She woke up slowly. It wasn't a scary thing, but something had changed. Instinctually, she reached out for him. She found empty space and a cold pillow.
Hayden rolled over. Brandon was gone. She turned quickly. It was hard to see in the darkness. She heard a low scrape. It was a drawer sliding open. She sat up and rubbed her eyes to try and see a shadow in a shadow.
"Brandon?" she said.
He said back in a whisper, "Hey, I'm sorry. I was trying not to wake you."
"What are you doing?" Hayden asked, still talking to a barely visible boyfriend.
"They need me at the lab.
Adventure
's got a wheel issue and they want me to take a look."
"It's 2:30 in the morning," Hayden said.
"It's just past noon on Acidalia Planitia," Brandon said.
Hayden groaned and laid back down.
"Ugh, you do not get paid enough to be on call at this time of night."
"Sweetie, there's a robot on Mars that needs my help," Brandon said.
Hayden gave a low huff, "There's a girl in this bed who needs your help."
"Oh yeah?"
"I'm badly in need of someone to keep my back warm and fuck me after sunrise," she said.
Brandon sighed, "You know I would if I could."
Hayden nodded and watched him dress. "Okay, not gonna lie... you being all smart and devoted to your work... it's not bad. Like, I hate you for waking me up, but, bit of a turn-on."
He smiled at her. Her eyes had adjusted enough to see.
"I'll be back by lunchtime," he said.
"You big liar," she said, grinning at him. "They'll need you for something nerdy and the only thing you love more than me is your big, dumb, space robots."
He moved to kiss her. She drank him in. Holding his face. Part of her wanted to see if she could make him stay. It was just a game, but she liked playing it.
He gave a tiny moan as he pulled away, "Fuck. That is not fair."
She giggled at his agony.
He smiled at her minxy grin. "We've been through this. I'm married to my work. Which makes you the girl I'm cheating with. Which is why this is so fucking hot."
She nodded, "What cheesy sci-fi movie did you steal that from?" she said, pulling the covers back over her breasts.
"The Core," he said, putting on a pair of socks.
"You know, I've never dated an office-type guy before. My exes were athletes, actors."
"I'm very aware that I'm the lucky one in this relationship, sweetie," he said.
She shook off the self-deprecation, "No, I just meant..." she trailed off.
"What?" he asked, touching her face to bring her back.
"Never mind," she said, curling back up. She pulled the pillow he'd been using into her back. "Come back when you're done. Even if you're tired. I want you here."
He nodded, "Go back to sleep, mi amore."
She closed her eyes as he kissed her forehead. There was no good way to sneak out of a girl's bedroom in the middle of the night, but she liked how he tried anyway.
***
A shower, a scrambled egg, and a warm cup of tea and she had a new outlook on life. Yes, it was annoying that her boyfriend's job was interfering with her weekend, but she had other entertainments.
She went through her morning yoga with some Beyonce playing in the background. After she'd meditated for a bit in child's pose, her phone buzzed.
"Hey, Kristen. Que pasa?"
"Nada mucho," Kristen answered. "I wanted to see if you and your nerd boy wanted to do dinner tonight."
Hayden sighed apologetically, "That sounds fun, but he might be wiped. He had to go to the office last night. Something about the robot needing help. I didn't catch most of it. I think he'll be done this afternoon, but sometimes it takes a while and sometimes he's the walking dead when he gets back."
"Bummer," Kristen said. "Are you enjoying dating a normie?"
Hayden laughed a bit and nodded into the phone, "Yeah. He's still cute as a button. And I like that when he goes out at 3 a.m. it's not for a club opening."
"Very true," Kristen said.
"Still, I hate that he has to spend a perfectly good Saturday tied to a desk," Hayden said, looking out at her backyard.
"Eh, what are you gonna do?" Kristen asked. "You wanna get lunch somewhere?"
Hayden paused. The half-formed thought from last night finally clicked into place. Kristen heard nothing but silence.
"Hayden?" Kristen asked.
"Tied to a desk..." Hayden said.