Cherry Coloured - Alex Turner

30. Confessions of Ambivalence II

  The sweet kiss of morning was always Alex's favourite form of affection from the natural world. Cool would be the rays of sun leaking through his curtains, warm were the sheets of his bed. The air would be crisp and ripe to fuel the coming day and on the contrary would be the softness of his muscles, still relaxed and mouldable. He enjoyed the routine of waking up on the right side of the bed instead of the centre. Company from the moment he regained cognisance.

Depending on the heat of the morning, his counterpart was either huddled up to his side like she was now, or distant with a leg sticking out on top of the covers and her hair swept up off her neck to fan over her pillow. Rubbing away the crystals that had formed on the inner corner of his eyes and dusting them off the side of the bed, Alex slowly craned his neck up and looked around his room. He could tell by the colour of the sunlight streaming through that it was overcast that morning and by Maeve's closeness, that the temperature would be cooler than it had been over the past week.

Looking down, Alex's eyes fixed on her sleeping face. There was an innocence about her when she slept — it had been there since the first night they'd shared together in that bed. She looked as though she never wished to wake. Finally at peace and no longer exhausted like she often was. Just like the morning itself, Maeve had a sweetness in the early hours that would generally fizzle away by the time she'd eaten breakfast or the clock had struck ten. Before then, Alex almost didn't recognise her.

"Don't go yet," he heard her murmur in response to his stirring awake.

"I'm not going anywhere, darling, I don't start for another three hours," he whispered and kissed her forehead. She nodded, eyes still fastened shut and soon fell back asleep whilst he tried his best not to wake her when he reached onto his nightstand and tore his phone off it's charging cord.

He briefly checked for any messages and then put it back down and picked up the book he'd been reading at the time. Admittedly, Alex would sometimes wake himself up early on weekdays when Maeve had stayed over just so he could bathe in the luxury of having her sleep with her head nestled into his neck whilst the morning remained still and silent. On those mornings, nothing in the world could upset him. He had all he needed with him should the world start shaking.

As Alex's eyes skimmed over the words written on the page before him, Maeve slowly began to stir from her exhaustion induced slumber and in doing so, began cuddling up to him like a cat. Alex chuckled and moved an arm around her shoulders, hugging her close as she wrapped an arm around his neck and nuzzled her head into his chest. "What time is it?" she mumbled with closed eyes.

Alex checked the face of his watch from where it sat on his bedside table. "Ten to seven," he said, gently rubbing his hand over her arm.

"Why'd you have to work so fuckin' early?" she groaned and relaxed into him with a deep sigh. Eventually, he had to detangle himself from her and leave the room to prepare himself for the day ahead, but that morning he decided that ten minutes more laying in bed with her was the only thing he wanted in the entire world. He returned to the bedroom with a glass of water and set it down on the table on her side of the bed. Then he climbed over her and laid down beside her as she rubbed her eyes and finally woke herself up.

"Morning," he smiled, admiring her as she pushed herself up onto her elbows and tiredly looked around.

She picked up the glass of water and took half its contents down her throat before turning to him with a soft smile and a "morning" that made Alex feel like he'd just discovered heaven. Maeve couldn't stop smiling the moment she looked at him and leant down, kissing his lips tenderly. It made her grin like she was crazy. The man she was kissing loved her. He'd said it to her with full transparency. It had taken longer than she ever imagined but here she was, in love, with a love that was equally reciprocated.