'Get ready for bed, pancake,' his voice said in a gentle tone. 'In bed by eleven-thirty and asleep by twelve,' he reminded her for the third time that week.
The girl tensed her lips into a tight smile as she crawled off of the couch, leaving her boyfriend alone in front of the television. She groaned - the couch was brand new and very comfortable. They bought it just last week when they moved into the apartment together.
For the past two days, she had just decided to ignore us rule. He seemed a little annoyed when he found her reading a book at one-thirty in the morning on her tablet. That was the first night. The second night, he caught her texting her best friend at nearly two o'clock. He handled the situation calmly. The twenty year old male grabbed her cellphone, set it on his nightstand and pulled her close to him, practically giving her no choice but to sleep.
Tonight, as she entered the restroom to brush her teeth, she did so with annoyance. It was eleven fifteen. She began to wonder why he didn't obey his own rule. He usually came to bed five minutes before midnight.
She finished washing her face and walked into the bedroom. From the oak dresser, she pulled out her favorite pair of sweatpants and pulled them on over her bare legs. Originally she had been wearing just a tank top and panties but she felt cute in the sweatpants and they were very comfortable to lounge in.
After removing her bra, she crawled into bed and settled under the covers. For about ten minutes, she texted with her best friend about meeting up for spring break. She had just finished suggesting a possible road trip when the hallway light turned off. It was already twelve o'clock. The restless girl shoved her phone under her pillow and faked asleep.
The bed wiggled and the blankets shifted for less than thirty seconds before the room went completely silent.
She sat there for what seemed hours before she felt the other side of the bed get heavy. It frustrated her that he had neglected to snuggle her again but she figured it was because she kept dodging his curfew. He seemed really upset about it.
A few more moments passed and the apartment started to make noise. It, too, was settling down for the night.
The young woman grabbed for her phone and started tapping her response to the text message she didn't get to read. The time was twelve fifteen. Her eyes were so focused on the bright white light from her phone that she didn't notice the disappointed stare aimed in her direction. Mid-text, the phone was taken gently from her hands.
For some reason, his gentleness made her feel so small.
'Do you know why you have a bedtime?' he asked, his voice not tired at all but instead, genuine.
'No.' she whispered. Looking into his eyes, he didn't seem angry. Now she was confused.
'Because you need to take care of yourself. You don't sleep enough. It's not healthy.'
His response caught her by surprise. So he wasn't being a controlling jerk - he was caring for her health. She could do nothing but stare at him.
'Okay. Well this is the third night that you've been up past twelve.' With a sigh, he turned on the bedside lamp. 'Roll over.'
The couple exchanged a few blinks. His were upset, now and hers were confused.
'Roll over,' he repeated. He placed one hand on her right hip, pulling her onto her stomach to the center of the bed. 'Take off these sweats.' He pulled the covers from her body and let them fall to the floor behind him.
