Avi Kaplan: A Collection of Short Stories

Sleeping Wonder

You have a secret: you loved watching him sleep.

+++

It started innocently enough.

The first time he fell asleep in front of you, it was on an overnight flight from Los Angeles to New York for an early morning talk show. It was the first trip you took with him as his girlfriend. You had tried to talk him out of buying you a plane ticket, insisting that he would only be gone for two days and that you would much rather wait for him at home than disturb him while at work.

Avi, naturally, heard nothing of it and when you finally caved and agreed to accompany him, his smile lit up his face and he quickly kissed your lips before pulling you away to go pack.

Later on during the flight, his enthusiasm faded into fatigue, but you did not realize he was asleep until you felt the soft weight of his head on your shoulder. You gazed down and found him slack-jawed and snoring ever so softly, his hands curled protectively in his lap, his knees bumping against yours.

Shuffling from in front of you pulled you away from Avi's face. From in between the seats, Kevin showed you the screen of his phone, the image of you gazing down at a sleeping Avi stared back at you. Panic ran through you but before you could say a word, Kevin reassured you with a smile, "Don't worry. I'm not sharing this one."

+++

If the flight sparked your interest, Kevin and Avi's sleeping wars blew that interest into a full-blown obsession.

Ever since that first secret sleeping wars picture Kevin took of the two of you, you were eager for more. Avi's tour schedule made it difficult for the two of you to be together. You spoke and Skyped whenever you could, but it wasn't the same. Those pictures somehow made the sting of separation less painful.

You quickly noticed he slept the same in almost every picture. All his limbs where usually closely pulled into his body and he would be either curled in on himself or be lying perfectly straight. Sometimes a beanie was pulled low over his eyes or he was wrapped entirely in blankets, but he always had that slightly slack-jawed, peaceful look on his face.

Avi mentioned to you once that he hated losing to Kevin in their little game. You didn't dare breathe a word that you were happy he was.

+++

You expected Avi to sleep in a bed the same way slept everywhere else—in straight, neat lines. But you quickly realized this wasn't the case.

He must have come home early to surprise you, but fell asleep waiting for you to get home. You walked into your bedroom to find him stomach down, head turned towards his left, right arm pinned under his chest, left arm shot straight out across the bed with one leg straight and the other pulled closely to his chest.

Blinking, you stopped and stared for a moment, almost disbelieving what you were seeing. Quietly, you pulled your phone out and quickly snapped a picture. That one you would keep to yourself.

You carefully toed out of your shoes and unzipped your jacket, tossing it somewhere on the floor behind you. Walking slowly, you approached the bed and as softly as you could, lay down beside him. Avi didn't move as you carefully lifted his arm and draped it over you, scooting closer to him, but not daring to touch him further.

Staring up at his face, you drank him in. His beanie adorned the top of his head, his beautiful dark hair peeked out from underneath. Your fingers itched to touch his face, to feel his beard beneath your skin, but you remained still. His eyelashes fanned out against his check and his lips were slightly pursed, soft puffs of air escaping with each breath.

A small squeak fell from your mouth as Avi suddenly pulled you closer and pressed a kiss to your forehead. "I missed you," he mumbled against your skin, his voice rumbling deep in his chest.

You're flush against him now, his body straightened out besides yours, and you can't help but slide your hand under the hem of his shirt and feel the warmth of his skin beneath your palm. Avi shivered slightly at your touch and you smiled against his throat as he mimicked you, snaking his hand up your shirt.

"I missed you, too," you said, capturing his lips with your own.

The kiss quickly went from chaste to passionate as his tongue slipped past your lips and the hand on your lower back pressed your hips fervently into his. You groaned against his mouth, your hips rolling of their own accord and suddenly Avi rolled you beneath him, his hands making quick work in pulling your shirt over your head.

Frantic energy seemed to permeate the air and you needed, needed, needed to feel his skin on yours and you almost cried out in relief when Avi tore his shirt off. His deft fingers flicked open the clasp of your bra and pulled it from your arms as you worked to unbutton his jeans and shove them down his hips.

You smiled at the moan he let out as you cupped him through his boxers and he retaliated in kind, pressing firmly there and—dear God, yes—you needed him. Lifting your hips, you pushed down your panties and Avi did the same with his boxers.

Looking up at him, you smiled, kissing his chin and then soft meets hard and you let out something between a gasp and a sigh as he entered you. Pressing his forehead against your shoulder, Avi placed a wet, open mouthed kiss to your collarbone before beginning to move.

Humming with pleasure, you held onto the smooth expanse of his back, lifting your hips with each even stroke of his hips. Deep groans fell from Avi's mouth as he started moving faster, grasping both of your hips in his hands to pull your closer. You could feel your orgasm approaching and Avi must have sensed it too because he slipped a hand to where your bodies were joined and pressed against that bundle of nerves that had been craving his touch.

An "oh God," slipped from your lips and your entire body seemed to tense and you arched into Avi's touch as your release claimed you. Suddenly, he possessed your lips and you swallowed his groan as his body gave one final thrust and he collapsed, sated in your arms, head resting between your breasts.

You both lay silent for a while; you running your fingertips along the gentle curve of Avi's spine and he placing small kisses to any patch of skin he could find.

"Well, I'm horrible," he finally mumbled against your ribs.

"I'm not sure how you classify that as horrible," you sighed, content.

Folding his hands under his chin, he looked up at you. "I had this plan to surprise you—take you out to a fancy dinner, get some overpriced drinks, get a little tipsy and then fall into bed like a pair of giggling fools."

You ran a hand through his hair, absently twisting strands with your fingers. "You've got zero complaints from me about how tonight went."

Avi smiled and pulled himself up to plant a kiss on your lips before falling beside you and wrapping you in his arms. Letting out a yawn, he snuggled against you and you smile to yourself when, just a few moments later, you heard his soft snore and felt his breath against your shoulder.

You watch him for a few moments before finally succumbing to sleep.

+++

Avi woke before you did. His head rested comfortably against your stomach but your limbs were tangled, one hairy leg trapped by two smooth ones. Slowly, he turned his head and placed a soft kiss above your navel, smiling to himself as he noticed your intertwined hands—his left hand in your right.

Looking up, past your breasts, Avi's gaze landed on your face. He silently took your sleeping form in, seeking to etch this moment forever in his memory. Your head is turned slightly to the right, a crown of unruly hair fanning out from your face. The corners of your mouth are curved downward and Avi resisted the temptation to wake you up with a kiss.

For now, he settled down contently, and let you sleep.

+++

Avi has a secret: he loves watching you sleep.