「 The Professor & I 」VOLUME II

(236) Human

Charles' POV

The journey back to our resort was a mostly silent one, not because I did not know how to console her but because I recognized she did not want or need me to. Lynn merely yearned for some peace to compose her thoughts, straighten them out, and certainly, I was not the one to disrupt that.

Her mood had clearly been compromised after the staggering encounter and noting her progressively growing fatigue, I kindly suggested that we proceeded directly back to our villa but Lynn insisted to order some room service nonetheless, responsibly not hoping for us to starve the night despite her reduced appetite.

While we waited for our food to be delivered, we decided to have a quick shower but Lynn led us into another intimate episode and our original endeavor ended not so innocently as we indulged ourselves for the last time in the lavish attached bath that came with our extravagant apartment. The calming tepid waters and classically heavenly love-making surely humoured her but her lifted form could not exactly prolong itself.

Lynn munched sparingly on her salad as we shared our meal seated on the living area's couch before a mundane movie airing on a random channel we tuned into on television and the moment I was done consuming my portion of salmon fillet, she set down her marginally touched bowl of greens back to its polished trolley and shoved a bottle of champagne into my hand, eagerly dragging me out to the balcony with two glasses in hers.

Sportively, I poured us a couple of drinks and she snuggled up against me on the padding of the outdoor bench, staring quietly into the cloudy skies as we sipped on our sparkling wine. Despite my warnings, her posture stubbornly reclined from her leaning against my shoulder to resting her head on my lap as she laid on her side with me simply stroking her hair and eventually, the ceaseless waves of thoughts rampaging violently through her mind coupled with the multiple gulps of fizzy spirit she tossed down her system exhausted her into an inevitable slumber.

Thankful that my functioning thighs ironically complied to remain still while I discreetly removed my cardigan and the emptied chalice from her loosened grasp, I carefully cloaked her bare legs under the thick knit, grateful that her top had already been duly protected by her own night robe against the gusts of cool winds that visited us with increasing frequencies and magnitudes.

I watched her lightly hibernating mode closely, admiring every single one of her living breaths as I gently skimmed her smooth cheek, and appreciated the serenity that seemingly could only truly grace her body when she had stopped thinking, but even under the influence of alcohol, the tranquility failed to sustain for long.

It was paradoxical, how the therapeutic rustle of a graceful drizzle provided a kind lullaby while the corresponding impending storm cruelly woke her with a faint rumble that roared in the distance.

No matter that the soft thunder emanated miles away, Lynn was still hypersensitive to the sounds that relentlessly disturbed her this entire lifetime. Instinctively, her body flinched like clapping ruckus boomed just next to us, breaking her own streak of regular breaths with dramatically accelerated ones as stirred on my legs with a grimacing expression plastered to her face.

"It's alright, love. It's just a bit of rain," I coaxed, soothingly patting her side.

"I knew I should have listened, when you told me not to sleep here," she admitted sheepishly, grunting intermittently at every move.

"I always knew you were silly," I teased playfully, leaning down to kiss her lips and she chuckled bashfully.

"C'mon, let's get you to bed," I beckoned smilingly and Lynn actively swung her legs off, standing up unsteadily, but immediately stumbled into me with a distressed yelp as the pressure weighted onto her previously marred leg predictably shot a pulse of excruciating twinge through it.