The sun was kissing the morning with kindness, its soft rays just beginning to break through the darkness of the indigo sky that had blessed their sleep of the night before.
Eileen awoke to the warmth of his soft embrace. Her eyes still closed, she was acutely aware of the chilly air caressing her forehead. But it was balanced by a radiating heat coming from underneath her right cheek. And strong arms were pinning her to a muscular chest and solid hip. Her heart flew into her mouth as her eyes sprang open. She glanced upward and got a view of Jimin’s slumbering face. She was in his arms!
Had anything happened between them? She was suddenly quite terrified that it had, and her thundering heart was sensing blood rushing into her ears, blocking out the sounds of little birds waking up to greet the dawn with a song. Her eyes traveled over his face, down the length of the blankets, and back up again. Then she did a mental inventory of her clothes. And she felt his shirt under her fingertips. Carefully, she moved her hand to his side and slid it downward until she found the waistband of his pants. Which were, thankfully, still on. She sighed with relief. They had probably both just gotten cold in the middle of the night and naturally gravitated toward the heat on the other side of the blanket.
Now that she knew her virtue was still intact…It was, right? She didn’t feel any different, and there were no tell-tale signs of any unwanted action…Now she could simply enjoy the moment. She found that she loved being this close to Jimin, pulled into his side, her head resting over his heart. It beat out its steady tattoo under her ear. Was it a faithful heart? If she gave her heart to him, would this heart remain true to her, if it even chose her to begin with? She lay for several minutes, savoring his heartbeat and the feeling of being near him, of being wrapped in his cherishing arms. She watched as the sun began to paint the sky with brilliant strokes of fuchsia and indigo. She watched this masterpiece unfold as she remembered her mission this morning. She’d have to rise soon to see it completed before Jimin awoke. But she found herself very reluctant to leave his embrace. After all, this was the only time she’d ever find herself in this lovely position. She let her head sink down further into his chest, and she closed her eyes once more, so she could concentrate on the steady sound of his breathing.
“Happy Birthday, my love,” she whispered.
Her eyes flew open. My LOVE? What did I just say? And WHY did I say it? I hardly know this boy. And he did seem like a boy. Like he’d been caught in a time warp in which he’d been forced to be an adult so early in life that some more essential part of him had never grown up. And that part of him was crying out for love and affection. She could feel it. She could see it in his eyes. And her heart had responded. She couldn’t help it. There was something infinitely lovable about Jimin. Even now she marveled at him that he had kept his promise of the night before. He hadn’t touched her. Well, not really. Not in the way she had feared.
The brightening sunlight forced her eyes open. She must get up, or his birthday surprise would not be done. She inched her way slowly out from his embrace, her heart mourning the loss of his heat and his arms. She tucked the blankets in around him, hoping to conserve the pocket of heat she’d created around his slumbering form. He must stay asleep for her plan to work.
She walked to her car and collected the needed supplies. She set up facing Jimin’s still body, a glorious sunrise unfolding behind him. She would capture it all in stunning colors that proclaimed, “Happy Birthday, Jimin!”
