"Of course it's never that easy." Branwyn muttered to herself as she turned over yet again, flipping her pillow over in the process and trying to find the elusive cool spot on the pillow case in which to rest her head. She closed her eyes against the darkness of her silent bedroom and sighed, waiting for the moment when sleep over took her and finally allowed her mind to rest. But it wasn't meant to be. Soon enough she was turning over once again and before long she was simply staring at the ceiling. Or at least where the ceiling would be, if she could have seen it.
Groaning out her defeat, she sat up and reached to her bedside table seeking out her cell phone in the darkness and pressing the unlock button. The muted blue glow was enough to make her squint as she searched out the time and she dropped it back onto the table in disgust. Nearly 2 am. Anyone still awake at this hour was likely drunk and no good to her as a form of distraction. She refused to wake anyone up just to complain that she couldn't sleep and suddenly felt very alone in her small house. Rubbing her eyes, Branwyn felt a stress headache creeping up from the back of her neck and knew that staying in bed and fighting with herself to sleep would get nothing accomplished.
Late night sex to calm her nerves and wear her out was out of the question, since her significant other was still away on business; a man whom she loved dearly but she usually enjoyed her time alone. It was almost like she was single again and she had no qualms about his enjoyment of breaks from her as well.
Finally, Branwyn threw the blankets off of herself in frustration and flipped on the three way light beside her bed. The setting she chose was a dim one and she glared around the room for something she could take out her irritation on. When she found no suitable victim she left the bed and crossed the room to the bathroom, not sure what her intentions were beyond a trip to the toilet and a drink of water. But when she saw the shower her mind was made up and she decided that perhaps some quality alone time with the massaging showerhead was just what her hyped up nerves needed.
Slipping out of the silky nightgown she'd donned before turning in for the night, Branwyn kicked the deep purple negligee into a quickly forgotten pile beside the bathroom counter with a flip of her manicured toes. She opened the shower door and turned on the water to nearly its hottest setting, in order to allow both the water and the shower stall to warm up before she entered it. Turning back towards the mirror she piled her long dark tresses atop her head and secured it with a clip. Then she turned this way and that, viewing her body in the mirror with a constructive eye that only a woman possesses.
Branwyn was paler than most of her friends, naturally white skin that seemed translucent in some areas of her body. She had filled out over the years and although she felt she carried a little too much extra weight around her tummy and thigh area, there really was little to complain about. Her breasts were still firm and although her critical gaze found them sagging in comparison to her younger self she also knew that few would see that same flaw. Her hips had widened but it was more appealing than not, giving her an hourglass figure she would have killed for in her teenage years.
Smiling to herself she flipped on a nearby radio and popped in a CD, a collection of Celtic music that would have given away her heritage if one had missed her very Irish coloring; pale skin, black hair and light blue eyes. Humming to the familiar tune she stepped through the building fog and away from her disappearing image. Branwyn rarely turned on the fan when taking a relaxing shower.... It tended to drown out the music and she childishly enjoyed the fantasy that she was some sort of water nymph emerging through the mist.
