Then, she pulls me toward her, kissing me as we lie still as one, not wanting to let go.
13
Kara
It’sthe second time I’ve woken up in his arms, yet it feels like I’ve been here forever. The way his body holds me at night while he’s fast asleep is something I’ve never experienced. I feel so safe in his arms making it easy to sleep through the night.
Ever since I moved to Tennessee, I’ve had some rough nights. When you’re trying to chase your dreams, especially big dreams in the music industry, a lot of doubts enter your mind. Doubts cause anxiety, and anxiety causes my chest to tighten, which, in turn, either makes it to where I can’t fall asleep or wakes me up way too early.
Somehow though, when I’m with him, it all goes away.
Last night was mind-blowing, and now that I feel his body pressed against me, it’s all I can think about. I’m seconds from initiating another round when his alarm goes off. It doesn’t jolt him awake though. No, he instead holds me tighter as the song “The Fireman” by George Strait plays in his room.
I giggle to myself at his song choice to wake up to.
“Are you laughing at me?” he asks in a sleepy voice.
“Yes, I am. How did you get this to be your alarm?”
He doesn’t move one bit, just holds me tighter as he says, “You can set it through GarageBand on your phone.”
I laugh a little more as I listen to the old country song from the ’80s, talking about cooling off women all over town and putting out old flames. The song has nothing to do with being an actual fireman; it keeps repeating that he’s the fireman and that’s his name.
He jumps up to flip me over onto my back and crawls on top of me, only to eye me playfully. “I am the fireman, but I’m going to let this one burn. Ain’t no way I’m putting out this flame.” He uses the words from the song, but changes them to apply to us.
He leans down, gives me a quick kiss, then crawls to a sitting position with his feet on the ground while he reaches to turn it off. “It’s only my alarm when I have to work. With my schedule being twenty-four on and forty-eight off, my days get all mixed up, so this way, I know what’s going on for what day just by my alarm.”
I move to wrap my legs around him and lay my head on his back. “It’s cute.”
He turns to kiss me. “You’re cute.” He kisses me one more time before standing up and heading to the bathroom. “Make yourself at home. I’m going to hop in the shower real quick.”
I lie back down on his very comfortable bed and take in the last few days. Everything feels like such a whirlwind of emotions and life-changing events.
After lying there for a few minutes, I decide to get up and make us both a cup of coffee. His is just finishing up when he enters the kitchen.
“Is that one for me?” He points to the machine.
“Sure is,” I respond with a grin over my own cup, which displays the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
He leans in to kiss my forehead. “Thank you.”
I show him my mug. “Have you been?”
“Yep. I went last year. It wasnotthe city everyone talks about. I guess not anymore, I mean. Homeless and drug use everywhere. I’ll never go back. The Golden Gate Bridge was the only cool thing—that’s why I bought that mug.”
“So, that’s your thing when you travel? You buy mugs?”
He shrugs. “Yeah. I like collecting mementos, I guess, but most of the stuff would just sit around, being useless, and I’m not going to wear clothes that have the Golden Gate Bridge on them,” he says with a laugh.
“Really? I could totally see you in anI Heart NYCshirt,” I tease.
“Um, that’s a big fat no. That’s why I like the mugs. It’s something useful, and it reminds me of the trips I’ve taken.”
“Do you like to travel?”
He nods while he takes a sip. “I do. I want to travel someday. See all this world has to offer.” He pauses and looks at me. “Do you not like to travel?”
Now, it’s my turn to shrug. “I’ve never really been anywhere besides Ohio and here.”
