Finally Found

He had tossed and turned for hours. He had tried out the top bunk, the bottom bunk, and Sam’s bed before breaking down and traipsing back to the other wing. It wasn’t that the beds were uncomfortable. It was that he was too far away. He couldn’t hear her breathe or move or anything. He hated not knowing. So he finally walked out of Sam’s room, crossed the wide-open empty great room, and headed down the hall towards the master bedroom. Taking a moment to lean on the door and listen intently, he discovered that somehow Cammie had managed to fall asleep. How could she when he was struggling so? He peered in at her. Her long blond hair was fanned out around her head. Her eyes were shut and the moonlight made her skin appear even paler than before. It was those eyelashes fluttering slightly as she dreamed that made the biggest impact.

Though he hadn’t managed to wake up with her from their afternoon delight, he would make certain that soon, he would. After a meager four hours of sleep, he climbed out of his parents’ bed, took a long hot shower, dressed, and headed into the kitchen. While he had secretly hoped she would be up and waiting for him there, she had unknowingly disappointed him once again. To discover her car was gone when he glanced out the window only added further injury to his ego.

With little else left to do, he moped out to the great room, stretched out on the couch, and fell back to sleep. Adam, who was always calm, confident, and self-assured, was now simply shaken. His ego had done nothing but take a beating since that woman walked into his life.

Soon he awakened to the sound of her laughing. “How is it possible that you are still sleeping? Get up. We have work to do. I brought food…”

That was enough to urge him from his rest: Cammie’s presence and the chance to spend time with her. A smile spread across his face as she poked him. “I’m up!” He argued half-heartedly with a chuckle.

“Oh, no. See by definition, you are the exact opposite of up. It’s called lying down for a reason.” She prepared to stomp off, but he rolled over and caught her.

Without warning, he had hauled her onto him and had captured her legs with his own. “Oh, see now we’re both lying down. What do you have to say about that?” He playfully bit at her neck and rubbed his stubbly face against her smooth soft cheek. He loved the scent of her and kept burrowing closer while trying to play off how much it meant to him.

“Let me go,” she protested even as she smiled and squirmed.

Slowly, gradually, by degree, he released her. Though he expected her to leap from the couch and rush off, she didn’t. He smiled. “It must be exhausting to be so tense all the time.”

She frowned. “It is.” Then with a sigh, she said seriously once more, “Can we get to work now?”

He reached up and brushed a few wisps of blond hair from her face. He studied her for a moment; her eyes were shyly closed, looking down, desperate to avoid his face. He could see how important all of this was to her. He couldn’t make her suffer. “Of course,” he replied. “Right now even.” She had climbed off him and was now standing quietly just out of arm’s reach. “Help me up.” She looked at him suspiciously. “Come on. Trust.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Trust? Trust you?” She tilted her head as if she was considering it. Then she whipped around and hurried to the kitchen.