Marshall licked at his bottom lip, almost able to taste the last kiss that was lingering there. Sitting in the front seat of Jamie’s car, parked in his own driveway, oh how he had wanted that final kiss to last forever. How he had wanted this perfect date to never end. But here it was, at an ending. Marsh brushed his fingers over his lips and turned to look at the silver car that was still idle in front of his house. Taking his fingers away from their gentle perch, he held his hand to his side and wiggled those very same fingers in a wave to say goodbye to Jamie as he pulled away.
The teen let out a soft sigh as he watched the taillights disappear into the distance. The brief disappointment was quickly replaced with a bubbly flutter in his stomach. This utterly giddy, cloud nine feeling that was overtaking him was the very reason that he meshed so well with the Candy creed. Marshall Radley was infatuated with the idea of love, even more so the prospect of it. Was he in love? It was too early to tell… right? Hannah wouldn’t think so — goodness, he couldn’t wait to tell Hannah all about his first date! None of the candies could gush quite like the two of them together could.
Spinning on his heel, Marshall practically danced through the front door of his house. Scratch that, it wasn’t practically dancing, he was
literally dancing down the hall. A waltz with an invisible partner — though he had one in his mind’s eye. He bumped into his mother, as he had his eyes closed in all of his lovestruck revelry, and let out a surprised ‘oof’.
“Hi my baby boy, how was your night?” Margot said warmly, pausing in the hall briefly to talk to her son, whom she knew had gone out for the night with some new boy.
Marshall immediately spun her into a tight embrace.
“Oh, Mommm, it was sooo amazing.” He said with his face buried down into her shoulder, emphasizing his words by squeezing his arms around her and rubbing her back.
“He’s so lovely, Mom. I can’t wait for you to meet him, which you will, because he’s officially my boyfriend now.” He said gleefully after pulling out of the hug.
“He took me to a fabulous I-don’t-even-know-how-many-stars restaurant, but it was probably the most, and then he drove me out to an overlook of the city and we sat under the stars. Don’t worry, no hanky panky or anything like that… uhh, mostly. It was so sweet, we talked about our families and pasts and just… enjoyed the starlight.”Margot stroked her son’s cheek with her thumb.
“That sounds wonderful, Marshie. Can’t wait to meet him. What’s his name?”“Jamie.” Marshall replied quickly with a lovedrunk grin.
“His name’s Jamie.” He said before taking his leave to head towards his bathroom down the hall. On the way, he passed Martelle, who was just coming out of her own bathroom with a towel in her hand, patting her hair dry. With yet another wide smile, Marsh tipped forward on one toe to leaned down and kiss Marty on the cheek.
“Hope you left some hot water for me!” He said quickly and cheerfully before dashing into his own suite.
It wasn’t until he was in the shower, alone with his thoughts and the steamy water, that Marshall let himself truly dwell on the events of the night. Every kiss was seared into his mind as he remembered the heat between their lips, white hot and strong enough to brand him for life. Maybe that’s why the water was steaming, was it him? He couldn’t tell as he watched the vapors rise from his arms as his hands spread aromatic suds over them. Marshall’s vision blurred as he focused on his own hands traversing his bare skin, and then he closed his eyes completely, imagining that they weren’t his hands at all. He ran his fingers along his forearm, up his bicep and across his chest. With a small gasp, he stepped back until his shoulder blades were pressed against the cool tiled wall, offering him enough support to counteract the growing weakness in his knees. From his chest, his hand found his throat, gripping tightly enough that he had to tilt his head back against the wall and part his lips to suck in a breath. It wasn’t long before the heated moment was washed away down the shower drain, but the memories… the memories would stay.
Marshall toweled off his own hair as he brought his clothes from the night over to his hamper. He paused before tossing his blazer in with the mix of dirty laundry, and instead brought the garment up to his face. Inhaling deeply, his nose was greeted by the scent of Jamie’s cologne. In all of their canoodling under the stars, some of it must have transferred over, which brought Marshall nothing but smiles and euphoric joy. Carrying the suit jacket and his cell phone with him, Marshall tucked himself into bed. Having gone suddenly mia for the night, he had a few texts and notifications to catch up on, including one from his dancing partner, Josie. She needed his Candy services.
To: Dancing Queen
ooh girlll, im all ears!
lets go out for smoothies and a chat after dance tmw?
He briefly considered sending Ophelia a text too, but decided against that. It could wait until the morning, he didn’t want to dampen this night at all with drama. Positive vibes only. On that note, he rolled so that he was facing the soft glow of the lamp on his bedside table — it was good selfie lighting. With a head of messy damp hair pressed against his pillow, he took a few snapshots until he settled on the best sleepy-but-adorable pout that he could manage. The harder part, was coming up with a caption.
To: Jamie
wish you were here
Too forward? Probably too forward. Backspace.
To: Jamie
miss you already
Fuck. No. Too clingy. Backspace.
To: Jamie
Good Night ❤️
That would have to do. He clicked send and bit his lip in anticipation of a response. Before going to sleep, he had one more very important thing to do. The social medias. If you aren’t dating on Facebook, is it even real? No! So, Marshall switched all of his accounts to announce that he was in a relationship with Jamie and grinned into his pillow like a giddy schoolgirl. Now all the world could share in his joy, and
that was a happy thought to go to sleep on.