The Morning After

I wonder what time it is… Seven… eight… or is it already nine?

The sun had been out for a while. David had watched the first rays shone through the window and them steadily creeping closer ever since. The light had already reached the right side of his stomach. He felt the warmth and looked at the point of the bright cone growing across his body. It pointed directly at the sleeping face, slightly covered by some reddish-brown hair. A face he had tried not to stare at throughout the night. At least too much. But now he couldn’t help but watch, as a curious thought occupied his mind.

I wonder what will happen…

The light slowly crept up her shoulder, where it hit the first strands of hair.

It’s even more red in the sun…

The point of the light cone reached the top and then jumped over right on the tip of her nose.

It hit directly!

David curiously watched as the point grew bigger. It stretched out and finally reached the closed lid of her left eye. She crunched her face and wrinkled her nose a bit. This movement loosened an additional strand of hair that fell over her face and conveniently caught the light. David could not look away. He was now mesmerized by the hair strand over her nose swaying slowly in her breath.

I bet that tickles…

David was right. It didn’t take long and she wrinkled her nose again. More violently than before and removing the temporary sun shield. The light now directly illuminated her left eye lid.

Oh?

With a displeased groan she turned her face downwards. Directly into David. Simultaneously she strengthened her grip with arm and legs. David clearly felt her body pressing into him. The next moment she relaxed and turned her face sideways again. The hair filtered out most of the sunlight in her new position. Only a few rays came through and illuminated her face in a gentle red hue. David began to notice more and more small details on her face. The shape of her nose, mouth. The small patches of tiny freckles on her cheeks and the bigger singular one under her left eye. He lost himself in the face resting on his chest and his mind was blank. David swallowed to combat the dryness in his mouth. Her eyelids suddenly began fluttering and slowly opened. Like a reverse sunrise, two reddish tinted light blue eyes appeared from under their lids.

The sapphires turned to rubies…

They stared at him blankly for a second before focusing. David’s heart began to race. He could not look away.

They’re sparkling…

Her eyelids began to close again nearly all the way and a big, satisfied grin appeared on her face. David’s heart skipped a beat before thumping even faster. She then proceeded to gently rub her face into his chest and snuggled up to him again. But this blissful state only lasted for a split second before she suddenly froze. David felt a touch on the right side of his chest. It was a completely different sensation. Whereas before it had been a carefree caress that came from a half-asleep state, now it was a probing poke that resulted from a state of being fully awake. She slowly turned her face, now covered in even more hair, up towards him. The now partial hidden sapphires locked onto his eyes and she slowly rose up. Her hand still on his chest she stared at him. The hair was messy and it looked like flames on her head, because of the sunlight. David still could not look away. She slightly turned her head, and her face was now completely hidden under the hair.

“It still works… that’s a relief.”, She mumbled, sounding half-awake.

David was confused and traced the line where her face was pointed at. The realization of what the supposedly still working thing was, hit him really hard. He quickly got up and jumped out of the bed.

“Toilet…”, David muttered and rushed around the bed, trying to keep his front turned away from the woman still sitting in bed.

He quickly locked the door and sat down on the toilet.

What the… how is this happening… what is happening? Huh?

David stood up, went to the sink and splashed water on his face. He looked up and froze.

No, no, no…

The David in the mirror was smiling at him. A smile he knew quite well, because he had worn this exact same smile years ago as well.

It can’t be!

But differently from back then it didn’t cause excitement in him, but fear and anxiety.

I don’t want to! Stop!

David began to rub his face, but no matter how much he grimaced, it only took a split second before that stupid smile came back.

No! Stop! It won’t end well! You know it! I don’t want to… not again…

Sudden knocking on the door snapped him out of these thoughts.

“Hey… uhm… could you hurry up in there a bit? I’m about to burst out here…”, she said with a distinct urgency in her voice, “I should have pissed before going to bed…”

David dried his face and opened the door. She was standing in front of him fidgeting from one foot to the other. Her face was still hidden under hair but clearly pointed away from him.

“Sorry…”, David muttered as he stepped outside and let her through.

“Don’t worry…”, she replied under her breath, going past him.

David quickly got dressed and sat down on the chair in the room. He flinched when he heard the door to the bathroom open again and looked down on the floor. David heard her getting dressed and fought the urge to glance over.

“Wanna… uhm… grab breakfast?”, she asked after a while of silence.

David finally looked up. She was facing away and didn’t look at him.

“Yeah…”, he replied and got up from the chair.

They both went down to the dining hall where a breakfast buffet was prepared without saying a word. Both packed their plates in silence. Sitting together at a table across from each other, they only opened their mouths to stuff it with food. David glanced over after finishing his bread with bacon and cheese. She was nibbling on some bread with Nutella.

Great, now it’s awkward… Can’t blame her if she wants to avoid me now… Maybe it’s better anyways… I enjoyed talking to her yesterday though… and the night… I enjoyed that too…

Images of the night and from just before shot through David’s mind and with them came the thoughts.

She said not to worry… I heard that right, didn’t I? Does that… Could that mean that…

David quickly drank from his coffee, as if he could quench the thoughts in his head with the black liquid.

“I have a body pillow…”, she just suddenly said, turned her face and looked directly at him.

David nearly chocked from the surprise.

“Uh… okay…”, he uttered between coughing.

“I mean I have a body pillow at home and I am used to… hmm… use it while sleeping… and… hmm… I guess you seemed like a convenient substitute to me last night, so… hmm… you know… that… happened… that’s what… it was…”, she explained further, her eyes darting around nervously.

David finally got his cough under control and looked at her for a second.

See! It was a misunderstanding!

“So, you mistook me for your body pillow?”, he asked slowly, still looking at her.

They locked eyes for a moment, before she lowered her gaze.

“Yes.”, she confirmed and began to smile faintly, “You… seemed huggable.”

See! A replacement for a body pillow! Nothing more… A Nice Guy! Nothing more… Don’t go chasing after something that isn’t there… not again…

David slowly began to smile.

“Got it. Don’t worry, I didn’t mind… You said it yesterday, that you can let your guard down with me, so I’m not gonna betray that trust and read more into it, than it was.”, he said, trying his best not to let it show, how guilty and miserable he felt.

David was too occupied with his own feeling, that he missed the conflicted look on her face.

“Okay…”, she replied.

David looked at his phone, to see when they had to go to the train station, when he noticed a news notification. They had released a new trailer for a video game that he was looking forward to playing. He glanced over at her. She continued to nibble on her bread and seemed in thought.

“Hey, have you seen this?”, David said and showed the screen of his phone.

She looked at it for a few moments, then at him slightly confused.

“It just released, so… How?”, she said, a smile appearing on her face.

“Oh, yeah… right… you couldn’t have…”, David realized and scratched his beard.

“Let’s watch it.”

They watched it together and it sparked a heated discussion about video games, picking up a topic from last night. David felt relieved seeing her revert back to how she had been before they had slept together. They were so engrossed that they had to run to catch their train. Breathing a bit heavier than normal they sat down next to each other.

“Nothing beats a quick exercise in the morning, huh?”, she said, smiling and catching her breath.

“I can think of several things… more enjoyable than… having to sprint… after eating…”, David huffed out of breath.

“True there are some exercises that are a bit more enjoyable… for some you don’t even have to leave the bed.”

David looked at her surprised.

“What?”, she smiled a bit deviously, “As long as you have to move your body it counts as an exercise!”

“True I guess…”, David agreed with a shrug.

Is she just joking… or is she… No! Stop! You said you wouldn’t read more into it than it is!

The train started to move and he looked around. A pair of elderly women sat two rows across from them and a few others were in the train cart as well.

“Where do you get off, by the way?”, she asked suddenly.

“Huh?”, David exclaimed and looked a bit caught in his thoughts, “Where?”

She noticed him fidgeting and began to grin.

“The train… I meant the train”, she clarified amused, “What did you think I meant?”

“Oh… the train… of course… I get off at the last station.”, he replied nervously.

She tilted her head slightly, looked at him.

“Oh, so that means I get off before you”, she said and her grin grew wide, “What a gentleman you are.”

She is… teasing me?... or is she… flirt… stop! No! She isn’t it.

David cleared his throat and tried not to get red. He failed miserably.

“You’re too easy to tease,” she remarked still grinning, “Cute.”

She then turned and started to look out of the window. He got out his phone and turned his attention towards it, in an attempt to get rid of the thoughts in his mind. A sudden sleepiness hit him, and he realized that he hadn’t really slept much this night. David fought the urge to close his heavy eyelids for a while, but it proved to be a loosing battle. Slowly they closed all the way, and he felt his phone slipping out of his hand.