Sweet afternoons

Chapter twenty three

I can't recall what I had dreamt about but as my eyes fluttered open, encouraged by the tapping sound of fingers against a keyboard, a melancholic feeling sat in my chest. What happy world had I been living in unconsciously to have made me feel so sad to wake up?

A silent sigh passed my lips and I slowly turned my head to the side to peer at my partner.

My eyes landed on the figure of a man, hunched against the headboard with a laptop perched on his bent legs. The glow from the screen lit up his face and I could see the way his features were scrunched up in concentration.

The longing feeling in my chest dissipated as the remnants of sleep eventually faded away. A smile settled on my face as I continued to watch Andres work in silence. It brought me a strange amount of contentment to be around a partner while we did mundane things.

I had always imagined that love would transform a person's life; reading endless romance novels in my teen years had painted a dramatic picture in my mind. It became clear, after falling in love, that life doesn't have to change drastically. Instead, the way you perceive the world may change.

Everything was brand new because there was a person beside me to experience it all with.

Gazing up at the man dreamily, a bright smile lit up my lips as Andres turned his head towards me. It took him a moment to comprehend that I was awake but after a few seconds of stillness the man pushed his laptop to the side and moved closer to me.

"You're awake," he said softly, returning my smile. "I didn't disturb your sleep, did I?"

I rolled over, so my body faced the man, and rested my head on my elevated hand. "Not at all," I replied, suppressing the urge to yawn.

Seeing the tiredness still on my face, Andres grinned and slid down on the bed to lay next to me. We were face to face, eyes peering lovingly towards one another, with our bodies gently pressed against each other. It was sweetly intimate and I melted into Andres' hands as they settled on my waist.

"How are you feeling?" He asked quietly, trailing his hand up from my waist to trace the contour of my cheek. The softness of his touch made me feel like a China doll, the porcelain of my skin too delicate to be rough with.

It was a straightforward question, but there was no straightforward answer. Closing my eyes for a moment, I pondered the thoughts racing in the back of my mind.

"I'll be okay." was all I said.

Although I may not have been okay at the time, I wasn't lying.

I would be okay: Once my father was better, once I could go back to the bakery, once Andres and I could work on our relationship.

"Have you got more work to do?" I asked Andres, noticing he wasn't able to relax completely in our position.

He nodded slowly, still holding my cheek on his palm and brushing his thumb across my skin slowly.

I smiled reassuringly, knowing he would feel guilty about having to work. "I'll go and explore the hotel for a while, don't worry about me."

"Impossible," he whispered, pulling me in for a short kiss before letting me get up from the bed. "Don't get lost."

Shaking my head at the teasing tone, I sent back a sarcastic reply before turning my attention towards my suitcase. Rustling through the large bag, I pulled out a set of comfortable clothing and took them to the bathroom to change.

Admittedly, the hotel was fancier than most of my clothing and I knew that I would feel underdressed. I chose the nicest of my regular clothes, a long denim skirt with a matching nude jumper, to make me feel less out of place.