deep, rumbling sound took over from the steady breathing for a second and Erica registered a great movement behind her. Before she could turn around, something nudged gently against her shoulder blades. She emitted a faint squeak of surprise and turned over onto her other side, trying to prop herself up onto both of her elbows… and found herself face to face with a sleeping giant.


She’d been sleeping with her back right up against the slope of his nose, her little body almost nestled into the cheek that met the pillow. Tired eyes now made intense with awe, Erica stretched out an arm and ran her hand some ways along the length of his nose — but she took it hastily back as Aaron’s head shifted slightly along the pillow once more and then became still again.


Coming fully to her senses, she scrabbled awkwardly up into a seated position, moving right back till she was leaned up against his hand so she could get a better look at his face. It was in that rare state of utter relaxation, eyelids not even so much as twitching and his lips…


Instead of his more commonplace frown, Aaron’s mouth was sporting the tiniest of smiles, as if he was enjoying a pleasant dream. He looks so peaceful. Erica felt her face warming as she thought back to the up-close encounter she’d had with that very mouth mere hours ago. There had been a long moment of shock before she’d gathered herself and kissed him back like she wanted to.


And what a kiss it had been. His lips — so strong and eager they could have crushed against her, driven her back, without meeting anything close to resistance — had surrendered immediately to her comparatively tiny response. She had sat up straight against his guarding palm, put her hands on his face and returned his gesture with enough gusto for him to feel every caress of her lips against his.


It took a few more patient minutes before cheerful birdsong and sunlight, along with the subtle absence of Erica's lithe body, drew the giant from his serene slumber. Erica’s heart began to race as Aaron stirred, the hand behind her stretched out and pushing into the pillow. Somewhere further below, covers slipped a little lower over his bare chest. Discs of brilliant blue peeked out as he blinked his way to consciousness.


And what a sight to wake up to. Erica had relaxed once his awakening proved to be a gentle one. She sat near his hand, watching him in her undies like he was the most interesting thing in the world. The soft smile on his lips widened as fresh memories from the night before rushed into his head.


"Good morning."


Aaron's sleepy voice was kept to a murmur. With a single thumb, he smoothed up her bare back, over the clasp of her bra and between her shoulder blades.


“Hey, sleepyhead,” Erica practically purred in response, arching her back. She bit the inside of her cheeks to stifle a yawn and reached one arm back to stroke along the base of the index finger that stretched out behind her, her eyes focusing back in on Aaron’s. “Looks like I didn’t quite make it home last night, doesn’t it?” she pointed out with a wink.


Suddenly self-conscious, Erica crossed her other arm over her body, and after a moment her eyes wandered further down the bed. It appeared that Aaron was wearing even less than she was. She adjusted her position on the pillow and reached up a hand to arrange her mussed up hair. “What time is it…?”


From her vantage point, Erica’s view of the clock on the bedside table was blocked completely by Aaron’s hand. “I get the feeling that we might’ve slept in.” She struggled to her knees and turned, gripping hold of his thumb and trying to see over it.


She barely managed to make out the blue 8:47am displayed on the LED screen of his alarm clock. The thumb she leaned against turned against her, prodding her into the curve of Aaron’s fingers. He pulled her closer to him as he rolled onto his stomach, propped up by one toned arm.


"It's Saturday," Aaron reminded her cheerfully. "I've got nowhere to be."


His words were sealed by a kiss to her lips, and then another. Months of pent-up longing found their remedy in the taste of her soft skin. She was always slightly chilled to the touch but quick to warm, like a flower absorbing sunlight. The rasp of stubble left bright pink streaks on her chest and arms, added to faint marks of passion that had yet to fade from the night prior. The way she giggled and squirmed recommitted Aaron to the delightful task. He angled his head to the side while Erica’s hands followed in what bits of him she could reach.


Somewhere lost in the covers, a phone rang, still in the back pocket of a teeny pair of jeans. Aaron was dismayed to recognise Erica's ringtone. Her squirming suddenly took on a different nature, and Aaron rose up off her so she could move.


"Do you need to get that?"


Erica quickly wiggled down the slope of the pillow, seething at the rude interruption. “Y—yeah, I think it’s… shit…”


Landing with a tiny thump on the bed sheet, Erica made her way across the unstable surface of the bed. The yielding mattress dipped even further as Aaron rolled his considerable body over again and sat up, scooping Erica up mid-step into one hand and plunging the other under the duvet.


“Hey—” Erica yelped, head spinning from the sudden change in altitude. After rooting around in the dark for a time, Aaron pulled out a tiny pair of black jeans and hastily dropped them in Erica’s lap. He knew there was no way in hell he could safely extract her phone from that minuscule pocket.


“Thanks,” she breathed, quickly rummaging through and finding the little ringing object. Stabbing at the screen, she cut the alert off and pressed the phone to her ear. “Victoria!”  There was a pregnant pause as the woman on the other end of the phone started spouting words at a phenomenal rate. “I’m sorry, I didn’t— Yeah, no, I’m fine… it’s…”


She shot Aaron an agonised glance as she squirmed in her seat, sitting mermaid-style in the centre of his palm. A stream of insistent chatter bled out from the phone’s speaker and Erica shut her eyes.


“Mhm. Mhm. No, look, it’s my fault, I was all set to come up last night but then things…” She bit her lip to prevent a laugh, tracing a hand absentmindedly over the base of Aaron’s thumb. “It’s a bit complicated.”


Aaron was barely able to make out another quick burst of chatter from the other side before Erica brought a hand to her face. "Well can you take the papers and just hold them till I can get... right. No, I know, they need to be there, I understand. Well, can you ask them to wait just twenty more minutes? I'll be right down." The tiny weight in his palm slumped in relief. "Thanks."


"Something up at the house?" Aaron asked once she'd flipped the phone shut. Erica's messy bangs were blown around as he lifted her nearer to eye level.


"The last checks finished yesterday. The contractor needs my signature to finish off the process. They were expecting me to be moved in already. I was going to be there at eight..."


"Guess I kept you up too late." A slightly apologetic smile touched the corners of Aaron's mouth. It seemed impossible to shatter his brilliant mood. "Well, can I give you a lift down there? I could grab some scones and a cuppa for us while you're doing your thing."


Erica’s expression brightened at the notion and she gave an assenting nod. “Sounds perfect,” she sighed, stowing her phone back into her pocket and getting awkwardly to her feet. “So, um… all my clothes are packed away but my shirt should be around here somewhere.”


She tugged each leg of her jeans up right there in Aaron’s hand and looked up at him imploring. “So if you wouldn’t mind just snagging that for me and I’ll… you gotta put me down while I sort my hair out.”


"Right, yeah..."


Moving with a new haste, Aaron lowered her onto the mattress beside him and pulled up the duvet. He groped around the rumpled sheets for the grey slip of clothing, finding it had somehow made it a startling distance somewhere around his ankles. The shirt looked particularly tiny between his finger and thumb, but resumed its proper scale once handed off to its owner.


Erica held her arms out to her side for balance as the mattress bent and shook from Aaron climbing out of bed himself. She watched from afar as his movements became a little more natural, less careful as he distanced himself from her. He pulled out a pair of stonewashed jeans from his bottom drawer and paired it with a clean graphic t-shirt for a band Erica had never heard of.


He stood briefly before the mirror in his bathroom, raking wet fingers through his hair to matt down the whimsical bed head he had going on.


The idea of walking her down to sign off the docks house again suddenly brought up a new onslaught of questions. Was she planning to go through with the move, and return to living at dockside home? Did their romantic epiphany last night mean she had changed her mind, or was it simply a night of weakness?


Aaron lowered his hands to his sides and looked across the room at her. Even pressed for time, wearing last night's clothes, she was beautiful. For now, at least... the questions could wait.

---

Aaron kept a quick but cautious pace all the way to the docks, and because of this the pair arrived in just over fifteen minutes. The wind ruffled Erica’s hair at this altitude and she clung gratefully to the straps on the giant’s shoulder until he came to a halt at the end of the gravel path.


From this level she could see figures moving around at the front of the house and a couple of cars — one of which she recognised as Victoria’s sedan. She smiled, relieved that her friend had been around to greet the others.


Aaron’s unmissable appearance very quickly caught the attention of the humans on the ground, and he wasted no time in getting carefully to one knee. His hand came up to his mounted shoulder and Erica loosened her grip on the straps to drop down into his palm. As she was lowered to the ground, Victoria came walking up, one hand around her middle.


“Ah, thank God, Erica,” she smiled. “Thanks for getting here so quickly.”


Erica walked forward, tugging anxiously at the oversized hoodie she’d thrown on to disguise her crumpled clothing. “Hi, I’m sorry I’m so late. I just overslept, I’ve got no excuse…”


But her friend wasn’t looking at her anymore. A gentleman bearing a briefcase walked up behind her, adjusting his spectacles, and followed her gaze upwards. “And, um… who’s this?” Victoria asked Erica in a hushed voice.


Though he couldn't quite make out the furtive chatter, Aaron picked up on the sentiment that came along with such speculatory glances.


"Aaron Stryke," he announced himself. "I'm her... personnel officer." He shared the briefest of looks with Erica far below. It wasn't a complete lie.


"Just came to make sure Miss Sage got here in one piece. Which she did, and I, uh... I see she's in very good hands. So I'll leave you to it then." This last bit was directed at Erica again, a brief glimpse of warmth inside.


"Pleasure to meet you," Victoria muttered, squeezing Erica's wrist as Aaron rose to his impressive height and retreated back the way he'd come, in search of that nice tea shop he'd passed on the walk over.


"Good Lord, they come even bigger in the states, don't they?" She craned her neck to see that Aaron's head and shoulders were still visible between the branches of the great oaks bordering the road. Soon after, she blushed and knitted her hands over her rounded belly. "Sorry. The baby's making me such a tight-arse lately."


The man with the briefcase cleared his throat. "Ladies, I do have other house calls today..."


The women turned and Erica shook her head, snapping out of a mild daze. “Right, right, I’m sorry. Shall we take this inside?”


She led the way to the house and opened the already unlocked door, letting the other two file into the living room before shutting it. The kitchen door was open and Erica took a moment to have a look in at the building work.


It was a transformed space: there was no sign of any of the vicious damage it had obtained the night that Ross showed up. The counters were smooth and a nondescript white, the oven was pristine. The tea towels that Roman had brought back from Germany donkey’s years ago were nowhere to be seen. The hodge-podge of mugs they had collected over the years had been taken away, no doubt ruined by the fire.


Not wanting to waste any of the contractor’s time, Erica closed the door gently and headed into the living room.

---

The exchange was quickly wrapped up, and the three made for the door.


“So you’re quite welcome to move in at any time,” the man was saying as they sauntered down the gravel path towards the cars. “Well, to be honest, the house is all yours now. I daresay you can do whatever you like with it.”


“Thank you,” Erica replied automatically, but somewhere inside her mind a new notion had started to form and she felt a hum of possibility.


“Anyway,” he continued, remotely opening his car door from a few feet away. “You have my number if there’s anything you need to discuss.”



“Right you are, sir,” Erica smiled, breaking off from the pair as they reached the parked vehicles. “And, ‘Toria, thanks so much for your help. You’ve been a godsend.”


Victoria beamed in response and gave her a little wave as she dropped into the driver’s seat. “Just remember to drop by sometime. Especially when the little one makes an appearance.”


“You know it!” Erica called as the car door slammed shut. As the two vehicles pulled away, she set off walking in the direction Aaron had taken, hurrying along in the shadow of the oak trees.