BAMBI

XXVI

The fire slowly started burning out, my eyes struggling to see his face once illuminated by the yellow glow of the flame. "Let's go upstairs." My hands following the valley along the middle of his back.

Prince stood up, grasping his clothes in one hand and helping me to my feet with the other. We blindly made our way through the living room, kitchen and up the stairs to my bedroom. The pile of clothes in his hands got thrown onto the chair in the corner of the room before he crawled under the warmth of the comforters that layered my bed.

With the only source of light being trickled in through the windows from the moon, I stood at the foot of the bed, watching him get comfortable under the covers. "You getting in?" He flipped the covers on the opposite side of the mattress, inviting me into the bed he worked hard to get into.

"I'm gonna take a quick shower first."

"Ok, I might be asleep when you get out." My feet stepped lightly across the carpet, making my way to his bedside, giving him a kiss on the cheek before entering the bathroom to take my shower.

Just like every other time I attempted to take a quick shower, I found myself leaning against the wall pondering life's complexities. My lips curled up in a silly smile when I thought about Prince and how so much had changed in the past twelve hours.

Before I knew it, the temperature of the water dropped, making me snap out of whatever daze I was in. Hurrying through the rest of the shower, I stepped out onto the mat and wrapped a towel around my body.

Although the power still hadn't returned, I knew my way around my house and could navigate it with ease. Quietly, I opened the door to the bathroom, listening for a faint snore or something coming from Prince, but didn't hear anything.

Tiptoeing to the bed, I crept in under the blankets as gingerly as I could. Once my head hit the pillow I felt his warm hand slide across my skin and wrap around my waist. He scooted in closely, our bare bodies molding together, my hand overlapping his that held on to me tightly.

"Did I wake you?" I whispered.

"No, I was waiting for you." His voice was low and groggy, his soft lips brushing against the back of my neck, creating little goose bumps along my skin.

"You're lying."

"Yeah, I am." I felt his smile form against my neck before he lightly kissed the same area still riddled with goose bumps. "Can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?"

Prince nestled his head in the pillow behind me, his light breaths blowing onto my neck, a stillness filling the room while I waited for his question to materialize, "Did you live here with your ex husband?"

"No... why?"

"I was just wondering."

"I bought it on my own."

"Oh." There was a brief pause before he continued, "What's his name?"

"Let's go to bed, Prince, I'm tired."

"Well, what is it?"

"Aaron."

"Aaron..." he repeated, "What happened with you guys?"

My head lifted off of her the pillow, turning my body around to face his, "Hey, I don't want to talk about that, ok?" I rested my hand atop his curly chest hair, persuading him to end the conversation.