Carol awoke softly to a sound that was becoming increasingly familiar. The unique sounds of Japanese jazz filed the small apartment, which meant he was already up. Despite her brain knowing this, she still reached out a hand under the bed covers to try and find his warmth. Was it possible to still be disappointed even if you knew what you wanted wasn’t there to begin with? His side of the bed was already cold which meant he had been up for some time. While it wasn’t unusual it was odd. Richard usually tried to maximise their mornings together, often sleepily reaching out and pulling her in close, his warmth radiating over her. Her body tingled thinking about his embrace, and she held herself instinctively, letting the feeling cascade over her in waves.
The smile that had spread over her face, quickly faded as she thought about why he was up so early. It probably meant he had to leave soon, something they hadn’t discussed the night before. Not even the pleasant but complicated sound of the music could cheer her up now, the seeds of disappointment had been sown. They usually had a few hours together on Sundays before they had to part ways and life began again. What was so important that he needed to leave, yet not important enough to tell her about it? She rolled onto her back and spread out under the sheets sighing sadly to herself.
She closed her eyes and willed herself to get up and out of the warm bed. In one swift and brutal motion, she whipped back the covers and let the chill winter morning air rush over her naked body. Despite the shock of cold air meeting a warm body it was still a battle of wills to swing her legs over the side of the bed and not retreat back into the warmth of her dreams. Once physically out of bed however, she ran on auto pilot tending to her body’s needs and morning routine. She grabbed a red silk dressing gown from her closet, a present from a lover long since past, and wrapped herself up in it as she headed downstairs towards the kitchen and her beau.
The smell of freshly ground coffee hit her nose first, followed by the sizzling sound of eggs cooking. She sleepily wandered through the lounge room, passing the speakers that continued to softly play jazz, and let her nose lead her to the source of cooking eggs. Ignoring the tall smiling man leaning against the kitchen bench, she picked up a spatula and prodded the eggs and vegetarian sausages.
‘Are they to madam’s liking?’ He said kindly, putting aside his coffee mug and picking up a second one. She turned and waved the instrument in his direction.
‘I guess this will do, although I still expect an apology.’ He gently took the spatula from her and replaced it with the piping hot mug of black coffee. She closed her eyes and held it up to her face, letting the heavenly aroma of bitter coffee wash over her.
‘An apology? Did I wake you too early?’ He looked pained. ‘I wanted to surprise you with breakfast.’
She sipped her coffee and shook her head. ‘No, no, the breakfast is a wonderful surprise. You leaving early is less than ideal however. Especially as you never mentioned it at all last night.’ She pouted.
It was mostly in jest but she figured he could take it. She looked up into his deep brown eyes and regretted it immediately, turning away from him to face the stove top. Damn his kind, beautiful eyes. Damn his surprise breakfast, and damn his dreamy jazz filling her head. Her semi-fake pout shifted down into a real grump. She didn’t realise how tense her body had become until he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her in tightly. The grumpy mood began to flow out of her as she relaxed under his embrace. Those surprisingly strong arms squeezed her tightly as he gently kissed the side of her head.
Despite her self, those soft lips had her head swimming. Leaning her head ever so slightly away from him to expose more skin to his touch. She breathed in deeply and felt a warm sensation run down the length of her spine. In a moment of clarity, she mentally slammed on the brakes and turned in his arms putting their lips a hairs breath apart. She struggled to avoid kissing him, it was so natural to place her lips on his and taste him, but she resisted with her hands on his chest pushing them apart.
‘You’re not leaving early then?’ Carol asked, hopefully.
‘Not at all, I’m all yours. In fact my CO has cleared me for the entire day…surprise.’ Replied Richard.
‘I’m still upset.’ She replied, relaxing a little. ‘What if I had made plans to see Sarah today? I’d be left in a very awkward situation.’
‘If you had made plans with Sarah then you would have kept them.’ He said, gently brushing a stray hair from across her face. ‘You’d have keep those plans because you love her and would know how much it would hurt her if you cancelled just to spend time with me. Plus I would have insisted you go.’
She scrunched up her face, he was right but it wasn’t the point. ‘Still doesn’t make it right.’ She said, leaning her face against his chest. His arms closed around her and hugged her tightly. The warmth of his body, and the subtle thump of his heart calming her.
‘I’m sorry.’ He said, squeezing her to emphasise the point. ‘I wanted to surprise you but didn’t think through the ramifications on others, and you. I made a mistake. A mistake with good intentions, but a mistake nonetheless.’
This time she wrapped her arms around his back and squeezed. ‘You’re forgiven. As long as you learn from this, and make it up to me.’ Her hands began to slide slowly down his back. She could feel him smile. It was something she loved about him, his whole body smiled when he was truly happy, little muscles twitched in happiness across his body.
‘Am I to be punished by having my perfect breakfast ruined just so I can pleasure you?’ He said, leaning over to turn off the burners. She responded by slipping her hands under his plain black t-shirt and raking her nails down his back. Spasms of pleasure ran down his body and he grew hard against her.
‘Damn your eggs, sir. You’ll serve me first, then re-make my breakfast.’ She used a playful, yet dominant voice as she moved her head back to look up at him. His brown eyes looked down at her with hunger, lust, and kindness. A heady mixture normally, but especially so this early in the morning.
Richard placed his hands under her thighs and hoisted her upwards. She responded by wrapping her legs around his waist and holding on to his back tightly with arms locked around him. A small yelp of surprise may have escaped her lips but it was quickly replaced with a large and contented smile as he kissed her and lead them both back towards the bedroom.