When I woke up, the first thing I thought of wasn't time. Despite my outside appearances, I was only about 73.4% neurotic about my work. So when I slowly came to awareness wrapped up in Ben's loving, warm arms, I took more than a few minutes to savor it.
And then I looked at my alarm clock.
"Oh, Ben, I have to go to work!" I yelled, awake in an instant. Paying no attention to my fiancé and his probably-shattered eardrums, I threw myself out of bed and landed sprawled on the floor. I grabbed two mismatching socks off the floor and pulled them on, then raced over to my wardrobe. Ron's going to kill me. I had so many projects I needed to get started on! I needed to order four dozen Mexican coffee filters, a ¾ size model of the Titanic, a Destiny's Child-era Beyonce wig… these things would not do themselves, dammit!
With one leg into my pants, hopping around like a malformed kangaroo, I heard a soft sigh. Startled, I yelped and fell back down to the ground. "This is not your day, Knope," I muttered to myself. I popped my head up at the end of the bed, only to see that Ben was still asleep.
"Ben!" I screeched, aghast. Now we're both going to be late. The crime-fighting superhero Bonnie-and-Clyde power duo was going to be late. Oh, god. Oh, dear god. Is this what a stroke feels like? Am I literally going to have a stroke? Oh, yes. I am definitely hyperventilating.
"Cuddle, sunshine…" Ben murmured, still asleep. His voice was husky and yet vulnerable, content and yet demanding. I melted, then regained form.
"Oh, no mister. You won't have me that easily." Leslie Knope will not be made late by a half-conscious, incompetently grammatical man. Mark my words!
My back turned to him in a huff, I dressed in a sleek periwinkle blouse and tan blazer. When I turned back around, I stumbled.
Purposefully or not (though I had my suspicions), Ben had shifted in bed. The blankets that had been tucked up over his shoulders were draped down around his hipbones, exposing his upper body in all of its glory. His neck flowed flawlessly into his chest, his arms, his abs…
I swear my ovaries exploded.
I closed my eyes. Strengthened my resolve. Imagined his arms wrapped around me, his warm skin pressed against mine…
Before I knew it, I was l launching myself back into my warm bed and my fiancé's waiting arms. He curled around me and chuckled as I stroked his strong, muscled arms. The silk of my sheets begged to caress my skin. I sighed contentedly.
"I win," Ben said next to me, completely awake.
"Yes, you do," I murmured back, slipping back into a serene sleep.
Five more minutes can't hurt...