Avi Kaplan: A Collection of Short Stories

Cuddling

When you first met him, his hand lingered warmly within your own for several moments before he slowly withdrew from your touch. You had shivered at the loss of contact, stunned by your own body's reaction to the weight of his skin on yours.

At the end of the night when you finally departed, he drew you into his arms, his whole body seeming to envelop you in warmth. His head was nestled perfectly in the crook of your neck, his beard scraping the skin there and his obscenely warm hands were splayed across your back.

His whispered his goodbyes into your hair, the warmth of his breath against your skin sending ripples of shivers down your spine. You couldn't control the visible shiver that wracked your body as he finally pulled away, his fingers trailing along yours for a moment before he looked up at you and smiled.

As he walked away, a weighed sense of loss hung heavy on your shoulders and in that moment you knew—you were never going to ease the craving deep in your bones for the touch of his skin upon yours.

+++

His touch became your drug. The first kiss sent thrills through your veins and a shiver down your spine. His lips were soft as they caressed yours and you leaned into his touch, groaning as he responded in kind.

But your favorite touches were those lazy moments when your limbs were tangled and he was pressed solidly against you.

+++

When you came home from work you were so exhausted and stressed, you barely processed the black suitcase sitting near the back door. You set your purse down on the table and tossed your keys angrily onto the counter, where they skidded into the sink before opening up the freezer and taking a shot of vodka. The liquid burned down your throat and your face screwed up in disgust as you shot back another. Slamming the freezer door close is when you noticed the suitcase by the door and your heart leaped into your throat.

Avi.

"You son of a bitch," you muttered under your breath, your mouth curling into a smile. "What a sneaky little shit."

You were giddy with anticipation as you made your way into the bedroom, stifling your laugh into your hand as you walked into find him face down and drooling on the bed. You studied him for a moment—the soft slope of his spine underneath his shirt, the curve of his ear poking out through the unruly curls on his head, the delicate fan of his eyelashes against his cheek—before joining him on the bed.

He responded instantly to your presence, inhaling deeply through his nose as he wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you close. You snuggled into his warmth, your hands dipping under the hem of his shirt and you smiled into his chest as he pressed a lazy kiss to the top of your head.

"Mmm'ello," he mumbled into your hair, his voice vibrating through his chest.

Avi's fingers curled into your hair, his hand working up towards the back of your skull and he tilted your head up, pressing a firm, solid kiss onto your mouth. He cradled your head like this for what seemed like hours, his mouth moving languidly over yours, his unspoken 'I missed you' written on his tongue. Pulling back, he placed sloppy kisses over your cheeks, chin, eyes and forehead, each one making you giggle and attempt to bury your face into his chest.

"Avi, stop," you whined with a laugh, threatening to tickle his sides by moving your fingers along his rib cage. He stiffened momentarily and twitched, relenting in his assault, but pulling you somehow impossibly closer.

Your entire body seemed to hum, your previous tension bleeding into the air around you and evaporating away. You felt boneless as you shifted, trying to wedge your leg in between his. Avi groaned low in his throat and asked, "Why don't you go change? Go get comfortable and then come sleep with me."

You whined as you pulled your hands away from his skin and slowly untangled yourself from his limbs. You heard Avi's heavy sigh from behind you as you quickly shimmied out of your work clothes and into a pair of well-worn shorts and a tank top. Rejoining him on the bed, you resumed your position as a tangled set of limbs, finally slipping your smooth leg between his hairy one.

Avi shifted slightly, throwing more of his leg over your hip, curling his hand around your waist, his fingers just dipping along the line of exposed skin and buried his face into the warm curve of your shoulder. His beard burned and tickled your skin as he placed a line of kisses along your collarbone, shoulder and up your neck. You snuck your hand back under his shirt, soaking in all the heat of his skin before placing one, open-mouthed kiss to the hollow of his throat.

He hummed appreciatively against your lips and you smiled into his chest. "You came home early," you stated, glancing up and softly kissing his chin.

Avi groaned something unintelligible into your shoulder before pulling back to look at you. His eyes were tired but vibrant and alive as he gazed down at you. "I needed to be home. And you're home to me."

You smiled at him and gently brushed the hair from his eyes, tucking a curl behind his ear. Kissing him softly on the lips, once, twice, you pulled back and settled your head against his chest, the soft thud of his heart comforting beneath your ear. "You're my home, too, Avi."

He held you tight, the contentedness of being close settling in your veins and you both fell asleep tangled within each others limbs.