Alex woke up in the middle of the night, her heart racing. She had been having a dream, but now that she was awake, she couldn't remember a thing about it. She looked to her right and calmed down. Hard to be scared when you don't have to wake up alone. She stirred under the covers a bit, inadvertently waking Mort.
His eyes opened slowly as he asked, "Everything O.K.?"
Alex ran her fingers through his hair. "Bad dream, I think."
"Can't remember?"
"Hm mm…"
"Come here." Mort lovingly pulled Alex to him so that her head was resting on his chest. "Better?"
Alex sighed. "Much." She remembered what Karen had told her about waiting. It had been nearly a month since then and although she hardly wanted to ask him while he was half asleep, she found the words flowing out of her mouth, unable to stop them. "Do you like it here?"
Mort snuggled against her a bit deeper. "Mm hm," he responded, fighting against the incoming slumber.
"Have you ever thought about, um, maybe…staying here?"
Mort's eyes opened very slightly. "Aren't I doing that now?"
Alex's voice became noticeably nervous. "Well, yeah, but I…I was wondering if…never mind."
Mort was fully awake now. "What's on your mind?"
Alex positioned herself so she could see Mort's face. "I love you," she said softly.
"I love you too. Now that that's cleared up, what were you wondering?"
"Well, you like it here and I…I really like you being here." She began to ramble a bit quickly. "I love not waking up alone and seeing you first thing in the morning and I love the way you are with Julia and I love making love to you and I…"
Mort chuckled. "Slow down, baby. What is all of this leading up to?" The look in his eyes told Alex that he already knew.
"Don't leave," she whispered.
"As in in the morning – or ever?" he asked with a smile.
Alex kissed him deeply. "Ever."
Mort's face lit up and he sat up in the bed. "You aren't sleep committing, are you?"
Alex laughed. "No, I'm very much awake and aware of…what's your answer?"
"My answer?" He kissed Alex with every ounce of emotion in his body. "Clear enough?"
She smiled at him. "Hm, I don't know…I think you may need to convince me a little bit more. I mean, this is a big step, after all."
Mort smiled back. "More convincing, huh?" Alex kissed his chest, causing him to shiver. "I can do that."
***
Author's Note: For a more "Extended" version of this scene (like a DVD – heehee) go to adultfanfiction.net I know this was a short chapter, but after a bit of tweaking, the next two chaps will be up quickly.
