Full Strength

Forty Nine-Logan🏒

        Bathed in the golden rays of the sunrise, Lillian had never looked so beautiful.

        She was still asleep, her body draped over me with the comforter coming up to her shoulders. Behind her, her long brown hair was draped over her pillow. Her cheek was pressed to my skin, her fingers splayed across my chest. My own arms were around her waist, her soft skin warm to the touch. 

        Sleepily, I looked around the room. It had been so long since I'd slept here. It still felt very much like my room, except now every time I walked in, I would remember waking up like this. Like I had all the time in the world with my favorite person in the universe. 

        Last night now felt like a vivid dream. Every detail was ingrained in my memory, but I still couldn't quite believe that it had happened. That I hadn't imagined it all. That everything, from her soft kisses to her desperate whimpers, had been real. 

        She was here. She was here, of all places, in my bedroom, holding onto me with a gentle strength. She was here and it was the only thing that mattered to me.

        Slowly, Lillian stirred, her nose skimming the patch of skin right over my heart. Butterflies thrashed inside me, addicted to her touch, to her scent, to her very existence. I wanted to stay wrapped in the blankets with her for days, maybe weeks. 

        With a sigh, she murmured, "Logan?"

        My name on her tongue sounded so sweet. "Yes, my love?" I asked, already smiling.

        "Oh good. I thought you were just a really nice dream," she mumbled, opening her eyes and giving me a hazy smile.

        Lightly, I kissed her lips. "Promise, I'm real."

        She shifted again, wrapping her arms tight around me and settling in deeper along the dips and ridges of my body. The look she was giving me could only be described as adoring as she silently watched my expression.

        "Good morning," she whispered, her eyes bright.

        My smile somehow became bigger. "Good morning, Lilli," I said softly. "Did you sleep okay?"

        "Mm-hmm," she hummed, beaming. "Did you?"

        "Yes, you make an excellent snuggle buddy," I answered, nuzzling my nose to hers.

        "You do too," she murmured, already looking like she might fall back asleep. As wild as last night had been, I knew she was still exhausted. With my recovery going so well, she was working extra hard between filing more reports and constantly adjusting my physical therapy routine. While she'd needed a night off, she hadn't exactly slept a lot last night.

        "Hey, hey, before you go back to sleep, is there anything we have to do today?" I asked.

        "Just cuddle. A lot," Lillian sighed happily. 

        I kissed her again, this time for a little longer. She melted, lacing her arms around my neck and smiling against my lips. Finally drawing back, I whispered, "That sounds perfect. Go back to sleep. I love you."

         "I love you too, Logan," she said, using my chest as a pillow once more.

         I couldn't sleep myself, but I didn't mind simply lying in bed with her for a while longer. Trailing my knuckles down her spine, I marveled at how lucky I was. How I could barely fathom lying next to someone who loved me as much as she did. 

        Off in the distance, I heard vague thumping. Annoyed, I wondered what the neighbors were doing this early in the morning-until I remembered that I didn't really have neighbors. Not ones close by, anyways.