Chapter 10
He crept slowly down the hall and slid
the door of the guestroom open a crack, sliding his body inside. He stood by
the dresser and stared for a long time at the woman laying there in bed. The light
from the bathroom along with the setting sun coming through the window played
off her pale face and Nick sighed in awe of how beautiful she looked. He could
see her breathing, her chest rising and falling steadily beneath the sheets and
he walked slowly over to the bed and sat down beside her.
"My God how I missed you,"
He whispered as he leaned forward and gently stroked the soft fuzz that was
growing in all over her head. He kissed her gently on the lips and took her
hand in his.
She stirred now and her eyelids
fluttering open. She looked up into his eyes and a smile crossed her face as
she pulled him into her arms and kissed him. When she'd finally released her
hold on him he pulled her up in the bed and they sat there just looking at one
another for a long time. Neither spoke for several moments until finally she
took a breath.
"Oh my God Nick... I missed you
so much," She cried as tears ran down her cheeks spilling onto the sheets
below.
"Baby don't cry!" He pulled
her close and held her tight, not letting go. His own tears began to fill his
eyes and he wanted this moment to last forever. "I missed you too
sweetheart... I love you."
"I love you too Nick... I love
you so much."
He laid her down on the pillow and
kicked off his shoes. He crawled beneath the covers beside her and took her
into his arms. He didn't ever want to let her go again. She laid her head upon
his chest and stroked his hair with her fingers as she tried to stop herself
from crying. Finally she looked up into his eyes and smiled.
"Did you guys have fun?"
"Not really... I missed you too
much." It was true. He hadn't given himself the chance to enjoy this tour.
His mind had been other places.
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay baby... I'm just glad
to be home with you."
They laid there for a little while and
talked about their time apart. Nick told her about Australia and how he'd wish
she could have been there to see the sunsets. Grace told him about the plans
for the wedding and about how happy she'd been when Angel had dropped in for
her unexpected visit. He smiled again... that was his idea. She yawned and Nick
cuddled in closer to her. He buried his nose in her neck and rubbed her arms
gently with his hands. It felt so good being back in this place.
Even though he hadn't meant for it to
happen, he'd let his mind wander to dark places many times on the tour. He'd
lay in bed alone at night and think about the fact that he might soon have to
spend every night that way... alone. He'd left on the tour with every aspect of
her still fresh in his mind. He thought about the way she smelled and how she
laughed, he'd even taken one of her nightshirts with him to sleep with, but as
the tour went on he found himself not being able to remember. No matter how
hard he tried he couldn't imagine her face perfectly enough and eventually the
nightshirt began to smell like everything else in his suitcase. He knew that
this is what it would be like to lose her, if... when... it happened and now he
knew he could never be prepared for that.
He took it all in now as she laid
there beside him snoring gently. He wrapped his arms around her and breathed in
her scent. He didn't want to imagine ever having to forget. He pulled the cover
up over her body and closed his eyes.
He forgot about the guests downstairs
as he drifted off to sleep with her in his arms.
~~~~~~~
Kevin opened the door a crack and
peaked in before opening it the rest of the way. He stood in the doorway and
marveled at the sight before him. They were sound asleep together, wrapped in
each others arms.
He taped the note to the door careful
not to disturb the exhausted couple and then snuck back downstairs to join the
others.
***
