Kitten

“Do you think I’m pretty?” she asked, half of her expecting an answer, the other not wanting to know what that answer may be. They lay in her bed, the light of the television painting the room in a bright blue glow.

He had no hesitations before responding. “You’re beautiful.” He placed a kiss on her forehead, hoping to ease away any more frivolous thoughts.

She sighed, knowing that was the only response she would ever gain from him. Even after two years, she knew he would only feed her what she wanted to hear. Still, she pushed the subject further. “You know what I mean.” Her voice was strained, almost pleading with him to defer from showering her with compliments. She was drowning in his false confidence.

“You don’t believe me?”

Here we go, she thought to herself. “I didn’t say that.”

He moved closer to her, wrapping his arms around her frame.He kissed her shoulder, then he pecked forehead again. “Sweetie, I love you. You’re perfect.”

She sighed, turning to face him now. His arms still surrounded her body, holding a hand at the small of her back and the other sweeping stray hairs away from her face. She locked eyes with him, focusing on the round dark circle swimming in a sea of blue. “You know I don’t believe in perfect.”

He playfully swatted her butt as if to scold her. “Perfect for me.”

He cupped her cheek and kissed her lips. She held the kiss, reveling in the feel of his mouth on hers. In that moment, she wished she could freeze time. She felt so small, enveloped in his arms, blanketed by his body mass. It was warm, comforting.

Within moments, they were both asleep. Every now and then, his snoring would stir her awake and she would have to reposition herself. Her movement was a way to gently alert him without fully waking him. She hated to wake him while he was asleep, even though his snoring sometimes made it impossible for her to get any rest some nights. For all of his snoring, he actually was a light sleeper; she could never leave the bed without waking him.

She was a lighter sleeper, though. The slightest vibration near her head sent her eyes flying open. A bright white light emanated from the device plugged into the wall adjacent to her. She glanced over, first noticing the time: 3:42a. What the fuck... She looked over at him. He was still fast asleep.

It was a text: ‘Hey, are you awake?’

She considered not answering. But no one texted at 3 o’clock in the morning just to chat. And though she tried to ignore the text, she cared too much for the sender to do so. ‘What’s up?’ she sent back.

‘Can you talk?’

‘No. Are you okay?’

‘I’m just having some trouble sleeping.’

‘I wasn’t. :P’

A low growl started at her side. She looked over at him, a man who loved her unconditionally, sleeping peacefully through the night. She envied him, being able to sleep so soundly. She looked back at her phone: ‘5 minutes. Please, kitten?’

She bit down on her lower lip and melted. Carefully, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. No sooner had she left the bed did he roll over to face her. “Mmphh..?” he breathed.

“Bathroom,” she said simply. He accepted the lie instantly, resuming his position and falling limp again. God bless him, she thought as she made her way to the door, he can’t stand to see me go.