A few hours later, I woke up in a puddle of cold sweat... and it wasn't my own. Jim was shuddering beside me. He was still asleep, but obviously having a nightmare. He was mumbling in his sleep. I grabbed his shoulder and shook him vigorously.
"Jim, wake up. Stop dreaming." I said, urgently. Jim's eyes snapped open and searched for mine. He sat up and was hugging me within the space of half a second.
"Jim, it's okay. I'm here. It was only a dream." I said, soothingly, stroking his hair.
"Regina, it wasn't a dream. It was a vision of the future. I know it was." Jim protested.
"Well, what happened?" I asked. Jim broke apart and hung his head.
"Bad things. I don't want to scare you." he said.
"You scared me by waking up in a lake of sweat." I pointed out.
"I'm sorry. The last time I had a nightmare like that was when Gilbert disappeared." We sat in silence, both wondering what to say.
"Jim, you know how we already packed the curtains?" I asked.
"Yeah. What about them?"
"With no curtains, and lots of sweat, you look like a glowing angel." Jim looked up.
"Do I, now?" He half-smiled.
"Do you know what I do to glowing angels?" I asked, crawling towards him.
"I have a fair guess." Jim, it turns out, guessed right.
"I move that we don't hang up the curtains in the new house, so that I look like a glowing angel after midnight showers." Jim said.
"I second that movement." I said. Jim leaned up against the wall so that I could snuggle into the space under his arm. I started slowly tracing the contours of the muscles on his chest. Pecs, then abs.
"Jim, it is possible you're over-muscled, but I like you this way." Jim kissed my forehead.
"I like you this way, too. When you feel all motherly, but still like to have fun at night."
The rest of the night passed uneventfully. Jim and I slept against the wall, still cuddling. I had curled into a ball with my head on his lap. Arnold walked in early the next morning.
"Up an at 'em, lovebirds! It's moving day!" He yelled. Jim blinked a few times and moved his legs, rousing me from my sleep. I rubbed my eyes.
"Arnie must really want us out of here." I observed. Jim didn't answer, he just ripped the comforter off the mattress and dried the remaining sweat off himself. He picked up the t-shirt he was wearing the night before and dropped it in disgust.
"I have no t-shirts left." Jim complained. "I was planning to wear yesterday's today, but it's still wet."
"You can go without one today. I want to show you off extra well." I said, getting up from the mattress. Jim grinned and slid out the door. I followed him to the kitchen, where everyone was eating breakfast.
"Big day, you two. Are you excited?" Mom asked.
"Of course. Wouldn't you be excited if you were moving into your first house as a married couple?" I responded.
"We were. Now eat some breakfast." Mom ordered. I pulled Jim into the seat next to mine. Every minute that passed seemed like nothing. The end of the day was there before we even expected it. A few minutes short of midnight, Jim and I were in our own bed, in our own house.
"We did it, Regina. We have our own house." Jim whispered.
"Now, if only we legally owned our car... " I joked.
YOU ARE READING
Exit Light
RomanceJim was no good, and Regina Shields knew that. But there was something about him. Something that just clicked. Jim wasn't any good, but he was special; that was for certain.
