Playing with feelings

20

Jasmine's eyes fluttered open to see the exposed beams of the cottage bedroom shining under the light of a Monday morning. She rolled over to find the body she was spooned into to be still snoozing. Her eyes watched his sleeping ones, and she rose her fingers to lightly caress his stubble. He didn't move and she resisted the urge to wake him just yet, satisfying herself with a soft kiss to his cheek.

She turned yet again, making sure to be slow as not to create too much motion under the arm that held her close to him. She reached her own arm out to grab her phone from the nightstand, turning it on for the first time in 24 hours. It had been a mutual decision to go off the grid for the day, and now Jasmine was met with the steady vibration of her phone catching up to the missed messages and calls.

Not wanting to bother with the stream of missed messages just yet, she set the phone back down, allowing it to also finish catching up. She wanted just a little longer with the person who was beginning to stir next to her.

James was peeking out of his half opened eyes to see Jasmine already fully awake staring back at him. He reached under the sheets to grab her hand and intertwine their fingers together. He let his finger twist the shiny new additions to her hands and greeted her with a smile. "Good morning, baby," he said in a tone as soft as he could with his groggy morning voice.

"Good morning," Jasmine matched his smile then leaned in to kiss him. "Morning breath," she laughed as she pulled away with her face scrunched.

James grinned and pulled his head back, "Sorry," he replied, and rather than kissing her lips, he lifted their conjoined hands to the level of their faces and kissed the pair of rings on her hand.

Jasmine couldn't help the blush on her cheek, still completely smitten no matter how many times he had done this exact action this past weekend.

"Still can't believe I get to call you my wife," James exclaimed happily. He started to move out of the cover and Jasmine stared with a look of concern before she started to shuffle in them as well. "Stay put," he put his hand on her hip to start her movements as he stood from the king bed, "I'm gonna make us breakfast." He headed out of the room they had slept in for the last night to the rest of the tiny mountain cottage that was just enough space for the two of them.

Jasmine stayed put in the bed yet let herself roll on the side that still smelled like him. She fidgeted with the rings as she started to reminisce the last 24 hours of her life, this moment being the first she had spent alone.

It had been the easiest decision of her life driving up to Northern California with James after he had dropped a bombing statement on her just that Friday before.

"We should get married," he said as they shared steaks at a candelit dinner at his house.

Her brain seemed to say "yes" before she could even register it but she had no regrets about running away and eloping to the love of her life. In regards to their relationship timeline, it was quick, but she always believed that when something is right, you just know it, and every day and night she spent with him felt right. That night, he slid an engagement ring on her finger, and the very next day, Saturday, they turned off all contact with the world and drove to a courthouse close to the mountains. She wore a white dress she'd already had in her closet and he wore some simple slacks and a button up. The frills had never been important to her when it came to him, and to him the marriage was 100x important than any wedding could ever be.

The ceremony was nothing more than the two of them signing a marriage certificate, but they did exchange rings, ones that they bought on the roadtrip from Los Angeles. Their wedding bands gave a traditional feeling to their unconventional and it was a perfect combination for the pair of free spirits who met over their love of old school music in one of the most traditional means of the trade, a record store.