🔞5EX🔞

Coffee

"Holy balls! What the hell happened to you Darl?!" Muriel asks as I enter the kitchen, a horrified expression on her face as she eyes my mouth, which as predicted by Dr Kendall is grossly swollen. Still numb from last nights local anaesthetic I continue to have difficulty speaking without drooling everywhere like a Dogue de Bordeaux after a particularly long drink.
Gross!
Right now my thoughts are on food, my stomach growling angrily, demanding sustenance immediately.
I am starving, having not eaten before my trip to the hospital, and not since either because my mouth just won't work. I can barely suck water through a straw because I can't form a full seal around it. The numbness should begin wearing off soon, the angry gremlin inside will have to wait until later for satisfaction!

Taking a seat at the island and accepting the glass of juice that Muriel has just handed me with a very lispy "Thhhankthh" I take my phone from my pocket and open up a new notes page, typing a quick message and turning it to show Muriel, who takes my phone and extends her arm fully away from her body whilst squinting.

"Shit! I ain't got me specs! Sorry darl, I can't read that, but I presume you can't talk too much right now. That right?" She questions, eyes widening as she looks past my shoulder at someone who has just entered the room behind me, shock on her face.

"Crikey! I know you two ain't been the best of friends so far but this is not on! What the hell Yanni? She's a woman! It doesn't matter what she did or said you can't just........"

"STOP!" he says quietly but firmly from directly behind me, a small shiver running through me at the closeness of him, his stealth shocking me for a second time!
Muriels mouth moves for a second or two longer but words have ceased to be uttered, however her look of shock remains. A jolt goes through my body as his chest presses softly against my back. I feel his weight shift slightly to the left as his hand makes contact with my shoulder. Immediately tense, my body rigid, I feel panic beginning to set in, my pulse rate rising and heat spreading through my face as icy chills simultaneously dance along my spine. Yanni runs his fingertips tenderly down my arm and I become aware that the chills are radiating from the spot where his soft skin is in contact with mine despite their warmth, causing a small gasp of surprise to escape my distorted mouth. His hand completes its journey towards mine, lingering momentarily, our fingers almost intertwined before he removes the phone from my grip. I turn my head to the left and find myself eye to eye with Yanni and my lungs cease to expand. His breath is warm on my cheek but his face is too close for me to focus on any feature but his eyes. His smile is obvious in them, mischief lighting them from inside, tiny creases at the corners of his eyes as a short breathy laugh escapes his lips. As he pulls away from me to sit on the stool beside me I realise why Muriel was, and still is, staring at him. I haven't seen him since the incident yesterday, going straight to bed once Noah and I got home from the hospital but it's clear that I am not the only one who suffered an injury after our collision.
A large red blemish covers the entirety of his left cheek, his chin and part way down his neck, deeper crimson in places, and starting to turn purple directly below his left eye, which I can now see has begun to swell slightly, the already delicate skin tense over the fluid beneath it.

"I fell and landed heavily, my mouth connecting with Yannis chin. Ow!" he reads my message to Muriel aloud from my phone with a chuckle. I nod as she drags her eyes away from his and settles them on me, questioning the truth of that statement.

"Christ on a bike! You two! Look at the state you're in. What the hell were you doing? Actually, you know what? I don't want to know! Yanni, you should put an ice pack on that" she points at his face. "Anyway, rack off now, I've got so much to do and don't need you two cluttering up the place! Go outside and I'll bring you both some breakfast" as she shoos us out the door.

True to her word Muriel delivers us a delicious breakfast of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, fruit salad and coffee. As always it is delicious, even though I can only very carefully eat a few tiny bites because of the lack of a fully functioning mouth right now. This woman really is a marvel. I wonder if she fancies a long working holiday in England next year?
Yanni and I are sitting opposite each other beside the pool, the early morning sun rising from the ocean as if Triton himself is bestowing the most glorious gift upon us. It is absolutely breathtaking, and in different company I would find this to be the most romantic moment.
We haven't spoken to each other since sitting down but I don't feel awkward at all, the opposite infact, we are both lost in our own thoughts while witnessing one of nature's most amazing natural light shows. As I pour myself a coffee he turns to look at me, I feel rather than see his eyes on me and look up at him...... feeling awkward now!