Stella By Starlight

Ch. 14

Ch. 14 Morning Whispers

The breeze from the fan above us cooled me, making the warmth of his arms around my waist even more inviting than usual. That was the first thing that I had noticed as I began to come to.

One arm underneath the pillow and the other resting gently over my waist. Andrew’s deep and rhythmic breaths sounded quietly behind me. Finally my eyes fluttered open and I glanced through sleepy eyes at the clock on the bedside table. It was nearly 4 AM. I wish I had remained asleep because now that I was awake I realized that I had to use the restroom but was dreading the idea of leaving this bed.

Slowly, I lifted Andrew’s arm off of me and set it to the side and doing the most that I could not to wake him. His breathing hitched a little bit and I froze but no more than a second later the rhythmic breaths continued. Slipping out of bed, I padded into the restroom on tip toes before gently closing the door. Silver moonlight streamed in from the large window above the tub and I shivered slightly from the cold tile of the floor on my bare feet.

I was quick about my business as I didn’t have a stitch of clothing on and I was freezing. I washed and dried my hands in the near darkness, not wanting to turn on the light for fear of it shining under the door and waking him.

I slowly made my way back and slipped into bed. I was just about to mentally congratulate myself on not waking him when I felt a pair of long arms snake around my waist and pull me close followed by a gentle kiss on the top of my head.

“I was wondering where you had slipped off to.” Andrew mumbled sleepily.

I nestled down comfortably in his arms and laid a hand over his.

“Hmm miss me or something?” I asked quietly.

“Perhaps I did.” A kiss on my bare shoulder now.

Our voices were barely above a whisper. Almost as if the sound of a full voice would shatter the bubble we were in together. In reality we had only been asleep a few hours. Andrew had made sure to explore every inch of me before I was allowed to even think about sleep. Even then sleep never came close to claiming us until after the third round… or fourth? I didn’t feel like counting.

I shifted, turning so I was facing him. I could just make out his face in the dark. He gave me a soft smile and pushed a few strands of hair out of my face. The light touch gave me a slight chill.

“Its going to be odd.” He mused after a few moments of running his fingers through my hair

“Hmm?” I said sleepily. I had already begun to slowly drift off.

“Not seeing you every day.” He whispered kissing my forehead again.

I felt the butterflies bubble up within me and I leaned my forehead against his chest, tangling my legs with his.

“All the more reason for you to nail this album pitch and come home then, hmm?” my voice muffled by his shirt.

I felt him nod as he pulled me tightly against him.

Silence settled between us and I could just make out the chirping of a few early birds in the distance. The light streaming in from the window was turning into the watery grey color of dusk. In just a few short hours he would be driving to the airport leaving me and Elwood to ourselves. I had actually been trying not to think of what I would do to pass the time while he was away.