After getting busy in bed, Angela and Gael slept the whole morning. Well, it was more like, she fell asleep, and then he let her. After a few minutes of trying to convince himself that he should let her rest, he fell asleep too. Not only had he broken his alcohol abstinence recently, but he'd also gotten laid after many months of abstaining from sex as well. But there were no regrets on the latter, ever.

His bed was now warm and cozy that he slept like a baby, and so did Angela. It was already lunchtime when she heard her phone buzzing on the nightstand. It was a silent reminder to make some phone calls. She quickly dismissed it, not wanting to wake up the sleeping man next to her.

When she turned back to check on him, he was lying on his back but kept an arm that she used as her pillow, around her—his hand resting against the side of her waist—she was tucked in nicely to his side. The sight of him slowly breathing in and out with his eyes closed caused her heart to flutter like there were thousands of butterflies in her chest.

The two of them were completely naked under the white sheets. And while the blanket wrapped her breasts, he was only partially covered with it, the cloth lowly draping over the V of his lower abdomen, and she swallowed.

His wood stood erect, forming a tent under the blanket. She softly chuckled and shook her head. Seriously? It's like this guy's manhood was on crack! It wasn't tired at all!

Angela was tempted, but if she gave in to her desires, she'd probably have to walk funny for days. She had woken up to pee earlier, and she felt the sting. Though it was annoyingly painful, it was the kind that made her happy—all because she knew she didn't regret what happened for her to get sore.

Lifting her gaze up, she stared at Gael's admirable features. His strong jawline and nose could cut paper. She didn't like facial hair on men before, and Gael only had a day-old stubble when they met the first time—but damn it, he looked so sexy with the heavy stubble scruff now. It was the right look for him—not too full-on beard and not too light either, which made him look mature, sophisticated, more masculine, and more desirable. She was surprised he was still single.

Her hand clenched when she felt the urge to reach and scratch his jaw, but then his eyes slowly fluttered open and met hers. "Your stare is melting me," he mumbled.

She smiled. "Have you been awake this whole time?"

"Since your phone buzzed."

"You're a light sleeper, aren't you?"

"Occupational hazard. It sucks, but it helps too." He checked the time on the nightstand, "Though surprisingly, I slept longer than I'm used to." Then he looked at her, contemplating. "Huh."

The sound he just made caused her to think that he was trying to figure out what was the actual reason that he was able to rest that long. They slept sometime after five in the morning, and it was already twenty minutes past twelve, which meant they slept for about seven hours. It was indeed longer than his usual four or five hours.

Gael pulled her closer and was about to plant a kiss on her lips when her hand flew up to cover it. She shook her head, and his brows knitted. "What?" he probed.

"Morning breath. Let me brush my teeth first." Angela rolled out of the bed. She dragged the blanket with her, leaving him in his majestic birthday suit, and slipped into the bathroom.

He shook his head as he watched her get away. Swinging his legs out of bed, he followed after her. She'd already started brushing her teeth when she glanced his way, her eyes slightly widening upon seeing him butt-naked and joining her in brushing her teeth. She'd used the new spare toothbrush he'd set out before he slept this morning.

The two of them stood next to each other in front of the double sink. One held up the sheets around her chest, while the other leaned his hand on the edge of the sink and watched her through the mirror. Angela giggled at his intense stare. This man was so confident in his body.

When she finished, she kissed his cheek and strolled out. She was in bed again, quickly checking her phone notifications—there was nothing important. Gael came back to join her. "I found two more notes this morning," he told her, tossing one pink sticky note her way.

Her heart began to race as she picked it up and read.

[ It's the little things you do that did it for me. ]

Her cheeks were tainted with pink, realizing he'd seen more than fifteen notes now. She wondered when he'd find the others. Smiling, she handed the note back to him. "I thought you found two. Where's the other one?"

He took a deep breath and reluctantly gave another note to her, looking unamused. Angela received the note and read it.

[ Shithead. ]

A cute snort came out of her. She slapped her hand over her mouth, stifling the chuckle. "Sorry."

His expression didn't change, causing her to feel even more guilty. It had been a week, and he was still receiving the hate notes. She didn't even curse that often, but there was no holding back when she writes.

Placing her hands on the sides of his face, she kissed him smack on the lips. He took a deep breath and pulled her in his arms, squeezing her to punish her for calling him shithead, but also because he couldn't get enough of her. "Come on, let's go eat something first before I drive you to your place."

"You're getting rid of me already?"

He leaned back and stared at her, unsure how to answer. Of course, he didn't want to get rid of her. Did she think so?

"I'm just kidding." Angela laughed. "Jeez. I actually need to get home. I also have to drop by the old apartment building. Some of my mails are still there. And then I have some writing to do and calls to make."

"Okay." He checked his phone. "Me too. There are some things I need to take care of."

***

After dropping by her old apartment to get her mails, Gael drove Angela towards her new apartment. He insisted on walking her inside despite her telling him he didn't have to. It was daylight, so it's pretty much safe. Once they got there, he made a quick sweep like he always did. And when he was ready to leave, she saw him out, and they lingered by the door.

"I'll pick you up tonight?" he asked before claiming her lips, which she reciprocated with the same need. "Mm," she said without breaking their kiss.

"I need to go," he told her, but he didn't back away.

"Uh-huh."

Kiss.

"Bye."

Kiss.

"Mm..."

Kiss.

"Just one more for the road," he mumbled while already stripping her clothes off and then carrying her to her room, where they made a quick bedroom rodeo.

***

Angela was able to make all the calls and perform all the tasks when Gael left hours ago. It was already five in the afternoon when she remembered to check all the mails that she got from her old apartment. They were mostly printed bills, notices, and holiday cards from friends and relatives. But one particular square envelope caught her eye as it had no return address and only her name written on it.

Expecting to see a holiday card or something Christmasy, she opened it, but when she pulled out the content, her heart dropped to her stomach. It was a photo of her lying unconscious with a black fabric covering her eyes.

She gasped, her fingers trembling as she turned the photo around and read what was printed on the back of it.

[ You can't run forever. Think you can still hide it from me? ]