Page 14 of Consumed By Fire
"Interesting. Did you break up for that reason? Were you stuck at a full stop?"
"No, I left him because he was a bastard."
"I'm sorry, Charlotte."
"It's okay, it's just part of my past,” I say, shrugging
"That’s true," he says, raising his glass. “Let's toast to the future!"
He helps me clean the kitchen while Elvis' “Can’t Help Falling in Love” plays in the background.
"Do you want to dance with me?” he asks, smiling. I dry my hands with a cloth and go to him.
He holds me tight and I feel his heart beating fast. I look into his eyes, losing myself in his gaze as if I were a prisoner of his spell. It may be cliché but I’d like to be kissed. I've never wanted to be kissed by someone like I do now.
The song ends and we stay like that for a while, looking at each other, touching each other. He kisses my forehead, making me squeeze my core.
I turn off the lights and we go toward the rooms. I’m exhausted, and judging by his tired face, he is too.
"Thank you for everything, Charlotte. For the help at home, for the delicious dinner, and for sharing a part of your life with me,” he says, pulling me to him and stroking my cheek.
"It was fun," I replied, smiling.
"I agree."
"Good night, Dylan."
"Sweet dreams, Charlotte,” he says as he enters the room.
I go to my room, close the door, and start breathing again.
I put on my nightgown, brush my teeth, and go to bed. Hearing the raindrops beating against the window relaxes me, making me think about today, about how his body makes me feel just hugging me.
I hear talking and open my eyes. The clock strikes two in the morning. I think it’s a dream until I hear it again, followed by cries. I get out of bed and go to the door. Nobody could have come in here, at least, I hope not.
"No, wait ... stop," I hear and recognize Dylan's voice. I ran to his room. "Don't go, wait...” he says. When he shouts about stopping and throwing us on the ground, I understand that he’s having a nightmare. A rather violent one, seeing as he’s slamming himself into the bed. I get on the bed and try to calm him down without waking him but seeing him so sweaty and agitated worries me.
Lightning lights up the room through the curtains and the thunder that follows makes him scream.
"Shhh, it's alright, it's just a dream, Dylan, just a bad dream,” I say, stroking his face.
He grabs my wrist. "Charlotte," he whispers.
“I'm here, everything is fine! I'm here, Dylan. Please calm down.”
He opens his eyes for a few seconds before going back to sleep and letting go of my wrist. I observe him, and his breathing begins to normalize. I lie down next to him, as I don't want to leave him alone. If he has another nightmare, at least I'll already be here. I pull up the blanket when Dylan turns and hugs me. His breath tickles my shoulder and I caress his face and kiss his forehead.
His sigh followed by the light snore calms me.
8
DYLAN
I wake up when I feel someone moving near me. I open my eyes and see her in my arms with her hair spread across the pillow. Her eyes are closed and her lips are slightly parted. I blink a couple of times, bringing the room into focus. I have my arm around her waist and my leg between hers.
How the hell did she end up in my bed? I can't have gotten drunk on a couple of glasses of wine. And I definitely wouldn't have forgotten that I slept with her.
She stretches and opens her eyes, looking at me. "Good morning, Dylan. Did you sleep well?"