Looking For Space // Josh Kiszka

XXVII

Super dialogue heavy...hope you enjoy ~~

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The sound of my alarm was familiar yet felt particularly aggravated as it rang next to my ear. I had woken up once in the night, to get up and pee and then return to Josh's solid, sleeping form in my bed; I'd slept deep after that, dreaming about giant pine trees and weird sequences of images of my family, the dream version of Josh intermingling there too.

With an irritated, quiet whine I reached over for my phone and turned the alarm off, holding my phone against my chest with my eyes still closed. Before I let myself drift off again I sat up against my pillow, set the phone back on the night table and pulled the covers back to make myself get up and return to the bathroom.

It was so dark out. As I brushed my teeth and then stripped for the shower, I took note of my home environment in all its hazy, deep blue dawn--snow lingering on the ground, surely melting and then reforming itself into ice with the still-cold temperatures of March. Last year hadn't been quite as tragic--Josh and I had been able to go outside, to the fields, and sit on mostly dry grass and dirt. Winter seemed to be clinging fiercely this time around.

Josh was still in bed when I returned, although he was lying on his side with one arm outstretched, the other over his face, that hand rubbing at his eyes.

"Good morning, Starshine," I said, finishing drying myself off before putting on the decided outfit for the roadtrip--yoga pants and a hoodie. Not quite as riveting as what I imagine Josh's road trip outfit to be.

"Good morning, darling," Josh replied in a tired voice, yawning. "What time is it?"

I leaned over the night table to peer at my phone. "6:47."

"Why so early?" Josh whined, but he sat up a little anyway.

"I have to be at my parent's house by 9," I reminded him, grabbing some last minute things to pack from my dresser. "And you know I don't like to rush."

He got out of bed and yawned again, stretching as he padded out of the room, leaving me with a simple statement of, "You're insane."

I snickered.

He was back shortly, wrapping his arms around me from behind while I finished packing the large travel bag I was using. "You'll stay out of trouble up there, right?"

"What trouble could I get into?"

He swayed a little as he held me. "Hmm--bears. Coyotes. Wolves?"

"Tigers and lions and bears, oh my."

"Seriously," Josh said, turning me to face him. "Be careful."

"I will be," I assured him, kissing him softly. "Always."

He pressed us together and kissed me, harder and deeper. "If you have cell service, will you call me when you get there?" he asked, then kissed me again.

I murmured an "mhmm" with our lips still together before pulling away. "What if I don't have service? How will you know I'm alive?"

"I'll probably be able to sense it," Josh replied and pressed his mouth to mine again, sliding his tongue inside.

"You think you'd be able to?" I asked, kissing the corner of his mouth, then his jaw.

"Yeah, I think I would be able to." He sighed and tilted his head back, presenting his neck to me. "I'd know if something was wrong."

"And then what would you do?" I asked, kissing below his ear, enveloping him in my arms.

"Drive up there," he answered and I caught the smirk on his lips, growing when my mouth moved down his neck and I carefully sank my teeth into his skin. "You know I would."