The Purple Heart by Christie Gucker

hours into
the night when I felt the bed shake me awake. He was probably
having a nightmare. I tried to wake him, but he only became silent
again at my touch and the sound of my voice when I whispered his
name. I thought this would be a good time to put something more
comfortable on and hit the bathroom. While I was away, I heard him
cry out. I didn’t hear him say anything definitive because
everything sounded muffled through the door. I hurried back to his
side and climbed back into bed with him, and he immediately quieted
again. I curled myself around him, and we spent the rest of the
night without any further events.
     

Chapter Five:
Cheryl
    I let Aiden sleep in, sneaking out of
bed before the sun had risen. I watched him for a moment before I
left, and realized how quickly I was becoming attached to him. I
needed to talk to Cheryl again and wanted to use her as a sounding
board. She’d be painfully blunt, and let me know exactly how to
slow things down. I put on coffee, and figured I would wait until
it was a reasonable time to call.
    I decided to check out my newly
renovated Zen in the back yard. The terrace stone was frigid on my
bare feet as I stepped outside. The days were getting colder
lately. I knew it was only a matter of time before winter would be
approaching. I disliked winter greatly and had often entertained
the idea of moving somewhere that always hovered around seventy to
seventy-five degrees. That was my ideal temperature.
    The morning was extremely quiet. Not a
single bird made a sound. I could actually hear the creek babbling
in the distance, somehow amplified by the stillness of everything
else. It was so peaceful. I almost thought about waking Aiden so he
could share this time with me, but I knew he needed the rest. So I
dismissed the idea.
    I decided to grab my coffee and a
blanket to spend some time by myself, rummaging through all the
various conundrums in my head. I plopped myself into my papasan,
swaddled, clinging to my cup of joe for warmth, and watched the
sunrise. It had been awhile since I had actually appreciated the
beauty of it. Why hadn’t I spend more of my time enjoying the
simple pleasures of life? I was always so preoccupied with work
or what bills needed to be paid. It seemed like such a waste of
time right now. I should have been taking advantage of all the
beauty around me. Aiden was the reason for my change of thought and
heart. He made everything seem so much more vivid and real. A
simple smile or a gentle touch, things I hadn’t been paying
attention to recently because they didn’t exist and were not the
things I had been searching for, were all that I craved. Why was
he suddenly changing my priorities and viewpoints in my life, and
in such a short time?
    The sun slowly brought a rosy glow to
my Zen, but no warmth came with it. I thought of Aiden, cozy in
bed, only seconds away from me, and wondered if heading back to
snuggle with him was my best option. Would he remember his
nightmare from the middle of the night? Would things be awkward
between us? Nothing had happened, not that I didn’t think about
rolling over to start something a few times throughout night. It
was too soon.
    This was not the relationship I thought
I had wanted. I wanted the courting; the emails and texts, getting
ready for a date and having him pick me up at the door. This was
not a possibility when you were living with someone you wanted to
be in the beginning of a relationship with. The start of a
relationship was one of the best parts. I loved the first kiss and
butterflies in your stomach at seeing that other person. I had the
first one with Aiden. The second was not as easy due to our
location proximity. I still had fleeting moments of them,
though.
    Then there was the first intimate
encounter, the first time making love to each other. I wanted that
to be because Aiden and I felt deeply for each other, not because
we were hanging out on the couch and things progressed too hot and
heavy with