Holly tossed another log onto the fire, setting free sparks that momentarily lit the room like fireflies. Gail was freezing, even wrapped in a blanket like a burrito and sat directly in front of the fire, even when her girlfriend cuddled in behind her and hugged her back while wrapping her own blanket around the blonde. She was cold. She'd called that that weekend wasn't the time they should have headed up to her parents cabin, she knew there was a nasty blizzard due, but Holly had talked her into it with unfair promises of food and sex. Neither of which was happening.
"What time is it," Holly yawned next to her ear.
Gail glanced to the big grandfather clock in the corner on reflex. She kept forgetting that it was broken, the thing hadn't worked in almost a decade -her parents stated that at the cabin time didn't exist and so they weren't going to pay to fix the old clock. She rolled her eyes and shrugged. If she was being honest she missed the loud obnoxious chimes upon every hour.
They sat listening to the wind crash against the windows, the fire crackle and pop, and each others steady breathing. Gail leaned further into the pathologist, snuggling her head onto her shoulder and resting the side of her face against Holly's neck. She let out a content sigh. Growing up she wasn't a cuddly person, personality and otherwise, she hated the vulnerability in the act. Letting someone comfort her with a hug or a gentle hand on the arm, it was too much. Until Holly came along and showed her just how much she craved it.
She didn't know it when she met her, not even the second time at the library, but Holly changed her the second their hands touched.