Aftermath

23

She wasn't sure what time it was when she was jostled awake by Matthew. Sweat dotted his furrowed brow, and his lips moved as he mumbled under his breath. It wasn't until he cried out and started flailing around that Cal realized he was having a nightmare.

"Hey," she called to him trying to grab his arms and still his body, after a few attempts she managed to wrangle both of his arms down and climb on top of him. "Mattie, shh it's okay." Calpurnia tried again, but his eyes darted beneath his eyelids and he still struggled against her. She let go of his arms and instead grabbed his face, running her thumbs gently on the apples of his cheeks. "Wake up, c'mon" she whispered and kissed his lips lightly. Finally, his body relaxed under her a little and he shot up into a sitting position. He looked around frantically for a moment before he pulled her into him, and buried his face in her neck.

Cal didn't know what to do, she didn't know how to help him. She had never seen him like that before. He gripped her shirt in fists behind her back.

"It's okay," her hand gently stroked his dark curls, the other held his elbow pulling him to her "it's okay, you're okay." She eased him back so she was leaning against the headboard. He loosened his grip on her shirt, and settled for one hand against the side of her throat, as if he were holding himself to her, the other lay limp beneath her back.

Eventually, he fell asleep. Head, still burrowed into her neck, still clinging to her tightly. She kept her fingers running through his hair gently. Cal didn't go back to sleep, fearing if she did he might wake up again. So she held him as he held her so many times before.

He didn't mention it in the morning, so Calpurnia didn't bring it up. They got up and headed to get ready, Matthew to the kitchen to make coffee, and Cal to the shower. She let the water run over her and soak her hair for a minute before she washed her face. When she finished rinsing she heard the door to the shower open and Matthew wrapped his arms around her torso.

"Mattie, you still have clothes on!" she exclaimed when she turned to face him. He kissed her softly. "Matthew," she tried again but he shushed her with another kiss.

"Just let me hold you a minute," Cal nodded and pressed her palms into his back. "I love you," he said against her hair, then against her cheek, then mouth.

"Are you okay?" her words were muffled against his chest. "I love you," she said into the silence and he squeezed her snug against him. Eventually, Cal brought her hands up to the waistband of his boxers and slid them off. They hit the floor with a wet smack outside the shower. She got the soap and washed him gently, her hands traveling slowly around his body. Placed a kiss on his collarbone when she was done and nudged him under the stream of water to rinse off. While he rinsed she scrubbed her body as well.

They got out when they were clean and still clad only in towels, and sat on the couch sipping their coffee and looked out the window at the road below. He had a meeting he needed to attend that afternoon so Calpurnia busied herself cleaning his apartment while he was gone. It wasn't messy, but there was a layer of dust that had settled over things in his absence. When he returned, they got ready for the Christmas party his work was throwing.

...

Calpurnia gripped Matthew's hand tightly in hers as another group of coworkers approached them. They had been there for just over an hour, and she couldn't believe how many people had come up to them. Not that Matthew was the shy type, or that she doubted he was acquainted with his colleagues, it just seemed like an impossibly large amount of people.

"Hey, guys! Great to see you. This is Calpurnia" Matthew greeted them easily. She offered a small wave in their direction at the mention of her name. Each of them introduced themselves, and to each of them, she offered a smile back.