Chain Reaction 3.44: Ignition

     I wake up early the next morning--before Charlotte. She looks like she hasn't moved.

     She probably never noticed I was here at all.

      I can spend the last hour or so napping on the couch.

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     I awake to Lottie's face very close to mine, wearing a goofy smile.
     "Hey." I sit up in case she wants to sit on the couch. She does.

     It's torture. I can't take it! She didn't sleep in a bra, and she hasn't put one on yet. Plum, it's not as if she's in sexy lingerie or something. It's just a tank top! I'm glad I'm sitting down.
     I need a cold shower.
     But she looks too good. She did mention making out is okay. I need something to keep from going mad. I slide over to her and wrap my arm around her shoulder. "Sleep well?"
     She's up to something. "I don't know. You tell me." She smiles.
     "Why do you say that?" My eyes drift down the length of her hair and stop where it ends.
     "Because you know exactly how well I slept. That is, except for that time when I woke up and saw you sleeping."
     Oh. I let out one of those typical, nervous laughs.

     "Well, I, uh... I was very uncomfortable on the couch, and I thought if I just slept on top of the covers it would be okay."
      "And it was." She pauses. "I thought about waking you up the way you woke me up after closing the store the other night, but I was too nervous about what might happen." She puts her hand. on. my. knee. Then her fingertips slowly dance up my thigh.
     Does she know how close I am to igniting?

     I think she does. Her hand moves after I turn and face her.
     She whispers, "I'm not nervous now."
     Her body tells me otherwise. She was more daring--then I reacted. Now, she's having second thoughts. Meanwhile, I'm going out of my mind trying to stay sane, which is as crazy as it sounds.
     It doesn't matter. I want her. In whatever way.

     I'm reminded of when I kissed her at the charity auction, how I stole the moment, praying she would react in some way that didn't get me slapped across the face. That space of time was the happiest and most desperate of my life. This is another one of those times.
      What starts as a simple yet passionate kiss escalates into that same 'oh plum I need you all of you right now forever' kind we had the night of the auction. My hands are in her hair. Then on her legs. Then her chest. Then I have her straddle my lap while I bring her blessed-by-nature chest to my face, groaning.
      I can't decide if we stay here too long or not long enough, but I take her to the bed, shedding clothes along the vast distance from the couch to our destination.

     Everything. It's just... everything. We do everything. Everything I crave. And I make sure that everything is as perfect as it can be. Because she is perfect.

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      The air is beautiful here.
      Lottie and I stayed in bed all day-- in varied states of passion. I'm only out here because she complained she was starving. I'm still the better cook, so here I am.

     So much for excavating for artifacts, I think with a chuckle. Then I sigh happily.
     My mind wanders to where Lottie's taking her shower. I want to go in and 'check on her,' but I also know that she probably wants a little time to herself. Still... she's in the shower...

     We decide to get dressed to eat. Clothed, naked: it matters not. Every time I look at my Lottie, I see her naked.
      I'm a little more dressed up than she is, but I have my reasons.
      "Jarvis, you're not eating." She puts another forkful in her mouth.
      "Sorry. I'm... distracted." I smile wickedly.

     "Well, you need to eat or you'll have no energy to do whatever it is you're planning inside that head of yours."

      Instead of asking her how it is that she knows I'm planning something, I say, "And you really have no idea what it is, do you?"
      She should. It's been a while now since the last time I did it whereas before it'd become predictable.
      I remember a very picturesque spot from a brochure. I know she'll love it.
      I decided on these pants because I'm confident I won't lose anything out of the pockets. That's important because I'm carrying something very special in one of them.