My Kind of Woman

38. Could Heaven Ever Feel Like This?

In the bathroom, the shower stopped running and the toilet flushed. Then after a few minutes, the door opened, sending steam billowing out from the room, conflicting with the cool breathing of the AC unit. Mio was standing there, still drying her hair in a hotel towel, wearing a white nightgown, one that was very modest and seemingly made from the same material as my robe. She saw me sprawled on the bed and came over, shuffling up beside me and resting on her knees. I could've glanced right up her nightgown, it was opened right in front of me, but I instead, looked up into her face, swallowing.

"Are you still tired?" She asked, brushing my hair away from my cheek.

I nodded against the spread.

She tugged the duvet out from under our bodies and blanketed us with it. The air conditioning almost made me forget it had been such a hot day. My skin had pimpled in the cool room, even under the covers. Mio reached over to the light switch by the bedside table and flicked it off, then shuffled back down close to me in the dark. She was leaning into me, closer and closer until her head was laid against my collar. Her hair was still slightly damp against my skin; I felt it where it had slivered through the V neck into my robe. Reflexively, my arms came around her body and hugged her to me, heart ballooning and pumping in my throat.

"Are you scared?" She asked quietly.

I wanted to ask if I should be, but I could feel her vulnerability, just in that moment. So instead, I shook my head and whispered, "I'm not."

She hummed against me, legs coming up to tangle with my own. I felt her body relax, head tucked under my chin, my arms closed around her. I wondered if she'd find the position comfortable enough to sleep in, but very quickly her breath became patterned and soft against my collarbone.

-

The morning came unlike any other morning I'd ever experienced. I was in a bed bigger than my own, with a warm body on my hip, in a room I was unaccustomed to. Mio was breathing gently, and had rolled onto her back in the night, but her arm was still draped between us, hand on my hip in sleep. Her lips were slightly parted and shiny in the corners where she'd drooled a bit. She was stirring, lashes fluttering, throb bobbing. I probably looked awful in the mornings, but she didn't. She looked ethereal. Everything about her features had been highlighted as if she'd been placed under a magnifying glass as my eyes studied her. Despite the coolness of the room, there was a pinkness that had rose to her cheeks in her sleep.

After a few minutes, she blinked and awoke, eyes finding me and softening. Her fingers rubbed into my hip, where they'd been resting since I woke. I was so happy I couldn't quite find the words to convey how I truly felt.

"Good morning," Mio said, her voice rasping with her grogginess. It was breathy and slight husky, and I felt myself throb at its sound.

"Morning," I smiled.

She hooked her hand around my hip and pulled me gently towards her, only leaving a small gap between our bodies. Then she tapped her bottom lip twice with her index finger.

"Kiss?" She said when I didn't reply.

I laughed shortly. "Morning breath."

"Hold your nose," she said with a shrug.

I was so happy. Without pinching my nose, I leaned forward into her lips, not really caring how her morning breath was. She squeezed my hips and I gasped softly into her open mouth. Her tongue swiped at my lower lip, but we went no further. It was the best good morning I'd ever received. She then pressed a final close-mouthed kiss to me and went off to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

I kicked my legs excitedly and rolled around a bit. I didn't think I would ever get used to feeling so content, especially so early in the morning. And it would be every morning for the rest of the summer, and after I finished college, and at holidays when I could come home to her.