She appeared in the doorway. "You asleep?"
"Nope." Still standing there. "What do you need? A drink of water? A blanket? Cuddles?"
"Yes."
Laughing. "Yes, what?"
"Cuddles."
I peeled back the covers on the "passenger side" of the bed.
She came over and got in.
"Okay," I said, my arm cocked back. "Spoons, or cheek on chest?" She put her cheek on my chest, and I put my arm around her shoulders. In the ensuing silence, I felt her gears turning. "What's on your mind?"
"How do you know there's something on my mind?"
"There's always something on your mind."
She giggled. "You're right. . .I was thinking about something you said earlier. . .you said you think I'm beautiful. . .what did you mean?"
"Um. . .well. . .aesthetically pleasing, easy on the eyes, evolved on the inside. . .engaging, intelligent. . .a sexy heart-shaped mouth. . .all that is beautiful. . ."
"You think i have a heart-shaped mouth?"
I leaned back to look at it. "Yep. There it is. Heart-shaped." Settling back down on my chest, she turned contemplative again. I felt her thinking. I always feel her thinking. "What else?" I prodded, brushing my fingers through the tendrils of hair at her forehead.
"I like you."
"I like you, too."
"How much?"
I held up my fingers to about an inch, and she smacked me on the arm, as we both laughed.
"Seriously. Yes. I do like you. More than I should, probably."
"Why do you say that? "
"I just know you are very dangerous to me."
"I've never been accused of being dangerous."
"Well you are."
"How?"
Now it was my turn to squirm. I cleared my throat and tried to find the right words. "I had a very precise and thorough list of what I wanted to manifest in my life. . .romantically."
"And?"
"And you're it."
"Really?"
"Unless you have me fooled."
"Kiss me."
"What?"
"I want you to kiss me like I'm the one you manifested. . ."
"Why?"
"So I can see if it's what I manifested."
"Oh, you've been manifesting, too, have you?"
"Yes I have."
I sighed. "Now I have performance anxiety."
