Flight Risk

45 - Northern Lights over Miss Piggy

Caleb's ringtone alerted me to my being sprawled out, mouth open, and a puddle of drool on half of the lower part of my face. I wasn't sporting one of those cute 'just woke' looks, more of a hobgoblin awakening from hibernation, but my back was to Caleb. His arm rested gently over my side, his hand on my stomach. It was the perfect sleep cuddle, enough contact to send me into a serene state, but not so much to be restricted in movement.

As the phone rang again, he groaned, brushing his fingers against my biceps. "Audrey?"

"Yes, love?" It didn't sound as cute from me as it did from him, but it still made me giddy to say.

He squeezed me close against him and kissed me on my dry cheek before rolling over and grabbing his cell on the bedside table. My body protested at the absence of Caleb's warmth, but he was back beside me in a second. As the bright light of his screen overtook my vision, I squinted.

"'Ello?" he asked.

The man on the line mentioned Northern Lights, and Caleb sat up.

"Interested in the Northern Lights tour tonight?" Caleb repeated, with his gaze on me.

Despite how wonderfully comfortable it was to cuddle in his arms, I nodded.

"We'll be ready then, thank you."

When he hung up, I wiped my face, rolled over, and rested my head on his chest before he could jump up to prepare. "Can we bring the bed?"

He chuckled and stroked my hair. "They ought to develop a cuddling below the Aurora tour, though that might make us ideal polar bear prey."

"No, we just need a bear-proof, glass-domed sleeping pod they tow through the tundra."

"It's a beautiful idea. I believe they have something like that, although some are immobile and the other is more of a trailer bus."

"But we're not on it, so how helpful is that?"

He chuckled. "I can carry you while you rest."

My heart fluttered at the thought of being swept up in his arms. "I wouldn't be too heavy alongside your camera gear?"

"I'd find a way."

We kissed once more before scrambling to replace our pyjamas with clothes that would keep us warmer in the dead of night. I found a crew sweater, a toque, and a pair of fleece leggings while Caleb had tugged on jeans and a hoodie.

When we headed outside to wait for the shuttle van, our gaze drifted to the sky, causing me to trip into the handrail, and Caleb's soft hands caught me yet again.

"I still can't keep my balance around you," I joked before he did.

"You just want me to catch you," he whispered in my ear, sending a rush of blood and heat into my ears like waves crashing into a cave.

Teasing, tentatively flirty Caleb had become confident flirty Caleb, and I liked the change, though I loved that awkward, flustered version too. As our eyes adjusted to the darkness, beside the street lights, white streaks danced in the sky.

As if he knew how much it affected me, he whispered again, "The solar flares are smiling down on our love."

***

Soon the shuttle bus arrived, and we hopped inside to see several familiar faces from our other tours, including Marcela and Yannick. We exchanged smiles as we found a free bench seat near the front. Caleb was playing with some settings on his camera as we left for the last bed-and-breakfast.

We drove through the edge of town and back toward the eastern section of the tundra. We took a similar route to our town and polar bear tours until we ended up at the Miss Piggy Plane wreck.