15-05-2021-052358It-Ends-with-Us

He shakes his head as he wrestles out of his jacket, so I skip the
kitchen and head for the bedroom. He follows me, and then throws
his jacket over the back of the chair. He kicks off his shoes and pushes
them against the wall.
He’s wearing scrubs.
“You look exhausted,” I say.
He smiles and puts his hands on my hips. “I am. I just assisted in an
eighteen-hour surgery.” He bends down and kisses the heart tattoo on
my collarbone.
No wonder he’s exhausted. “How is that even possible?” I say.
“Eighteen hours?”
He nods and then walks me to the side of the bed where he pulls
me down next to him. We adjust ourselves until we’re facing each
other, sharing a pillow. “Yeah, but it was amazing. Groundbreaking.
They’ll write about it in medical journals, and I got to be there, so I’m
not complaining. I’m just really tired.”
I lean in and give him a peck on the mouth. He brings his hand to
the side of my head and pulls back. “I know you’re probably ready to
have hot, sweaty sex, but I don’t have the energy tonight. I’m sorry.
But I’ve missed you and for some reason I sleep better when I sleep
next to you. Is it okay that I’m here?”
I smile. “It’s more than okay.”
He leans in and kisses my forehead. He grabs my hand and then
holds it between us on the pillow. His eyes close, but I keep mine
open and stare at him. He has the type of face that people shy away
from, because you could get lost in it. And to think, I get to look at
this face all the time. I don’t have to be modest and look away,
because he’s mine.
Maybe.
This is a trial run. I have to remember that.
After a minute, he releases my hand and begins to flex his fingers. I
look down at his hand and wonder what that must be like... to have
to stand for so long and use your fine motor skills for eighteen hours
straight. I can’t think of much else that would match that level of
exhaustion.
I slide out of the bed and retrieve some lotion out of my bathroom.
I go back to the bed and sit cross-legged next to him. I squirt some