-Mae West
Mark rose with the sun, Karma still in his arms. Carefully, he pulled himself free, got out of bed, closed the curtains so the sunlight wouldn’t wake her, and rubbed his palms up and down his face as he walked barefoot to the bathroom and closed the door.
After a quick shower, where he replayed the memories of last night like a favorite movie, he returned to the bedroom and quietly pulled on a pair of boxer briefs, nylon sweats, and a faded blue T-shirt that was so old the collar was frayed. The shirt was one of his favorites, and despite its tattered appearance, he had never been able to get rid of it.
He was funny like that. When he found something he loved, he simply couldn’t throw it away. He still had cassette tapes from when he was a kid. Old classic rock stuff he had inherited from an uncle at the age of six. Even though he had no means of playing them anymore, he kept them for nostalgia. Every time he ran across them while digging through his things, good memories flooded his mind. That alone was enough to make him hang on to those antique cassettes.
He glanced at Karma, sleeping so peacefully, and smiled as he picked up his phone from the dresser. Aiming it, he took a picture and then a second, closer one. This was how he wanted to remember her. Tousled and glorious after their night of passion. Just like his old cassettes, he wanted to hold on to his memory of Karma long after their affair ended, and years from now, he would open these pictures and remember how, for a short time, he’d had it good. So wonderfully, perfectly good.
With another glance toward Karma to make sure she was still asleep, he quietly rummaged through her bag and found a pair of shorts, which he gently set on the foot of the bed. Then he scrounged one of his T-shirts from the closet, placed it beside her shorts—because he did enjoy seeing her in his clothes—and quietly slipped out of the bedroom, latching the door with a snick.
He made a pot of coffee, set out tea and a cup for when Karma woke, grabbed the Sunday paper from the hall, and took his coffee and paper to the balcony, where he parked in the early morning sun. A refreshing breeze blew off Lake Michigan.
About thirty minutes later, Karma joined him, holding her cup of tea and wearing a sleepy grin.
“Good morning, sexy,” he said, setting his paper aside.
“Morning.” She blew over her tea and gingerly sat in the chair beside him as if her body wasn’t quite operational, yet. After last night, she was probably all kinds of achy, but in a good way.
Her hair was a mish-mash of combed tangles, and she was wearing his shirt and the shorts he had set out. Sleep still hung in her eyes, but he had never seen anything more beautiful.
“Come here.” He held out his hand.
She set down her tea and slid from her seat into his lap, where she snuggled against him.
“Sleep well?” He brushed his palm down her hair. She smelled like mint toothpaste.
She nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“Still tired?”
Again, she nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“You hungry?”
Without preamble, she lifted her head and kissed him, catching him by surprise, and chiseled a crack into the concrete wall around his heart.
Her mouth was refreshingly cool and tasted of mint, and his reaction was instantaneous. His head drifted back, his arms encircled her, and he pulled her closer, greedy for the feel of her taking control. She held his face in her hands, her palms pressed against his cheeks, her thumbs crisscrossed under his chin, and her lips opened and closed in tender, hungry pulls against his mouth in a dreamy, affectionate display.
He could wake up to this every morning. He really could.
All too soon, she drew back and licked her lips, her cheeks flushed. “I could eat.”
He smiled, his body ready for hers again. “You know, making love in the morning is a beautiful way to wake up.”
She inhaled sharply, albeit quietly. “I wouldn’t know.”
It was the perfect thing for her to say at the perfect moment.
He pushed her off his lap, stood, and took her hand. “Then I think it’s time you learned.”
He led her back to the bedroom, left the door open, and pulled her down into bed on top of him, ready to savor her a little bit more before she left.