her remedy

9

I don't remember falling asleep.

When I felt hands underneath me, I woke up, feeling very disoriented.

"It's just me, Simon. I'm taking you to bed." He whispers to me in a calm voice.

"What time is it? When did I fall asleep?"

"It's 1 in the morning. You fell asleep in the car."

"I'm sorry." I say, closing my eyes and laying my head against his shoulder. He feels so warm and safe, I never want to leave his arms.

"Don't be, we stayed out too late."

Carefully, he unlocks the front door and walks up the stairs. He remembers the way to my room and gently opens the door.

I try to hold on for a moment longer as he gets closer to my bed, then he sets me down.

He kisses me on the forehead, and I open my eyes.

As I stare into his face for a moment, I wonder what life would be like if he lived with me. What it would be like to see his face every morning. What it would be like to be his, forever.

"I'll see you soon, Adele. Goodnight." He starts to make his way to the door, and I get an idea.

"You're not driving home alone this late at night." I say to him, sounding more like his mother than his girlfriend.

"Yes I am."

"No you're not. You're staying here." I protest.

"Thanks, but I'll be alright. Besides, I don't want to intrude."

"You're not." I get up from the bed and turn on the hall light, taking his hand and showing him the guest bedroom.

"Just for tonight, so I won't be worried about you getting home safe."

"Are you sure that's okay?"

"Do you think I would be offering it if it wasn't okay?"

He shrugs.

"It's fine, believe me. Goodnight, Simon." We kiss for a short moment. I know both of us want it to last longer, but I pull away and start to walk back to my room.

"I love you." He says in his deep voice.

"I love you too. You know where I am if you need anything."

Just as I am shutting the door behind me, I hear him softly whisper, "I need you."

I pretend not to hear it and walk away.

It's still too soon to tell him how much I really, really love him.

*

The eerie feeling of someone watching me wakes me from a deep sleep.

I see a dark figure kneeling beside me, and it scares the life out of me so I scream, "Simon! Help!"

Quickly, I switch on the light and hear a familiar voice say, "Relax, it's just me."

I look down and see him looking up at me, his eyes red from crying.

"What are you doing?" I ask him, slightly squinting from the sudden light.

"I'm sorry, I know that's really weird to watch you sleep. I just missed you."

"Why are you crying?" I ask him. There is no room for me to judge him for watching me sleep, it's something I did to Alex several times.

He looks away from my face and down to the floor, staying silent for a moment. Then he says, "Because it just now hit me how lucky I am to have you in my life."

"That's sweet, but I'm the lucky one." I smile softly.

Then I sit up in bed and he gets up from the floor and sits next to me.

He looks into my eyes as he tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear. His hand brushes against my cheek and I slowly close my eyes.

After a couple seconds of just appreciating the moment, I open my eyes and find myself inching closer and closer to his face.

In a instant, our lips meet. This is surreal. This is passionate. I experience something I've never felt before, and the world around me completely disappears.

When he pulls away after a minute, both of us are out of breath. We put everything into that kiss. Our hearts and our lips said more about how much we loved each other than words ever could.

I still need to tell him how much he means to me. He needs to know that I want him to move in with me, to sleep next to me every single night.

But we've only been together four months. It's too soon. Way too soon.

He gets up and says, "I'm sorry for waking you."

I shake my head. "That was the best kiss I've ever had. I'll never forget it."

He smiles and begins to walk to the door. "I love you, Adele. You are so beautiful."

"I love you too." The light from the lamp doesn't do a good job of hiding my cheeks as I blush. He just laughs and leaves the room.

I shut the light off after smiling to myself for a little after he leaves. My heart is feeling something. It's a foreign feeling, as if I haven't felt it in a while.

As I am drifting back off into peaceful sleep, I realize something. That feeling in my heart? It's happiness. It's love. It's the sudden realization that I have found love again.

And that is a feeling I wouldn't trade for the world.