Midnight Snack

God my house was hot. Curse this storm for knocking out the power.

I grumbled when another crack of lighting caused me to jump fifty feet off my bed.

I was tired. And sleep wasn't coming easy. I had retired to my room two hours ago but then tossed and turned in bed for what felt like hours even though it had only been a mere 35...wait...36 minutes since I had said good night to Marshall.

The Marshall that was currently occupying my guest bedroom for the next two weeks while his bedroom in his huge mansion got renovated.

The same Marshall that I had been so helplessly in love with for years while he flirted with me, completely unaware of the feelings that I was harboring for him.

I sighed and flopped onto my back, throwing my arm over my eyes, trying to block out the flashes of lightning.

This was going to be a long night.

When I was still awake forty-five minutes later, the rain still coming down in buckets, and my power still off, I sat up straight in bed and decided I'd go down to the kitchen and refill my water glass. Maybe chow down on the Cookie Dough Ben & Jerry's ice cream I had in the freezer, it would melt if I didn't eat it anyway. And I would not waste a good pint of Ben & Jerry's.

My stomach growled in appreciation of the idea.

Grabbing my water glass off my nightstand I trudged down the stairs and into the kitchen blindly. I didn't need lights; I could navigate the house blindfolded.

But I searched the area where I knew my lighter was and fumbled along to light a candle.

I pulled open the freezer door and took hold of the ice cream carton, setting it on the counter beside me before reaching back in to get ice cubes for my water.

I plunked the frozen cubes into my glass one-by-one; they clanged against the sides of the glass noisily and I winced at the sound, hoping it hadn't woken up my guest.

My pulse quickened again as I thought of him, lying in the guest bed, all tucked in comfortably against my sheets and my big down comforter. I closed the door and shrieked loudly, almost dropping the glass in my hand (What? Thunderstorms make me slightly jumpy), when I saw a figure leaning against my countertop next to the fridge.

What the-? How had I not heard him come in?

I tried to make my eyes focus on his silhouette, willing them to adjust to the darkness of the kitchen.

"Marshall?" I called out quietly.

A flash of lightning illuminated the space for a brief second before leaving us in the glow of the candle light. The only thing that told me that he'd heard me speak was the fact that he was now smiling slightly, a peek of his perfectly white teeth showing behind his lips.

"Sorry if I scared you." He replied, matching my tone, moving towards me slowly. "Its-its ok." I told him, turning towards the pantry to retrieve a bottle of water.

He didn't say anything but I heard the shuffle of his feet as he moved across the rug that covered my hard wood kitchen floor. I bent to grab the water bottle and froze when I felt him behind me, impossibly close.

I cleared my throat nervously and straightened, twisting the top of the bottle off.

Two hands lightly gripped both of my elbows and he took one step closer to me, the front of him now completely flush with my backside. Goosebumps broke out across my skin when he rubbed his nose along the back of my ear gently; my heart rate increasing to a gallop when he breathed out hotly against the skin of my neck.