Tuesday's need a bit of romance don't they. Go home and kiss your significant other like you mean it.
He woke her from sleep by touching her shoulder and placing his lips close to her ear…’it’s time to get up’. Although disorientated, she loved his voice and it calmed her instantly. Her eyes flickered and she quickly remembered why he was waking her so deep in the night. She lifted the covers, and swung her legs from the soft pillow-top mattress, facing the dark of the room and rubbing her eyes. Her stomach was all full of excitement. That kind of excitement that leaves you wondering if you will ever feel this full again. She picked up her crown of flowers from the bedside table, placing it securely over her wavy brown bed hair. She wore one of his baggy white t-shirts to sleep in; he kept it under the pillow for when she stayed. She had worn it so much, the fabric had got to that really good state. So thin it was almost translucent over her body. He took her hand and pressed a finger to his lips to signal quiet, shooting her a cheeky smile complete with crinkled eyes. They then crept together through the house to the sliding door at the back of the kitchen.
As her feet touched the damp wood of the balcony, she wished she had slipped shoes on for their adventure, but it was too late to go back now. She looked down over the tree-tops at the distant lights of the city. They flickered silently as he lead her slowly down the steep balcony steps into the darkness of the bottom garden. She could just make out the old wooden picnic table and the tin shed at the edge of the lawn. Native bush bordered the section, leaning in on them. Her feet touched the cool grass, but the air was warm and dense and quiet. It was a little creepy down in that garden in the dead of night she thought, playing with one of the daisies in her crown nervously. But she felt safe holding his hand. He would never let anything happen to her. Dense cover of ferns and pohutukawa stretched out in front of them. It was strange to see the long leaves of her favorite old fern so still in the darkness. Not even the lightest breeze disturbed them. She read her book under that tree and often she would watch the shadows of those branches dance and bob across her pages, touching each one of the words.
He pulled her deep into the shadows of the canopy. But he knew his way. To her surprise, she didn’t need her shoes; the carpet of the bush was soft and spongy as they wandered further. He was walking ahead of her, peeling back the branches. All she could see was the faint outline of his bare back. She really did love him more than she thought was probably wise. She loved him in that way we always love those who make us feel protected...those who offer us shelter from our storm. With a need and a sense of urgency. As though it might disappear at any minute and should be savoured like a scent on a pillow. He pulled her in front of him and placed a hand over her eyes and another on her hip, pushing her forward and nuzzling the back of her neck. She smiled and tried to bat his hand away, but surrendered control and let him guide her without sight. It felt good to let him lead her, to just release. Even though this went so strongly against her daylight nature.
Suddenly they slowed, she could feel cold rock under her feet and he told her to tread carefully, but that he had hold of her. With sudden movement, he removed his hands and her eyes blurred and tried to focus. She was surrounded by stars, all around her, twinkling masses of stars shone from the rocks. She inhaled sharply and the noise broke the silence... “glow worms’ she breathed and inched towards them. He stayed close behind her, grasping a hand-full of her t-shirt and she knew he was smiling. She was too scared to speak again, in case doing so stopped those tiny creatures from shining out at her with their green light. She imagined that this was what is would be like to stand at the edge of the universe. To feel the complete absence of everything but darkness and light. Imagining each one of those lights as a doorway to somewhere new. He reached his arms tight around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. She could smell his skin and feel him swallow. She reached for her flower crown again, taking one of the soft petals between her two fingers and tilting her head to rest on his.
‘Don’t ever stop showing me the universe’ she whispered.
‘Don’t ever stop wearing flowers in your hair at midnight’ he replied
Much love friends XX
