I pile the freshly-laundered ball of sheets, covers, and pillowcases onto our bed-- those wedding gifts; thank goodness for wedding registries and wish lists that can even include king-sized mattresses; hope they hold up for at least as long as we stay in this apartment. I sort out the pieces, putting everything except the fitted sheet to the side. I can't wait to get this over with-- making the bed always makes me hot and not in the good way; I wish I didn't have to wash the sheets so often-- enough of that, let me think of something better than the long list of tasks I need, and even want, to do; Intuition, not intimidating checklists.
--
I watch her, alternately standing and bending over: framed by the half-open doorway leading into our bedroom. The angle from the kitchen counter is close enough that I don't have to strain to see her; not so obvious as if I were right at the door, explicitly staring at her through a slit-view.
I can look over at her between big bites of waffles and long sips of coffee--the breakfast she made for herself and left some for me. My eyes move down her exposed legs, the unseasonable heatwave allowing me to view more than usual as she gets so easily overheated. I turn away, since moving closer and looking longer would mean going to her and wrapping my arms around her: tossing her onto the firm surface; keeping her from making the bed. I don't think she would like us to make a mess on the mattress and crumple the bedding before it has had a chance to be spread properly onto the bed.
--
One done. Two down. I scramble to finish hooking on the third rounded elastic end onto the corner of the mattress' edge. I can feel his eyes on me; I always do. I imagine him coming in as I begin to hook on the last corner, his hand tugging my arm away, as his other hand takes over the fabric. What would it feel like if he pushed me down and found a way to stuff the corner into my mouth like a gag?... Okay, now that is too distracting, and I need to get the bed ready before I can lie down and do anything about taking care of that, or maybe I could do something under the light blanket on the couch. Last corner done: I smooth out with my palm the cotton sateen fabric that I looked through countless online products descriptions to find.
Next up, the soft fullness of pillow slides in the pillowcase. I feel a tingle on the back of my thigh, remembering the feel of his playfulness: the taut twisted swing of fabric from the last time that we made the bed together; I continue to jerk the pillow into place. I move on to the next pillow that needs to be encased-- this time I stop what I am doing to visualize the pillowcase wrapped around parts of my body: holding my wrists and taking his time to bind them together at my lower back: over and under, over and under, wrapped around the middle to a cinch.
--
She comes over to me, ready for bed, and takes my hand, leading me into the bedroom -- a quick glance at the oven clock indicates 10:01 (usually this happens between ten and midnight) --my favorite part of the day.
We take turns intently undressing each other: so many items to get through to reveal all of her, certainly better than the layers I have to get past during the winter. Somehow, we never rush this even though I know we are eager enough to just rip each other's clothes off. While taking off her bra, she says she doesn't need any foreplay tonight-- and I already see partial evidence to support that.
I hold open the top bedding for her before I make my way in, then we take our time adjusting ourselves under the covers. She lies on her back, I get on top of her. Instead of putting her arms on my back and shoulders, she caresses the bottom sheet with the tips of her fingers; followed by the shift in her gaze, not looking at anything even close to where my eyes are. I grasp her jaw and direct her face towards me, as I feel her mouth widening into a smile against my palm. I give her a quizzical look, the one that seems to work in general as an alternative to just asking her to tell me what is on her mind. No response.
--
