I stiffen only for a second but he notices. Of course he does. Aspen notices everything. He’s basically written by a woman.
“Sorry,” he says quickly. “You don’t have to tell me. I just... I noticed it before. I guess I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”
I look down at our hands, his fingers still lightly touching the mark I try not to think about.
“Most people assume it’s... something it’s not,” I say quietly. “It’s not what you think it is.”
He doesn’t respond just waits.
“It happened the night I found out my dad was cheating,” I say. “He tried to stop me from throwing his Golden Globe at the woman he was screwing.”
A pause. A breath.
“It shattered the coffee table. I slipped and one of the broken edges caught me.” I swallow. “It’s stupid. I didn’t even notice it at the time. I was too angry.”
I’m still angry.
Aspen doesn’t say anything for a moment, and that silence is loud in a way that makes me nervous; but then I feel it: his lips press against the scar, soft and slow.
“I hate that you have that,” he says against my skin, “but I’m glad you told me.”
I blink up at the stars on the ceiling, trying not to cry.
“It’s weird,” I whisper. “Sometimes I forget it’s there. Until someone looks at me like they know a secret I don’t want to share.”
He squeezes my hand, “I won’t look at it like that. I promise.”
And somehow, I believe him.
Aspen’s different.
30
Aspen
It’s another day in paradise, at least that’s what it feels like when I wake up next to Genevieve again. We’re both in bed, tangled up in the sheets, and completely and unapologetically naked. Her leg’s slung over mine, her arm across my chest like she owns the place, and maybe she does. She looks unreal in this light, like I dreamt her up and forgot to wake up. The dim morning light slipping through the blinds makes her skin glow like she’s some kind of dream I’m afraid to wake up from.
I reach for my phone, careful not to move too fast and wake her. I forgot to set an alarm last night after being up half the night helping Genevieve wrestle with some brutal math homework, but thankfully, my internal clock never lets me down. 6:45 a.m. Not bad. Just enough time to get ready and sneak in a moment of peace before the chaos of work begins.
As gently as I can, I lift her arm off of me and slide out from under her. She stirs, but doesn’t wake fully, just shifts and burrows deeper into the pillow. I smile to myself and head to the bathroom to do my morning routine; brush my teeth, fix my hair, splash cold water on my face to chase away the lingering sleep. When I come out she’s awake now sitting up, messy hair and all, scrolling on her phone with that groggy morning pout that somehow still makes her look perfect.
“Morning,” she says, her voice soft and warm.
“Good morning to you, Snowflake” I reply, leaning down to plant a quick kiss on her cheek. I want to linger, but time’s ticking. “We should leave in the next twenty minutes. Is that enough time for you to get ready?”
She nods silently and heads into the bathroom. While she’s getting ready, I throw on my layers; thermal, hoodie, jacket; and pop a strawberry Pop-Tart into the toaster. It’s not much, but it’ll do the job. I figure Genevieve will eat when she gets to work. I kind of love that we can say things like when she gets to work now. Like we’re just two people living our lives side by side. It feels weirdly domestic, and really good.
Fifteen minutes later; we’re dressed, fed, and ready to roll. It’s only our second official day of this shared schedule, but it already feels like a rhythm we’ve fallen into. Natural, easy, like we’ve been doing it for years.
I follow her out the door, locking it behind me, and lead her to the car which I’d had the foresight to start a few minutes ago. The warm air inside hits us like a hug, and Genevieve gives me a quick look of appreciation before we pull out of the driveway.
The drive to work is filled with the sound of Tame Impala playing through the speakers. When One More Hour comes on, something in the lyrics hits differently today.
“Whatever I’ve done
I did it for love
I did it for fun”
