A pitter patter of rain beating down on the tin roof of the trailer woke Toni from her sleep. Her arms drift above her head, the stiffness in her back releasing with a cat-like stretch. She sighs, slowly opening her eyes and immediately groaning as the light of morning invades her vision.
"Morning sunshine," Toni groans again, lifting an arm to drape across her closing eyes. Cheryl scoffs out a laugh, "Sweetheart, it's almost nine."
"And?"
The redhead grins, her girlfriend's sleepy voice is raspy and perfect and never fails to cause a flutter of affection in her chest. She doesn't reply, choosing instead to turn on her side and prop herself up on her elbow to get a better look at Toni. Cheryl raises a finger, pushing until Toni's arm vacates her face and falls to lay across the fan of pink hair beside her head. Cheryl traces her finger up the contours of Toni's jawline, over her forehead, down her nose, over plump lips, her chin, her neck, across her collarbone.
"So beautiful."
The words are little more than a whisper but she knows that Toni's heard them when the corners of her mouth tip up ever so slightly. Cheryl leans down to press a brief, soft kiss against them.
"Not as beautiful as you," Toni's eyes open lazily to see the reaction of her words, a shake of the head, pouted lips, a furrowed brow.
"No. No.. you are everything, Toni Topaz."
Sleep's haze now gone, Toni feels her heart constrict with her girlfriend's words. She takes in the porcelain beauty above her. Skin cleared of any makeup, curtain of red hair resting over a shoulder, expression open and loving and vulnerable. God, this girl is a vision.
Toni's smile stretches and she whispers, "Stay still," before carefully reaching to the hook by the window to her left. She grabs her camera by the strap and slides back into place half beneath her love. She powers it on, checks the settings, and positions it right next to her head to get the best perspective angle. Ignoring Cheryl's eyeroll, which she captures, she snaps a few shots and then brings the camera back up to examine her success.
Cheryl sighs, flopping down onto the bed with an arm thrown around Toni's stomach, her head propped on the girl's shoulder to peek at the photos. "Must you always point that camera at me? And first thing in the morning?"
Toni smiles softly, both at Cheryl's words and the beauty captured on the small screen before her. "I can't help it. You're my muse," she turns her head slightly to press a kiss to red hair, "And a natural beauty."
The taller girl scoffs, "Sure, sure. And what about you?"
"Me?"
"Yes, you," she pokes once at Toni's ribs, "You're stunning, Toni. Why can't you ever be the one on camera?"
"Because, Bombshell, I take the pictures."
Cheryl stills, a thought forming in her mind. She grins and lifts herself to her knees, tossing one over Toni's frame to rest atop her hips. She gently takes the camera from Toni's hands and flips it so the lens is pointed at the girl beneath her.
"Then let's change that, shall we?"
Toni shakes her head, eyes wide from the moment the lens were pointed in her direction, "No. Cheryl, no. I don't do the subject thing."
"Oh, please, Toni. You're breathtaking you should have photos taken of you."
"But I don't-"
"Please, baby? I won't if you really don't want me to but..." Cheryl sighs, dropping the camera to her side and taking one of Toni's hands in her own. "You're my muse too, Toni. But drawings only go so far. I want to be able to capture these moments too. When you've just woken up and you're all bleary eyed and raspy voiced. When you look absolutely gorgeous against white sheets and the sunlight against you.. I never want to forget."
