LOVE TO HATE YOU

(NEW) ASS KICKING CHICK...

"Sera? Sera?" I heard Ben say and felt a little pat on my check.

"Huh?" I opened my eyes. Why was everything at an angle? I blinked and then became aware that my face pressed into something. Then I noticed the smell. Ben's smell. And then I became very aware of the warmth of his neck and, Oh God, I had been sleeping on his shoulder. I quickly whipped my head up and looked at him.

"Sorry, I didn't know I was, sorry, I must have fallen asleep."

"Don't worry," Ben reached up and pushed the hair that had fallen into my face away. "Your little snores are cute."

"No! I didn't," I reached up to touch the itch at the corner of my mouth and realized it was wet. I looked down at Ben's shirt, and there it was, a tiny little wet patch. I had drooled on him. I had drooled, while I snored and slept on his shoulder. I wiped my mouth. "I'm so sorry."

"It's ok, Sera, really. It's totally fine." And then he smiled at me. "We've landed though, so we better get going."

**

We arrived at the National Park in Namibia after a two hour long drive in a shuttle, everyone was in high spirits, except me. It felt like I'd just opened some kind of sleep floodgate and every time I blinked it felt like I was going to fall unconscious. I was exhausted, more tired than I'd felt in ages. And of course when I saw the room I was staying in, the tiredness grew. We were staying in the most beautiful rooms perched high up on massive boulders that overlooked the national park below. All the rooms were separate and connected with wooden walk ways.

"So meet for drinks on the deck at six and then dinner," Ben had said. It was only three in the afternoon so I had a glorious three hours to bath and catch up on a little sleep. And when I saw the bath...

The bath was set up against the window that looked out over the planes of the savanna below. There was a watering hole at the bottom of the rocks and elephants were drinking from the water. The bath was one of those huge round things that was probably more suited for swimming than bathing. I walked past a complimentary bottle of wine on the bed and poured myself a glass while slipping into the bath. The water was warm and the bubbles were so soft that it felt like I melted into the back of it.

I sipped the wine and wondered how long it had been since I had had the time to do something like this.

My phone beeped and I peered over at it on the top of the closed toilet seat.

Ben: What are you doing?

A smile broke out across my face but quickly faded when I remembered the drooling and the charity hand-out he'd tried to give me. I ignored the phone and it beeped again.

Ben: Sorry I offended you earlier.

I glanced at the messaged and sighed. I grabbed a towel, dried my hands and took my phone.

Sera: I don't need your money.

Ben: I know. You're a hot, capable, independent ass-kicking chick.

I smiled at compliment.

Ben: So... what are you doing?

Sera: Bathing.

Ben: Dear God!!!

Sera: What are you doing?

Ben: On a recce with the photographer to look at the places we're shooting at.

Sera: Cool. Have fun.

There was a long gap between the next message and I was almost about to put the phone down when it beeped again.

Ben: Not as much fun as I could be having if I were with you.

Sera: Unprofessional!

Ben: I know. See you later.

I finished my glass of wine and climbed out of the bath. I walked onto my patio with my towel wrapped around me. It was beautiful and warm here and I still had two hours before I needed to be up there for drinks. I set my alarm clock and lay on the lounger outside and closed my eyes. Only the sounds of nature filled the air. No hooting horns or cars or downstairs neighbors getting into arguments. Just crickets and birds and the distant call of a baboon.

**

For the second time that day I was being woken up by the sound of Ben's voice. I vaguely opened my eyes and realized it was now dark and I was still wrapped in my towel and lying outside on the patio lounger.

"Come, let's get you into bed." Suddenly I felt weightless as Ben lifted me up and carried me inside all the way to the bed.

"I need to get ready for dinner." I whispered in a half-asleep way. I was in that strange state where you teeter somewhere between sleep and consciousness and feeling like you're not entirely tuned into reality and the world around you.

"That was hours ago," Ben lowered me to the bed.

"Really?" I clutched my pillow and curled up my legs. "I think I pressed the snooze button." I grabbed another pillow and pulled it towards me, feeling something loosen around me.. A cold breeze caught the side of my body and I realized that my towel must have opened.

"This is damp, you can't sleep in it."

And then I realized that it wasn't magically coming off by itself, Ben was pulling it off me and replacing it with the fluffy duvet as he went. He reached over me and pushed some of the scatter cushions away. For a moment his whole body leaned over mine and I'm not really sure what I was thinking, I don't think I was thinking in the state I was currently in, but I rolled onto my back and pulled his face down towards mine. I laced my fingers through his hair and held his face mere millimeters from mine. My eyes were closed and I took a deep breath, savoring his smell and closeness and then pulled him a tiny bit more, and kissed him.

"Sera." He whispered against my mouth as I pulled him towards me, hard. He had nowhere else to go but climb onto the bed and kneel over me. I continued to kiss him, it was warm and soft and slow. It was the perfect combination of a million different things that blended together in my strange, dreamlike state. I didn't want it to ever end.

I finally untangled my lips from the kiss and pulled away ever so slightly, not to stop kissing him, but to look at him. The room was dark but a small beam of moonlight was rushing through the window, and in this position, the silver light clipped the side of his face, illuminating him just enough to make out the sexy, ghostly curve of his features. I took him all in, God he was hot. I mean, really, really hot. I smiled and closed my eyes again and then rolled back over onto my side and pulled the blanket and pillow towards me.

"Goodnight Ben." I closed my eyes and fell back into a deep sleep with a smile on my face.