The sunlight may have cracked through the window, it's faint tone finding its way past the grey blinders, but Tina kept in place. She thought she heard a faint whisper in the dim room; but she just shrugged it off, snuggling into her comforter. Her head rested on a pillow that felt oddly shaped, but provided a sense of security.
"Tins?" A hand larger than her own clasped her shoulder, a slight shake jutting her out of her daze. She groaned into her pillow, and opened her eyes scanning for the voice.
"Mind getting off my arm?" She felt the appendage she was laying on top of slightly shake, and she placed her body weight on her right elbow. She got off of his arm and returned straight back to her position on her boyfriend's chest.
She felt the light pressure on her scalp almost
immediately, and her instincts told her to grapple the body behind her and shoot it. She sighed and let her midwestern native rest his head on top of her's.
She snuggled against his chest, but could stay still. She supposed it time to get up, but… i don't really want to. "Tina. We both know your not going back to sleep." She turned her head, facing Alex the first time today, her sleepy eyes slowly coming to terms with the new day.
He laid up, his chest rising as he moved to a sitting position while Tina let out a slightly frustrated groan. "First day off, and you don't want to spend all day sleeping? I know you chicagoians run on Coke™ but I don't." Her voice was angelic to Alex, no matter the topic or tone she took.
He didn't respond, and Tina turned to face him, her body shifting so she was nearly sitting, but leaning heavily against her much taller companion. "I'd love to spend all day in bed with my Vancouver girl, but leave doesn't last forever, we have to make the most out of it." He placed his arm around the Canadian, and pulled her in for a kiss.
"A-Alex! Our teeth!" She placed a hand on his cheek as she moved her mouth away, stopping her from nearly falling to her temptations. He sighed, "So what? I'll love you anyways, teeth clean or not." He leaned in close, and sniffed extremely loudly. His face scrunched into mock disgust and hefted her into his arms. "On the other hand, maybe we should." He stood off the bed, her light body cradled between his stable arms.
Tina blushed like crazy the small walk to the bathroom, her face a bright shade of maroon the entire way. Alex let her down when they were in front of their twin sinks, and Alex's feet softly padded against the tile of the floor.
He looked at himself in the mirror, muttering to himself about his "incredibly good looks anyone could get off to." And turned his head to his girlfriend, her eyes locked onto his grin. "What?" His soft voice spoke out, amidst the slight pitter pat of the stream of water coming out of the facet.
She shifted her weight, and spoke her mind. "I'm so fucking in love with you, you know that?" Her faint smile matching his as he wrapped his long left arm around her waist pulling her close. She looked up at him as he answered, her shorter frame pressing into him. "Honestly, I'm the lucky one, nobody but me gets to wake up next to his own ass kicking angel." He leaned down and pulled her into a tender kiss.
She broke away for air and looked back up at her significant other, "Well then, I'm up now, what's the game plan then?" He leaned against the wall, his eyes gazing sleepily at her breasts. Tina playfully punched his shoulder, and grasped the side of his face. Her slender fingers wrapped around his chin and pulled his gaze upwards. She innocently smiled at him, "I'm sorry, but I don't think these-" She shook her chest, but held his gaze locked onto her eyes. "-Are my eyes." She was going to pull him into a kiss, but he pulled away.
"Sorry Tina, but a man's gotta wash the dirt and grime his off his body before starting the day." His left arm pushed the glass sliding door to the right as he entered, closing it behind him. Before the glass fogged over, he could make out his short girlfriend's figure looking very much pissed off.
He pulled the knob to the right, the increasing heat caressing his body. He let out a groan, and laid his back against the wall and let the warm water soothe his sore and bruised body.
Each droplet soaked his skin, letting his muscles relax, and as he washed his chest with body wash, letting the heated water unravel his tense body.
But the rush of cold air rushed into his corner of heaven seeped in. His eyes cracked open, his gaze immediately turning to the left. Tina was standing there, the door now open, letting the cold air battle the warm water for dominance. "You realize that this is also my shower? Scooch over, your asskicking angel of a girlfriend also needs to clean off the, 'dirt and grime off her body before starting the day.'
He nodded and motioned for her to close the door as she entered. He turned to her as she reached for the knob, "Seems to me we're not going to really wash up, are we?"
She turned around as the temperature of the water increased, "Not that it's necessarily a bad thing, is it?" Her devilish grin sealing the deal.
He grumbled and pulled her in close, their damp foreheads touching together as the steam rose. "Well, I'm not complaining."
—-
Needless to say, there was not much washing going on. The bathroom had an aroma, to say the least. Alex and Tina held hands on their short walk towards Tina's car.
Alex turned to her, his eyes scanning the skyline, "Not that I'm complaining about spending time with my girlfriend, but where's your Sears Tower?"
Tina punched his side, and Alex laughed. Tina smiled and spoke, "I mean, I don't have one, but my boyfriend sure does. You should ask him to show you someday, it's quite impressive."
Alex didn't get embarrassed, or blood red often. His way of accepting the world around him was light hearted. He'd laugh it off, but this time, he couldn't help but let the blood in his veins pool towards his face. "Tina!" He whined, his mouth opening to say something but he shut it quickly.
She stopped and looked at him. "Oh cmon! I totally got you that time, where was your laugh to save you from embarrassment?" He locked his playful glare toward her and the elderly couple who watched the entire debacle from atop their apartment's balcony chuckled, a fragment of themselves inside the young kids.
"Ouch," he spoke, fake hurt seeping dramatically into his voice. "Low blow." He smiled and they continued their stroll down the parking lot, their destination nearly coming into view.
He opened the passenger door to her Ivory Mercedes, holding the door for her as she stepped passed him into her car.
She smiled at him as he sat in the driver's seat, his eyes scanning the interior of the Cabriolet, and turned to her. "Has Six been passing money to you under the table?." He turned locked his eyes on her, her wicked smile answering the question. "How do you guys say it? I plead the fifth."
He couldn't help but let the slight grin on his face grow as he pulled out of the parking spot, heading down the road towards his destination.
Alex pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced down at the map while occasionally flicking his eyes towards the road. Tina smacked his hand, "Hey hey! If I wanted to die today, I'd at least want it to be one of the rides!" She slightly yelled and Alex refocused.
"Right right." He went on autopilot, his eyes staring straight at the car in front of him, the wind blowing his hair.
—
"Oh fuck." His eyes were locked onto the thin ropes carrying a duo seat. Why do they look so flimsy? He turned to Tina, who had a grin in response to his growing fear.
"Well, you said you were in, so…" He took a glance away from the swings, and down to her.
"I-I don't think that's what I said- I mean, I have a kind've strong Chicago accent you probably couldn't understand. What I really meant is I'm gonna fucking die, if I go on that." He pointed, the screams of terror or joy from the riders, he couldn't distinguish.
Tina gripped his hand and pulled him close. "Pretty please?" She looked at him with those eyes and he couldn't help but cave in. He sighed and stood next to her as soon as the attendant called for the next passengers to board.
He stood in place for a split second, the fear gnawing at his conscious, telling him that the chance for death was very high. But still, Tina dragged him along his feet stepping towards the small seats.
He sat down, with Tina to his left, and they slung the belt over them, and clipped their harnesses on. Alex turned to Tina's wide grin, her light laughter making him feel a tiny bit better.
When the attendant came and checked their seats, he spoke to Alex with a kind tone, one common characteristic of the Canadians. "Don't worry, it's not that bad."
Alex nodded and turned to Tina, who kept a tight hold on his hand. "Relax. After this we get some kickass poutine and go check out the games." She calmly rubbed her petite fingers over his, trying to keep him from panicking.
"I-i didn't even know I was scared of heights, you know? It's jus-" the ride lurched upward, his feet no longer touching the hard ground.
He went pale as he turned to her. "Yeah yeah, this is it." He breathed out, his eyes scanning the ground floor as it soon got farther away.
Alex closed his eyes as Tina let out a minuscule laugh. A pinch of nervousness mixed in between. "W-wow. This is going really high isn't it? Look at that view."
Alex lightly peeked, and as soon as he looked down, his heavy breathing came back. A sharp thud sounded above them as they reached the very top, the ground a startling two hundred feet below them.
Then the spinning happened. The fast twing as the cables of the ride squealed in delight, in unison with Alex's screeches as he clutched Tina's much smaller frame.
They started getting forced into their seats. The air holding them against it, not letting them move an inch. "Frosty, why did we have to on th-" he cut himself off as soon as the ride reached its peak speed, sling shotting them in a circle.
Tina couldn't help but also emit a tiny scream as well, the ride was called Atmosfear after all. It did live up to its name, striking fear cleanly into the heart of her lover. Piercing his usually confident swagger, showing off the vulnerable side she only got to see occasionally.
If the ride was timed, it would be very disappointing. About a minute and thirty seconds in the air, nothing compared to the crash landings that Alex had garnered over his tenure as a Marine.
But In the moment, nothing felt like this. Not even the Blackhawk that fell onto his side, nearly tearing his abdomen cleanly in half came close to the violent shaking of his current position.
But as soon as it came, it ended, and the descent let him breathe. He caught his breath, Tina looking over at him with her concerned eyes, scanning for any underlying hurt behind his demeanor.
As he felt his feet touch the ground, Alex shook his head. "I'm… not dead. What. The. Fuck." His voice was hoarse from his screeches, and as they exited he turned to his partner as she held his hand. "Hey." He soft voice spoke out, piercing his troubled thoughts.
"You alright?" He could already feel the wandering gaze trail his body. He shook his head as they stood off to the side, away from most parkgowers
"Yeah. Just reminded me of some buried memories of with the Corps. I'd rather let those sleeping dogs lie then bring them up to the forefront." He turned to her, and they continued their stroll to the Poutine stand she swore was the greatest.
All the while, Alex couldn't help but gaze at her as they sat down to eat.
She slowed down, her smile tugging downwards. Her slightly confused and concerned gaze coming out of hiding once more. "Did I do something wrong? I mean I know it's not Chicago, but this is my city, and you know our next leave we go to your apartment in Windy City, remember?"
He nodded and he quietly spoke, his voice only audible to her. "No-no, not that. Just, I mean. I'm serious, I mean it when I say I'm lucky. We have something Tina, and-and… The ride scared the shit out of me. But made me think of how lucky I am to have you watch my back. I love you."
She smiled, flashing him that angelic smile that he fell in love with when he first met her. "I-I love you too, always."
Alex reached for his Coke and leaned back into his chair. "Just wait till we get to the games, I can guarantee that you'll leave here with all of the of the stuffed animals."
Tina let out a laugh, and reached for another gravy soaked french fry, and locked eyes with him. "I'll hold you to it."