They had been properly together for weeks at this point. Past the "or maybe they were suffocating each other and he couldn't breathe" and "I guess some people shouldn't be together" comments. Things they both said that made it known they were in a new relationship. They found their rhythm, though. Whether at hers or his, they got to wake up next to each other. He opened himself up to her. His home, his life, his heart.
Most days she woke before him or they would wake together. Their plans depended on who was off that night or if they were both working. Today, they both were scheduled. For once, he woke up before her. He got out of bed quietly and put on his discarded pants to go to the kitchen. They had about an hour before they had to get up to get ready. He had it planned. Bring her coffee, lay in bed for a while, and then finally get up and ready. He quietly got the mugs and started the coffee maker. They both shared the same routine, coffee at the beginning of shift and tea towards the end. They still wanted to sleep after long shifts and in Vegas, every shift was a long shift on graveyard.
Once the coffee was done, he carefully carried both mugs back to the bedroom. Careful not to spill any while marveling that they had taken the leap only a couple months ago. He wasn't too late. At first, a little bumpy. Trying to figure out how to navigate their working relationship with the new private, personal one as well. He was really trying. Talking more, sharing more, being the person he wanted to be for her. He still had to be professional at work, but slipped here and there. Standing closer to her than usual, handing her something and letting their fingers touch. He chided himself for it but he still continued.
They had talked about their past. The hurt, the pain, everything. He explained that it was hard for him to let himself freely love her. He had been burned before. But after almost losing Nick and the reoccurring thoughts of 'it could have been her' and 'we might not have gotten there in time', he realized it was worth it. Loving her, letting himself love her, and telling her was better than nothing. Better than the current. He had told her how he knew there was something special about her the first time they met. It wasn't just that she was young and beautiful. He saw her intelligence…and maybe it was her legs as well. He told her about the fantasies of them being together. From the domestic ones of making dinner together, laying on the couch watching a documentary, and holding hands while running errands, to the more salacious ones of tying her to his bed, having both of his heads between her legs, and discovering that even at his age, shower sex was fun.
Nothing though prepared him for the sight once he lightly pushed open the bedroom door and stepped inside.
She was in his bed.
Sara was in his bed.
Sara was in his bed, naked.
Sara was in his bed, naked and only covered by a sheet.
One arm was flung across the top of the pillow above her head. The other stretched out, reaching to his side of the bed and the sheet draped across her body. He could make out the outline of her chest, rising and falling with each breath.
He was frozen in place. He had seen her in his bed before and her being in her bed next to him. But something about seeing her still asleep and comfortable in his hit him. That reality was infinitely better than fantasy. He could feel the blood in his body racing to a central location. Of all the fantasies he had of her and them, nothing prepared him for the simplest one of her being in his bed.
His trance was broken when he noticed her arm moved. She was slowly waking up and stretching. Cat like, she stretched both arms above her head and her lower limbs towards the foot of the bed. She opened her eyes and looked to the other side of the bed first. She was looking for him. A slight frown appeared on her face. She didn't know where he was. She looked up towards the door and like magic, a smile overtook the frown she made.
"Hey," she said, voice still a bit thick with sleep.
"Hey, I brought coffee for us" he replied in a more hushed tone. His heart stood still as the brightest "Sidle Smile" graced her face.
He walked over to the bed and gently sat down and extended his hand to give her the cup of coffee.
She pushed up on her elbows and the sheet shifted down. He could see the top of her breasts. Some coloration on her chest from his beard was still present. He was in awe of her and the naked body he now got to see.
She noticed the change in him instantly. He was staring at her and she knew why. It emboldened her. She sat up fully to grab the mug of coffee and heard the intake of his breath. The sheet had dropped to her abdomen.
He saw everything, including the marks he had left earlier that morning.
"You are so beautiful," he said.