More time together (Grahamfield)

[A few] shades of Graham

Seattle, October 14th - sometime between midnight and dawn

If there was one thing that Max couldn't complain about her life, it was her ability of sleeping fast and tight - even too much, maybe. Chloe, as the light sleeper that she was, often felt pissed off when her friend simply fell asleep during their sleepover pillow talks. No wonder why Max was really, like, really fond of coffee, especially the ones served all over Seattle's well-renowned coffee shops.

Few things were able to dredge her up from the depths of sleep during the night, and one of them was the distressing and inexplicable sensation of burning feet that she had from time to time, exactly like the one she was feeling at that very moment.

The annoying heat made the girl threw the blanket off and leap out of the bed, but it was useless. However, even though heavily drowsy, she knew what she should do - and, more important, where she should go - in order to feel better.

Already out of the bedroom, she took a quick glance through the hall window, realizing how late it was by the darkness of the sky. As she went downstairs, the surrounding temperature seemed to climb, making her even wonder if the house was on fire. Luckily, the cold walls under her hands told otherwise: there was nothing wrong with the house, the warmth was actually radiating from her.

A few steps further, already in the backyard, small waves of relief began to wash through her body. The cool autumn breeze on her face and the refreshing dew-moistened grass under her bare feet smoothly cleared the sleepiness away, but her senses and consciousness only fully awoke when she peeked through the wooden fence covered with vines and saw a figure sitting next to the pool.

"Warren? What is he doing here?", Max whispered to herself, carefully stepping back. To her misfortune, though, the neighbor's cat chose that exact moment to jump on the fence to say hello, drawing her friend's attention to her direction; she was pretty sure there was no way he didn't see her. Startled, the girl froze, and the idea of simply running back to her bedroom crossed her mind. One second later, however, realizing how ridiculous that would be, she decided to face the situation: it was only Warren, after all.

....

"We put you in bed too early, I guess?", Max greeted her friend, slowly approaching the pool with her hands behind her back.

To her surprise, the boy just stared agape at her, not answering nor moving. A little creeped out, she asked: "Are you sleepwalking or something?"

Her concerned tone apparently brought him back to Earth: "N-n-no! I, uh, just wanted to see, you know, Seattle sky."

His nervous attitude and voice made her realize a little detail: the short pajamas she was wearing showed off generous portions of her legs, which made her suspect that he might be checking her out.

'As if, egomaniac' , the girl thought in disbelief and then sat beside her classmate on the pool deck. "Oh, and did you see anything interesting?", she questioned, aware of his passion for amateur astronomy.

In a reflex, he almost jumped away from her, but stayed, even though obviously affected by her presence. "Yeah! ... I mean... no! The, uh, city lights kind of spoil any chances of watching the stars", he said, sounding quite confused.

The tense silence that followed Warren's last words was only broken by the sound of him swallowing hard, audible enough to be heard by any living being around. Normally, that kind of situation would make Max feel her familiar awkwardness ooze out of every pore; this time, though, she felt different: not embarrassed, nor flattered, just different in a way she couldn't identify yet.