“Are you serious?” I asked, more than a little surprised.
She stood there, looking at me from across the room. I knew she wanted to get into the bathroom to wash up, but I couldn’t believe she was really going to go back to the other room. After all, hadn’t she told me herself that it had been too cold to sleep alone?
“You look very tired, Jack,” she said, her hand on the doorknob. “If I come back, you might not get any sleep.”
“I know you need to use the bathroom,” I said, turning a corner of the covers as if to get up. “But if you’re not back in a couple of minutes I’m going to come looking for you.”
She smiled at me then, and left. It was when she smiled that I realized letting her go would have been a mistake.
Several minutes later, just as I was beginning to doubt myself and whether Melinda was coming back, I heard the door slide open. She had a new pair of panties on, but her t-shirt was the same and it had a couple of water spots on it.
“Do you have a shirt I can borrow, Jack?” she asked me, from just inside the door.
“Of course,” I said, starting to get up.
“I’ll get it,” she said. “Just point me—you stay in bed and keep the sheets warm for me.”
I told her where my bag was, and she padded over to it, saying something under her breath about how cold she was.
“Take some socks too, if you want,” I suggested.
“No, I can’t sleep in socks,” she shook her head as she rummaged through my bag for a shirt. She found one, older and dark, it was the softest t-shirt I owned and it was big on her. I smiled to myself when she turned her back to me to change. As soon as she was done she crawled right onto the bed and slipped under the covers with me.
She nuzzled up against me, half smiling and half frowning.
“Oh, this feels so good and warm,” she sighed. “But my feet are so cold….”
What she had done for me this evening was incomparable, but I thought I could at least try to do her this small favor.
“Turn over, sweetheart,” I said in her ear. I don’t know if the surprise on her face came from the endearment or simply being asked to turn over, but she only hesitated a second and then put her back to me. She was so much smaller than me that, even though we were now spooned, it was easy to scoot myself down just a bit, reach under the covers and put one of her feet between my thighs without bending her knee too far.
Her response made enduring the cold worth it as she gave an audible sigh that reminded me of how I felt climbing into the hot tub. She reached back to run her hand through my hair. It felt good, intimate, personal. I felt closer to her now than I had earlier.
It was a few minutes before either of us said anything.
“Corenne’s not seeing anyone,” she said, whispering.
“Oh yeah?” I replied. “I’m sure that’s by choice.”
“I don’t know,” Mel replied, taking her hand from the back of my neck. “Maybe. She seemed a little unhappy the last time I saw her.”
“Mel,” I said, “I know she’s a friend of ours, and I do want her to be happy, but could we talk about something else? Let’s talk about you, or me, or something. Anything, just not Corenne.”
I could have sworn I glimpsed a smile on her lips before she twisted to look at me.
“Did you like my swimsuit tonight?” she asked.
I gave her a wide grin.
“Oh yes,” I said. “That was very nice.”
“I was thinking of you when I picked it out.”
“Were you really?” I asked, surprised.
“Well, sort of,” she seemed to be admitting. “I was thinking mostly of you, but I also knew I would look good in it, so I was also thinking of me a little.”
I chuckled, wrapping my arm around her waist.
“How’s your foot feel?”
“Wonderful.”
Unhooking my arm from around her waist, I lifted myself over her and asked her to turn onto her other side. Soon, we were facing the other way. A moment later I was warming her other foot.
Melinda practically purred.
“I think this may actually be in the book of ‘Reasons to Keep a Man’,” she said, wriggling back against me to get as close as she possibly could.
I moved her hair off of her neck and planted a small kiss.
“Mmmm,” she closed her eyes. “If I go to sleep on you it’s because this feels so good.”
“Do you think you’d dream about us?”
“I sure hope so,” she said, giving a tired little laugh. She was fading fast, would probably be asleep before long.
I leaned into her, my lips not far from her ear.
“I’ve missed you,” I whispered. I could see her falling asleep. “I don’t think I want to miss you anymore.”
It hadn’t taken me long to fall asleep. Laying like we were, I soon let her take her foot back, but she never moved away. I awoke, laying on my back, with this beautiful girl next to me. At first I didn’t realize what woke me, but after a moment I recognized the smell of coffee. I moved carefully, pulling myself away and sliding out of bed.
I settled the covers back around her, and kissed her on the corner of her mouth. She smiled slightly, still asleep, and stretched a tiny bit as she rolled onto her side. I don’t know about other fellas, but for me there are very few things as life-affirming as that. I took a moment to just look at her.
Yesterday we were good friends. This morning we were… what? I didn’t know, but I smiled thinking of the possibilities. I don’t know how much sleep I’d really gotten, but I felt great.
Grabbing the bathrobe I’d left on the hook by the door, and putting on a pair of socks, I headed downstairs.
I found Emma in the kitchen, sitting with a cup of coffee, staring at the bay window. Sunlight poured in, lighting the room.
“Good morning,” I greeted her, walking across the kitchen floor. Coffee mugs were set out next to the pot, so I grabbed and filled one.
“How did you sleep last night?” she asked me.
I smiled to myself, my back to her. When I turned, well, the smile would’ve been gone, but I just couldn’t get rid of it.
“Fantastic,” I said. “I haven’t slept this good in a while.”
“I’m glad I invited Melinda.”
“Yes,” I nodded. “That was an exceptional idea.”
“Did she sleep well, too?”
