As they lay close to each other, the warm, comfortable silence between them was broken by Maria's soft voice. "Umm, Gray…" she murmured, her cheeks flushed with a delicate pink as she gazed at him.
Gray blinked, noticing the soft, shy expression on her face. "Yeah?" he responded, his voice low, almost matching the intimacy of the moment.
Her right hand slowly reached out, trembling slightly, and gently caressed his cheek. The touch was light, tender, sending a faint warmth through Gray's skin. He felt his own face heat up, a faint blush creeping across his cheeks.
"What is it?" he asked again, his voice now tinged with a bit of nervousness, unsure of where this was going.
Maria's eyes flickered between his gaze and his lips before she whispered, almost too softly, "Nothing." She continued to stroke his face, her fingertips tracing the outline of his jaw with such softness it made Gray's heart skip a beat.
