Her eyes had widened, then her lips curled in a soft smile but her eyes started drifting at this point, and with a mixture of disappointment and amazement I noticed that it was well past midnight.
We had spent hours alternating between watching her show and talking.
As I watched her finally succumb to sleep on the couch next to me, I also realized this is the most fun I’ve ever had with anyone.
That knowledge echoes and ping pongs all around my head through the night. Bits and pieces of our conversation crawl their way into my subconscious, filling my dreams.
I fall asleep not long after, only to wake up to a pan clanging on the stovetop.
I hear the distinct sound of Ria muttering to herself.
I stifle the urge to laugh but the smell of bacon and something garlic-y permeates the air, causing my stomach to make an unintelligible sound. Coupled with a full bladder, I have no excuse to lie here and eavesdrop on her one-sided conversation with the frying pan.
“Good morning! I can hear your stomach growling from over here.”
Grinning, I sit up to find that she had covered me up in a blanket at some point last night.
“I hope you’re not a vegetarian… because then I’d have to respectfully and politely ask you to leave so I can eat my bacon free from judgment.”
“Definitely not.”
Chuckling, I turn my head to greet her and words fail me.
I’ve never woken up to a woman before.
The women I fall into bed with never spend the night and I never stay over either.
I mentally pat myself in the back for that choice. I doubt any of them would hold a candle to Ria.
I’m aware my mouth is slightly open and I’m staring unabashedly at her, but all I want is to drink in the sight of her.
The curtains that adorned the walls last night have been pulled to each side of the wall. It’s now adjacent to the floor to ceiling windows that surround the living room and dining areas giving a clear view of the city below. But despite what I’m sure is a spectacular view, I’m hypnotized by the even better one of Ria.
Her hair is braided off to the side and she’s wearing a white dress that falls just above her feet making her look like an angel coupled with the sun streaming through basking her in a glow.
And don’t get me started on all the tantalizing skin showing just below her collarbone.
Cautiously, she sets the bowl of rice down on the table as she stares back at me.
I shake my head at her and muster up a smile as I let my eyes wander back to the windows then to the spread she has laid out on the table.
She eyes my movements as I ease off the couch.
I fold the blanket quickly over the armrest and meet her by the table.
She’s not wearing any shoes so the difference in our height is more evident as I stand next to her. She purses her lips as she tilts her head back to peer up at me.
I look down at her, seeing her bare toes peeking out from under her white dress and her face devoid of makeup.
I’ve never been this close to her.
This feels intimate somehow.
I avert my eyes before they stray too long anywhere. I have only ever seen her in long sleeved shirts so all this skin is doing odd things to my stomach.
I’ve never felt this intensely about someone before. For as long as I can remember, I’ve kept to myself. Even in foster homes that were not so bad, I never let myself get too close to anyone.
But I have this need. This urge to be close to her.