Never Say Goodbye or A Love Story in Hellos

Five.

The sun filters through the curtain and caresses Sasha's face. It tickles. She wakes with a sneeze.

Once she realizes where she is she falls back against her pillow. A mistake. Her head is throbbing. In hindsight, celebrating Nia´s roommate´s birthday in one of those dingy pubs downtown might not have been the best idea. Cheaper, certainly, but decidedly less in control than a club.

The more you know.

A rustle to her right has her turning her around carefully. Nia opens her eyes slowly, lazily. “We forgot to close the blinds again last night” Sasha mumbles by way of greeting. “Hello to you too” Nia mutters back, her voice matted with sleep. “What time is it?”

The clock on Sasha´s reads 8:23 am.

It is too early. She tells Nia that. The other just sighs in agreement and closes her eyes again. She burrows herself deeper under the purple comforter but shuffles closer so that she is cuddled into Sasha´s side. Sasha presses a smile in Nia´s hair and shifts closer. She drifts back into sleep easily.

When she wakes again, almost four hours later, her side is pleasantly warm where Nia´s body is pressed against Sasha´s and her arm is draped over her own middle.

For a few minutes, Sasha absentmindedly watches Nia´s chest rise and fall in deep, even breaths. She catches herself and shakes her ahead at herself.  She should get up.

Carefully, she twists her own body and takes Nia´s thin wrist into her hand to lift her arm just enough so she can slip out underneath. But she jostles her and Nia wakes with a start at the movement.

She gasps and then, realizing what woke her mumbles a quiet greeting in the air. Sasha picks at the comforter. “Sorry,” she apologizes, “I didn´t wanna wake you.” Nia should get all the sleep she can with the schedule she has set for herself. Instead, she softly shakes her head and blinks up at Sasha with sleep-clogged eyes.

“Nah, it´s fine. I don´t want to spend the first snow free Saturday holed up inside.” Sasha nods, not entirely convinced, before Nia continues. “Breakfast at the usual place? And then maybe we could take a walk in the park?” Sasha likes the idea and hums joyfully in agreement.

She sits up fully and flicks Nia in the side lightly, when the other makes no move to follow. Sasha giggles at Nia´s offended huff. “Come on then, sleeping beauty, they only serve breakfast until two.”