~ The Shades In Between ~

Chapitre Un

The sound of a phone buzzing loudly had her opening bleary eyes. Beside her, he shifted, sitting up.

"Shit," he muttered, as he reached over to grab his phone. "Bumper, man, this better be good if you had to wake me up at six in the morning."

She couldn't hear Bumper's reply, but whatever it was, it must have been good. She could feel Donald relaxing as he blew a breath. "Yeah I'll come get you, but only 'cause you got laid last night. I'll be there in ten."

She closed her eyes again when he hung up and turned towards her. His hand ran up and down the length of her arm, and he pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "Stacie, baby," he murmured.

"Hmm?" she said, lifting her head up so that she was looking at him. He hadn't put his glasses on yet, so his eyes were lidded, trying to see her better. "What's wrong?"

"Bumper," Donald replied, hand still stroking her arm distractedly. "Went back to some chick's room last night, apparently. He doesn't have a ride back, and he sounded like he wanted to get the hell out. I need to go pick him up."

"Doesn't sound like something Bumper would do." Stacie stretched, disentangling her legs from Donald's.

His mouth curved. "He's probably trying to make Amy jealous. You know he's had a thing for her ever since Hood Night." He stood up, and began rummaging around his closet for clothes.

"That's probably going to work a little too well," Stacie said, watching as Donald zipped up his jacket. "Amy's not really good at keeping secrets. What if Aubrey finds out?"

"Relax babe. Bumper's probably going to lord it over her so much she's going to figure out he did it to piss her off. He's not very good at getting girls to sleep with him." He walked back towards her, tilted her head and kissed her. Stacie smiled. "I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Mm, I'll keep your bed warm for you." She snuggled deeper into the warmth of the covers, giving him a saucy smile and a wink.

He grabbed his keys, shaking his head. "Tempting me to join in?" he quipped.

She blinked innocently. "Tempting? Whatever do you mean?"

Donald laughed quietly, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "See you in a few."

He left, closing the door behind him. Stacie breathed in deeply, pulling the covers to her more tightly. Though living in a dorm certainly had its perks, she could appreciate the convenience of living in an off-campus house. For one, it was a lot more private – since Donald shared it with Bumper only, he was the only one who knew about them two hooking up – and was a hell of a lot more comfortable. Donald's bed was at least twice as big as hers.

She closed her eyes. Bumper and Donald had gotten a nice one too – from the little of it she'd seen at least, she added privately – at a reasonable distance from campus. It couldn't be more than a five minute drive tops, which made her wonder why Bumper couldn't have walked all the way here and then called Donald to open the door.

Probably to get people talking, she thought, smiling inwardly. Over the course of her thing with Donald, she'd gotten to know Bumper pretty well. His love for attention was as prevalent off-stage as on.

But he was a good friend. He hadn't ratted her out to Aubrey – hadn't even blinked the first time he'd seen her here, wearing only one of Donald's t-shirts – and Stacie would be eternally grateful.

She liked being a part of the Bellas, but she liked Donald (and sex with Donald, she admitted to herself, grinning), so it was nice to know she could have the best of both worlds – have her cake and eat it too.

She drifted into wakefulness again when she felt Donald press several open-mouthed kisses to her neck. Stacie turned her head, meeting his lips head on in a searing kiss. She hummed appreciatively at the back of her throat when he took her bottom lip in between his teeth. Donald was hands-on the best kisser she'd ever had the pleasure of locking lips with.

"Gross guys, get a room," Bumper's voice floated behind them.

Stacie ignored him, happy to continue kissing Donald, who seemed only too glad to oblige her. "We are in a room, Bumper," she said, shifting slightly so that Donald could slide in next to her. Her head immediately settled on his chest, his fingers stroking her hair. "You're the one who barged in on us, which makes me wonder. Do you want to watch? Cause I could get into that."

Bumper visibly shuddered. "Stace, that really was a visual I could've done without," he said as Donald laughed.

He ruffled her hair. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around," he told her appreciatively.

Before Stacie could open her mouth, Bumper intervened. He raised his eyes to the ceiling in prayer. "Dear God dear Lord, Stacie please no graphic comment of a remotely sexual nature. I don't need to know any more details about you and Donald's sex life."

Stacie smiled apologetically. She didn't have to guess as to what Bumper was referring to – if it wasn't the love bites, bruises, or hickeys that routinely adorned her and Donald's necks, it was that they weren't exactly quiet when it came to having sex.

And they had a lot of it.

It wasn't really her fault – well, maybe a little bit, Stace, she thought – but Donald was an exceptionally good lover. A practically insatiable one too.

It made for a good combination.

"So what's up?" Stacie asked, her fingers stroking the expanse of Donald's stomach. She smiled inwardly when she felt the muscles underneath tighten subtly.

"My main man here just got laid," Donald filled in, hand moving up and down her back.

"And who's the lucky girl?" Stacie inquired.

"Hot junior chick who's had a thing for me for a while now," he replied vaguely. Stacie looked at Bumper, highly entertained – if he puffed up anymore, she was sure he'd explode. "We had a great night but you know, I had to get away. Make sure she understood it was only a one-time thing."

Donald and Stacie shared an amused look. "What's the plan now, Casanova?" Donald asked, sliding one of his hands behind her calves.

"No plan," he replied. "Gonna go rest for a few hours. Relax a little."

"And rub the fact you got laid into Amy's face," Stacie finished.

Bumper shrugged, but there was a betraying glimmer in his eyes. "Hey, whatever happens, happens." He stood up. "And by that I fully mean yes. Catch you guys later."

"You want to order in for lunch?" Donald asked, right as Bumper left the room.

"Sounds like a plan."

Stacie sighed happily once the door closed, tilting her head slightly so that she was looking at Donald. "Alone again," she said, the corners of her mouth turning suggestively as she slid the zipper of Donald's jacket down.

His eyes were even darker as he flipped them over, so that he was lying on top of her. He brought his hands to her face. "Finally," he murmured as he pulled her in for another kiss.

Author's Note: This will be more a series of disconnected one-shots/vignettes than an actual full-blown chaptered story with a steady continuity and plot. It's more of a 'snapshots' type of thing, so I might go back and forth in time. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it :)

Much love!