Yours Truly ❁ n.k.h

• chapter thirty two •

I woke up to a hand holding onto my shirt for dear life and a bout of snoring.

The otherwise silence cruising through the house felt sweet, so sweet that I refused to open my eyes. I just listened for her.

Dinah stirred awake not too long after me. I felt her unwind and pull back until her body was lifting from the bed. She sulked into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

When the door closed behind her, I finally opened my eyes. The entire room was dark. I don't even think it was a decent hour in the morning. It was maybe seven if I had to shoot in the dark. But I had no plans to get up— not at this very second at least.

The door opened just then and I shut my eyes. Maybe I looked stationary enough for her not to notice. My wife padded across the room to the door that led to the hallway.

I thought the coast was clear. She didn't say anything and I didn't feel anyone looking at me or touching me. But from the right of me I heard her mumble, "I know you're up."

I smiled mischievously under the covers like a child. I turned with a stretch. "Yeah, I am."

"I know. Good morning. Are you making breakfast or am I?"

I thought for a moment before shifting the covers from my body. "Good morning... Um, yeah, I got it. Let me just brush my teeth."

She nodded, her haphazard hair flopping with its movement. "Okay, I'll be in the living room." Then she was gone.

I took my time in the bathroom. I brushed my teeth, wiped the crust from my eyes, and peed out the last of those damn Coronas. I was kind of in the mood for eggs to wipe the sluggish feeling of drinking away. We just had them the other day, but they were scrambled. The idea of an omelette in exchange didn't sound too bad.

"Do you like crepes?" I asked randomly, sauntering into the room. My wife's attention was on her phone. Of course she was checking Instagram.

"Aren't those the, um... Like, the thin pancakes?"

I nodded. "Basically, yeah."

She shrugged. "I mean, I guess. But I think... Um, I prefer regular pancakes. I like mine fluffy."

"Okay. Well, do you want pancakes or omelettes?"

I slumped against the counter and faced her. She looked up from her phone in thought, tucking a strand behind her ear. "Omelettes sound good."

"Over easy?"

"Ooh, yes please."

I smiled. "Okay."

Breakfast was made in silence with mindless chatter in between. We were accustomed to being up this early for Angel so the time wasn't too hard on us. But Dinah was showing me a funny video in the kitchen when she proposed the most random idea.

"We should go out."

I straightened up from looking in one of the bottom cabinets for a new sponge. "Go out?"

"Yeah." She walked around the bend, tapping my hip so I could move.

I stepped aside. She closed the cabinet I was in and opened another, pulling out the box. She grabbed the first sponge she found and turned on the water.