A LEAP OF FAITH

Tenth Step

Tenth Step
May 20, 2002
11:00 a.m.
Jung Jin

For the first time in six years, I slept a full night. Actually, it was more than a full night... I actually slept for a full eight hours and some change, double the amount I usually got on a regular basis.

A smile unwittingly formed on my lips, remembering what had happened.

Life can be so kind at times. My sister could have really been hurt, but she wasn't. What I had thought was going to be just another night obsessing over Gia and what the hell we were going to do with us ended up with us making love.

Like I said... sometimes life can be so good.

My eyes still closed, I stretched on the bed, my arms going over my head, the sheet draped carelessly over my torso. On the pillow next to me Gia's scent still lingered, and I burrowed closer to her smell. I put an arm out to hold her close when only the coldness of the bed greeted me.

I gingerly opened one eye, the sunlight already beaming in through the glass windows. When I saw that she was not on the bed as I thought she would be, I sat up, my back against the headboard.

I wasn't worried.

She had spent the last five years sleeping in a sleeping bag, so it would be totally expected that she would want to go back to sleep there. It was a fair deduction. I may not know everything about her but I knew this much was true.

My woman liked her routines.

Still, I tried to listen for any activity, any sign that she was already up, but there was only silence in the penthouse. Dog would usually be roaming about now, demanding fuss and outside time. But now that he was spending time with my family, the place seemed quiet, too quiet for my liking.

I'd be lying, though, if I didn't say that I wouldn't mind a couple more days alone with Gia.

I plan on never lying again.

One glance at the clock on the side table told me that it was already 11 a.m.,way past the time she would be running.

That's it, I thought. She must have already gone on her run.

Slowly I dragged myself out of bed, noting the clothes that we had hastily discarded last night with a grin. Not bothering to put any back on, I pick each up and chuck it in the laundry basket before heading straight to the bathroom to take a shower.

It may be the weekend but I like my routines, too. And certainly one I loved was getting breakfast ready for her.

I turned on the shower and waited for it to warm. As I did I wondered which Gia I would be meeting this morning, whether the Gia after a night I'd loved her would be even more beautiful than I ever saw her before. She might be shy, flushing whenever our eyes meet, remembering the urgency with which we came together. Or... she might be bolder, braver... wanting to touch me as badly as I want to touch her again.

I have to make up for falling asleep last night.

My abdomen tightened with the thought, already anticipating what will happen. I had no doubt she would want to talk about this, to give this definition, but strangely the thought didn't give me pause.

We've needed to talk. We need to talk. Maybe after we can visit Ji Soo in the hospital and reassure her that Gia was okay. While there I can try to convince Gia to see a doctor, just to make sure that the wound on her shoulder needed no other intervention. Maybe after we can go to see our dog.