Looking Beyond

Chapter 27: Happy Valentine's Day

     Brea woke up earlier than usual on this particular Tuesday. It was, after all, Valentine's Day. She needed a few extra minutes to sneak around and leave a few cards for everyone in the house. It wasn't much, but it was something she liked doing. It was one of the few things she missed about back home. She sighed and gingerly moved Jacob's arm off of her waist. 'Ugh. My sides are killing me. I need to lay off the ab machines at the gym for a bit.' She thought to herself.

     "Happy Valentine's Day Darlin'." Jacob's hand returned to her waist and held her closer. Brea winced at the pressure. "You alright?"

     Brea leaned back into him and sighed. "I'm good. I think I over did my workout the other day."

     Jacob nuzzled her. "You don't need to work out so hard. You look great."

     "I know, but I forgot how much I enjoyed working out."

     "So, why are you up so early? You don't usually get up until six. It's five."

     "I was just going to do my stupid little Valentine's Day thing." She pulled his hand off her waist and kissed it. "I need a little extra time this morning."

     "Don't be gone too long." His fingers lightly touched her back as she sat up and pulled her slipper socks on her feet.

     "I'll be back soon." She reached for the bag she had left by her side of the bed.

     Jacob rolled over to watch her leave, a small smile resting on his lips.

* * *

     Brea cautiously opened the door to her room. As she suspected, she found Savannah curled against Erik, who in turn had his arms wrapped tightly around her. Brea tiptoed closer to the bed and took the cards she had for the both of them and placed them on the headboard – Savannah's at about eye level if she were facing it, and Erik's a bit higher. If anything, placing the cards was half the fun. She put a small bottle of chocolate sauce on Savannah's night stand. Brea knew that her sister would either laugh or appreciate the gift. She silently left the lovers and closed the door behind her.

     The next room was trickier: Trevor. She didn't know if he was a sound sleeper, but she had an idea for one of his cards. She slowly opened his bedroom door and was greeted by his snoring. "Good." She whispered to herself. She slid inside the room and shut the door. She estimated where Trevor would see himself in the mirror that hung on the door and stuck the card there. She was moving the door open to leave, when she heard movement and she stopped all movement. She peeked in the mirror to see if she had woken Trevor up. She caught sight of half of his naked rear as he rolled over in his bed. She raced out of the room, thankful it was only a half-moon and not 'flop and wiggle' this time.

     Brea was thankful that Dan wore noise canceling headphones to bed. She carefully made her way around his bed and put a card on his tablet. She eyed the bed more closely. 'Scarlett's here!' She giggled softly. 'Dan, you sneaky bastard.' She stepped into the hallway and picked a card out of her bag marked 'Scarlett.' She slipped back into the room and put the card against Scarlett's glasses.

     Brea returned to Jacob's room at a little after half-past five. She had placed the rest of the cards in the more usual places: beside the coffee mugs, on Dan's computer monitor, Erik's car keys, and the like. She pulled her slipper socks back off and slid back into bed beside Jacob. 'I'm so tired. I need to get to bed earlier.' She instructed herself as she curled herself against Jacob's warmth.

* * *

     "Brea? It's seven!" Jacob nudged his snoring girlfriend.