Auggie lay facedown on the bed, tangled in the sheets. The air was warm and sweet, a pleasant breeze billowing through some distant window. He realized that there was someone else tangled up with him. A woman.
Her skin was velvety, her important parts chastely covered by the sheets. She rolled over and stretched, pulled him in for a kiss.
"Parker," he managed, appreciatively. But it wasn't Parker. It was Annie. Maybe it had been all along, but he knew for sure in that moment. Something about her lips, her hands. Definitely Annie.
"I'm with Parker," he should have said, and he knew it, but he didn't say it. He allowed his lips to be otherwise occupied by this passionate woman, to be thoroughly entranced and ruined by her, until suddenly-
Auggie woke in his own bed, in a cold sweat. He bolted involuntarily upright, breathless and overwhelmed with dread.
He realized, once again, that he had company. The woman lying only a few inches away was his fiancee. She stirred.
"You okay?" she murmured. Her voice held genuine concern.
Auggie was grateful he didn't have to look her in the eye because, truth told, he couldn't. Instead, he swung his legs over the edge of the mattress and went for some fresh clothes.
"I have to go," he managed. "I'll call you."
"Already?" she asked, more awake now. "You've only been home a few hours."
"My phone went off," he lied. "It's urgent."
"Okay," she conceded. "Call me later?"
"Count on it," Auggie said. He had to force the words. Because, in truth, he wasn't sure if Parker could count on him at all anymore.