Chapter Ten
"Ami-san. Ami…."
Caught in that state of just beginning to awaken, Ami kept her eyelids shut and turned slowly in her bed, concealing a contented smile on her sweet Asian face. She loved being woken up this way, and like always, wished that it could carry on like that for the rest of the day. How sad it was that she would have to get up, shower, and make it to the lab all in about twenty minutes after this routine was over.
"Mmm…?" she played along, almost straining hard to feel Johannes run his hand down her cheek and neck, and trace his finger down her collarbone….
"Wake up, Ami. We're running behind."
"I don't want to go…."
Ami reached up and caressed the side of his face with gentle, loving strokes. She heard him shift some more of his weight onto the bed, leaning his hands on the mattress and lowering himself toward her. Through her eyelids she sensed daylight streaming through the window, in the little crevice where the curtains should have met. It was all so beautiful, but Ami noticed that Johannes must have forgotten to put on his favorite European cologne.
"I don't either, Ami-san, but we agreed that we'd be on our way back to the terminal at ten, and we missed the continental breakfast."
Ami's eyes snapped open and she retracted her hand from her best friend's fiancé's face.
"Mamoru!"
"I'm sorry!" Mamoru exclaimed, gasping in surprise. "But you slept through the alarm, and I had to get you up before we risked missing our flight. I'm so sorry. I didn't know what else I should do."
"It's okay," Ami said softly, feeling a wave of furious crimson rush to her face again. "I'm the one who should apologize. I'm normally up early, you see…."
"Don't worry. Oh, and um, good morning." Mamoru smiled sheepishly, still hovering over her, evidently not sure what to say or do next.
Indeed, they were in quite an awkward position here. Ami stared up at him, smiling in embarrassment, pulling the covers up over her lacy blue bra; Johannes' T-shirt had shifted on her while she was asleep. Mamoru was already fully dressed, and rather sharply.
"What time is it?"
"About 10:25."
"Oh."
They were still grinning at one another, looking deeply into each others' eyes, as if they shared a big secret. Mamoru tried to clear his throat and look away, and Ami tried to turn on her other side and get up, but Mamoru's arm was still there.
The mid-morning sunlight splashed around his face in such a way that it was like a blinding white-gold aura surrounding him. At that moment Ami thought that she'd probably never seen anything more beautiful, nothing more painfully sweet and inviting. She saw that Mamoru was studying her face intently, looking her over with his deep navy eyes that seemed to shoot straight through her soul.
It could have been one minute or an eternity that had passed in this silence, and Ami cared not to count the seconds while he was so close to her face. She wanted to touch his hair, cut so smoothly and evenly, styled so neatly, like rich dark chocolate woven into soft midnight silk. And Mamoru was still gazing at her face.
Her nerves got the better of her as she tilted her head slightly, letting his soft kiss land on her cheek and placing her own on his.
Then suddenly it was as if the world was ending around the two of them, as a loud blaring noise pierced the air. Mamoru gave a startled jump and Ami threw her palm up onto her wild beating heart. They sprang apart and Mamoru slammed his fist nervously onto the alarm clock.
"Oh goodness, I'm sorry!" Ami said breathlessly. "I hit the snooze button a few times, I forgot! I'm so sorry!"
"Don't worry, it's fine. At least you're awake now." Mamoru stood several paces away from the bed, with a firm look on his face that showed determination not to approach any closer.
"If you have everything together, I'll just get up and ready and meet you in the lobby. I'll take care of everything else," she said, avoiding his eyes and setting her long T-shirt straight before leaving the covers.
"Thanks so much. I'll be waiting." Mamoru hastily made his way toward the closet, gathering up all his belongings and moving so smoothly, which amazed her considering that what just happened truly had their nerves up. He still had a bewildered look on his face.
Ami went about as she said she would, but bore no consciousness over what she was doing. In her mind she was still lying in bed, wondering how on earth things would pan out between them after they'd kissed one another. Her mind was tossed and jumbled around as she searched frantically for a way to even explain it to herself first.