Bliss
She flicked the switch on the kettle and waited for it to boil, placing the teabag in the cup on the counter. The white light from the kitchen illuminated the area and beyond, giving the living room a mysterious air. She glanced at the clock as she rested on the counter. 4:37am.
She ran a hand through her bob of raven black hair, holding up her long fringe. She'd always had problem falling asleep, and always woke up too early. How she had managed to survive on 5 hours sleep a night her whole life was beyond comprehension.
Her mind took her back to 15 minutes ago, when she had woken up and tried to go to sleep again. It was a lost cause though. Her senses seemed...well, hypersensitive whenever she tried to sleep. The slightest movement or sound would snap her out of it and she would be back to square one. She gave up. She sat cross-legged on the bed, her ears full of his breathing, her eyes gradually focussing on his face.
She'd been living with him for six months now, while he was on a hiatus after last year's gruelling world tour. he'd always been a deep sleeper, not even moving whenever she woke up and wriggled out of his arms in the middle of the night. The security and warmth of his embrace was what kept her from walking around the house in the early hours of the morning most of the time. But occasionally she got that desperate feeling of loneliness tugging at her. Those were the nights she got up and made a cup of tea for herself.
The ding of the kettle broke her train of thought. She poured the hot water into the cup, throwing away the teabag when she deemed it strong enough. She positioned the cup under her nose, taking in the scent of the exotic concoctions of tea she liked so much. She smiled as she recalled the look on his face after learning that her favourite drink was lychee tea. She took a tentative sip, screwing up her face when she realised it was still too hot to be downed in big gulps.
She put down the cup with a small clink, and stared out across the living room, out to where the pool was. The wind blew, forming small ripples that dawdled their way across to the other side. She took up her cup again, walking towards her favourite spot. The first time she stepped into the house, she took one look at the low concrete seat built against the wall looking out of the balcony and immediately fell in love with it.
"What's that concrete seat for?"
"I'm still trying to figure out." She looked at him in surprise.
"The prevous owner had it built for somethign or other, and I still haven't the slightest idea what purpose it had. I wanted to get rid of it, but the contractor said it was essential for the foundation or something, so it stayed."
She sat on it and surveyed the view. It looked out to the vegetation surrounding his house, and somehow gave her a feeling of ...being free.
"Well, if you're not using it, I'm claiming it as my spot."
He raised an eyebrow and gave a questioning look. "First time here and you've already got a spot of your own?"
She only gave him a wry smile, knowing that he had agreed to her request.
She sat there now, slowly sipping the hot tea, trying to achieve the level of clarity in her mind that only a hot drink at 5am could do. She lay against the wall and momentarily closed her eyes. This spot always made her calm. Whether she had writer's block or after one of their fights, it made her calm. Plus sitting here with him after they kissed and made up was pure heaven.
She gradually became aware of the pair of heavily tattooed arms wrapped around her waist. She turned and moved just a bit, so that she lay comfortably against his chest. He rested his chin on her head and gave a sigh of contentment.
"I reached for you and you weren't there."
"Sorry for waking you up so early."
"Nah, it's ok,"He waved a hand at the hues of orange and red in the east. "I'd give up all my sleep just to be here with you."
He held her closer and she laid her head on his shoulder, kissing his bare skin as she did so. For a while, no words were exchanged as they watched the sunrise. She caressed his arms as he nuzzled her neck, tracing his tattoos. She chuckled as she remembered his complaints about his "POOPY" tattoo, especially since he had broken up with her a few months after he got it.
"Why don't you have it surgically removed then?"
"And risk ruining the others?" He lifted up his arm, displaying his tattoos in all their glory. "Not a chance."
The last remark confirmed her suspicions. He was too chickened out to do it.
"You're laughing at me, I know it."
She looked up at him and grinned inanely.
"Now, why would I do that?"
"Just cause."
He slipped his hand under her t-shirt and gently stroked the skin beneath, illiciting an involuntary shiver from her that resulted in her burrowing further into the embrace. He bent his head to meet her lips, the two of them sharing a kiss that was sweet and tender. Their mouths worked against one another, enjoying the sense of intimacy that it brought them.
She broke the kiss before anything else happened, making him whimper.
"You sound like Vegas when you do that."
"Well, if you didn't break it off prematurely I wouldn't sound so pathetic."
She gave a small laugh as he tried to pull off the lost puppy look he perfected over the years.
"Yeah well, having sex on this small, hard concrete block isn't exactly appealing." She giggled at the thought.
Silence came again. They had been together so long that words weren't needed to tell each other what they were feeling. She started singing softly, and he soon joined in, his raspy baritone harmonizing with her soulful alto.
Your love is better than ice cream
Better than anything else that I've had
And your love is better than ice cream
Everyone here knows how to cry
It's a long way down
It's a long way down
It's a long way down
To the place where we started from
lyrics by Sarah McLachlan
They held each other tightly, wishing that the moment could last forever.
"I love you."
"I love you more."
Feedback's a good thing...