Morning
Through the sheer linen drapes, the Mediterranean morning sun shone across the light washed wooden floor. The second floor of the larger cliffside villa sat with its windows southbound, leaving it following the arch of the sun during the day, giving some sides of the house morning sun while leaving the patio in the back with a slanted view of the sunset. Erik Stone slept much lighter than his wife Julie and woke to the gentle streaks of warmth creeping through the window and caressing his face. They had stayed in the house for just over two weeks now and the couple had resigned themselves to an almost primal lifestyle.
Erik felt like they woke with the sun every day, ate when they were hungry and fucked whenever their eyes met with that spark that two people share. He felt in tune with the world, as if playing in harmony with the breathing and living around him. He awoke gently and tasted the air, taking a deep breath and relaxing back in the warmth of where he had slept. He turned to the side and pulled the woman next to him closer.
She was sleeping soundly, her body heavy with the deep sleep of the truly relaxed. Her hair lay across the pillow and spread across his shoulder and chest. It was deeply auburn, wavy and with a luscious tint of reddish okra that caught the sun and reflected as fiery copper. He had his arm lodged under her sleeping head, filling in that nook between her shoulder and her neck.
He wrapped his grip around her other shoulder, letting his biceps rest against her throat as he pulled himself closer to her. With an sigh of satisfaction, he could feel a shudder go through the woman and hear a deeply pleased hum come from sleeping, smiling lips. Julie shifted against his body, making herself slot into the curve of his body and make the two into one connected puzzle. It was such an ingrained movement, something they had done since they were young and dating.
Erik never knew if the behavior was learnt or meant to be, through universal logic. The shuffle was so set into both of them that they did it in their sleep. He knew he did it to her and there had been many mornings that he had woken up and tested the theory himself, never failing. Erik was an earlier riser, more easily brought out of sleep and less inclined to fall into it, however for these mornings of quiet admiration of this person next to him, it seemed more like a luxury than an issue to him.
He lay there, taking in the smell of her hair and the heat radiating from her skin. She had built up a golden tan over the last few weeks and Erik felt like the sun itself had left some of its essence in her skin, the way that she radiated energy. Her back against him was slender and strong, with taught, sleek musculature resting just beneath her soft skin. They both did their best at keeping each other motivated to stay fit and while they were both comfortably in their mid 30's, they were both successful in maintaining regular exercise.
They had to work much more for the things that used to come so easily to them in their early 20's, but the rewards were also so much sweeter. While he could have stayed in that position for some while longer, Erik felt other forces calling him and with a soft slide as to not wake his wife, he got out of bed and headed towards the on-suite bathroom. Being Northern European did not leave him well suited for the Monte Carlo summer heat and he had repeatedly found himself waking up with the thin sheets glued to his body. Stepping into the large bathroom he pulled the edge of his boxers down and let them fall to the floor as he walked, stepping out of them as he walked to the toilet.
As he urinated, he watched out across the bay view, a half crescent of deep Mediterranean blue that was lined by beaches and harbours. Monaco was filled with tourists and travellers this time of the year and the bay lie full of yachts and sail boats. Erik made a note for himself to see about renting one of those sailboats one day, but they had weeks left of their summer vacation and there was no pressure to make up activities.
They had been lucky to find a house somewhat out of the city proper, instead looking out over Monte Carlo from above. The hills around Monte Carlo were not as densely populated and was instead home to a scatter of larger houses, resting on mountainside ledges cast along the hillsides. The house they had found was not as overly audacious as some of the others along the same cliff road. It was a low, two floor house with a modern, natural aesthetic.
The floor plan of the smaller mansion formed an L-shape, with the curvature of the building facing out towards the valley below. From the patio and further lawn of the garden out back, one could look down over the other buildings below them, but it was basically impossible to look up at the ones above you. This created an almost too on-the-nose metaphor for the hierarchical ladder of the cliff-sides, where the largest and biggest houses were literally looking down at the ones below them.
Paying for height in Monaco was paying for standing, setting oneself physically as well as socially above the others. This had never been the point for Mr. and Mrs. Stone, instead they had found a house big enough for what they wanted, with a design that was sleek and minimalistic while still maintaining enough character to not become lifeless. They had fallen in love with the large floor to ceiling windows of the larger living room and the heavy wooden beams that stretched across the high ceilings, perfectly contrasting the lighter stone walls.
The kitchen was expansive and modern, with a marbled kitchen island as its centrepiece. The rest of the décor was naturalistic and warm, with several large plants filling out the large space with an energy that made it feel like the green hills of southern France had crept their way indoors as well. Everything was a palette of light grays, dark brown and deep luscious greens.
The bathroom Erik was standing in was a beautifully elegant addition to the master bedroom. It was lined with a green tile from floor to ceiling, with a clean contrast in the sand-coloured tiles that covered the floor in an almost haphazard mosaic. The large shower was a sectioned part of the bathroom, divided off by a glass wall. Erik stopped by the mirror on his way to grab the metal handle of the shower door and looked himself up and down. He stood naked in front of himself, letting his eyes trail across his body with a sort of curios introspection.
He looked older than he remembered himself, in his mind's eye he was still a young man, heading into the world invincible. He knew that he looked good for his age though, his skin was nice and wrinkle free, except for some stern lines across his brow that came out when he focused on something. His hair and facial hair still the same sandy blonde it had always been, except the reddish tones of his blonde had been faded out towards a more subtle bleached gray.
