Closing my eyes, I leaned in and gave him another sweet kiss, puckering my lips into light pillows as comfort. We laid there, facing each other, breathing each other in, for the longest time. I think I needed it to help recenter myself, just as much as Charlie needed it to calm his internal worries. Finally, my stomach gurgled, breaking the tranquil moment.
“Ugh,” I opened my eyes, but Charlie was already moving out of my personal space.
“I will go see what you have to eat,” Charlie said, heading towards the door, “unless you have any requests that you already have in mind that I will find in your kitchen.”
I pushed my lips out to the side, knowing he wasn’t going to find much.
I think that gave him a non-verbal answer because he laughed, “I’ll go explore.”
“Charlie,” I motioned him over and pointed at my back pocket in my slacks that the hospital gave me to leave in since my jumper was ruined when they cut me out of it. “Take the money in my wallet if you need to go to the store over by the incline on E Sycamore and Shiloh Street. If there isn’t enough or you run out, just credit my account at the Company Store around the corner, yeah?”
He came over to take my wallet, but when he grabbed it, I pulled him down for another quick kiss, because I just can’t get enough now. I couldn’t wait to hold him tonight, if he let me. After he straightened back up, he surprised me by reaching for the book on my nightstand and leaving it for me in arm’s reach. He smiled and left.
He was so beautiful. He was a piece of coal being compressed, turning into a diamond.
My diamond.
eighteen
Shield And Protect
Charlie
Jim didn’t have much, but I had already assumed that even before he gave me his wallet to go shopping. But I found a red and white can of Campbell’s Tomato Soup mixed in with some canned vegetables and a loaf of Wonder Bread sitting out. Exploring the icebox fridge, I found an opened eight-pack of Kraft Cheese that had three loose slices left and a half-used stick of Blue Bonnet Butter. The bread was a little stale, but I hoped after I toasted it, it wouldn’t be noticeable. I could run to the store tomorrow as I was too tired to do much more today after the events of yesterday, today, and from not sleeping much.
I found Jim’s single pot and single skillet he owned in the cabinet next to the stove. I moved his stovetop coffee kettle to the side and heated the soup while Imade two cheese sandwiches, rubbing the end of the butter on the skillet before tossing bread slices on to toast. I put two slices of cheese for Jim’s and the other with a single for me since he needed the substance more than I did.
I bowled up the soup, placing a spoon in the contents and plated his cheese sandwich, cutting it into two triangles. Making my way upstairs, I found him reading his book that I left within reach. When he looked up, he had a look of surprise. “Oh wow,” setting his book down and out of the way. I put the plate on the bed and handed him the bowl so the contents wouldn’t spill. He was about to dig in when he noticed I was empty handed. His smile dropped a little, “Did you not make yourself anything, Honey?”
Hearing him call me that sends this current through me causing me to smile, “I did, it’s waiting for me in the kitchen. Plus, I need to clean up. Eat. We need to get you healed, and you starving isn’t going to help that process,” I turned to leave and go deal with the kitchen.
“Please get your food and come back. The kitchen can wait,” Jim pleaded. I turned my head and his face said everything I needed to know. He wanted me close.
I walked the three steps to him and kissed his forehead. I nodded with a shy smile, “Okay. I’ll be right back.”
I ran down and put away the butter and sealed the bread, grabbed my meal and ran back upstairs to join the man I was having a hard time staying away from. I think if he asked me to sit with him at the base of a volcano with lava flowing down it, I would.
I sat with him and we ate in silence for a moment. He kept looking at me with sincere happiness, dipping his sandwich in his soup before taking a big bite.Before I knew it, he was done and I had only eaten half of mine.
I took his dishes away and set them on the nightstand for now. When I went to continue, he asked, “Did you find any good reading material in the spare room?”
I smiled at him with the memory of walking into that room and seeing all the books he had collected over time. It was amazing, even though they were just lined up on the floor along the wall or in stacks at the foot of the spare bed that was left in there.
They were also in phenomenal condition, like he bought them and set them aside, never touching them again. Showed that he respects books. It also showed the intelligence of the reader by how they treat books. “I may have reorganized my selections into their own stack of books,” I smirked. I felt my cheeks heat.
“Good. They should be loved again,” he reached out with one hand to touch one of mine while the other reached up to brush my brow and down the side of my eye. “Especially by these hands and these diamond blue eyes.” He was staring intently at my eyes, like I had caught him doing so many times before. I knew my eyes were an oddly colored blue. They’re not normal, an extra light sky blue, nearly crystal.
I reached up and grabbed his hand that’s on my face and held it there, leaning into it, closing my eyes at the comfort. After a moment, I felt him try to pull away. I opened my eyes to look at him again, “Finish. You can’t take care of me as my personal nurse if you don’t have the energy,” bouncing his brows suggestively making us both laugh, then he groaned, with a pinched face. “Did that one to myself.”
I shook my head and finished eating, took our plates and bowls back down to the kitchen and quickly cleaned everything up. After locking the door to otherunexpected visitors, I returned to Jim with two glasses of water and my book in hand. I crawled back into bed with him where we stayed to read for the rest of the evening, both of us finishing our novels.
We talked about ‘The Charioteer’ since we both have read it now. The story of two men, in the middle of a war, falling in love in a time and place that made it dangerous for them was heart wrenching. And the bravery of the author for even putting it on paper really struck a chord with me.
“How was yours,” I asked, pointing at the book that was set aside.
He handed it to me, “Why don’t you tell me tomorrow? I have a feeling you won’t be able to put this one down either.” I smiled at him and moved to get off the bed. “Where are you going?” He looked confused.
“I was going to move into the other room where I am all set up,” I stood there, shifting back and forth, full of awkward energy.
