Erin
The next few weeks seemed to fly by. Griffin was settling in well, and I had become accustomed to having him in the house. Truthfully, I didn't know how I had handled living by myself for as long as I had. I mean, sure, he helped around the house. He did all the housework, but more than that, his presence made the house feel like a home in a way that it hadn't in a long time. Instead of being a quiet place where I slept and worked, it had become a cozy, safe space where I was happy to spend my time. The gift that pushy Aunt Sarah had randomly sent to the house was indeed making my life better.
My current project at work had run to its terminal phase, and we were in crunch. My hours were long, and I had taken to sleeping in the room I used as an office. I wasn't sleeping much, maybe three hours a night. Not ideal, but it kind of went with the territory. I had barely even seen Griffy. I pretty much only left the office to shower and use the bathroom. He would press a sandwich into my hand when he caught me in the hall, but that was about it.
I missed him. It was that simple. But there was light at the end of the tunnel, and I was already beginning to think about the post-crunch ritual of sneaking off to my secret camping spot in Idaho. Only this time, I would be taking my new friend with me.
Griffin
I missed Eeby. I knew that was silly, but she was in something she called "crunch" on a project for work, and I had barely seen her in the last two weeks. She spent the days and nights in her office clacking away at her computer; all three monitors covered multicolored lines of code.
Several days later, the telltale noises of work fell silent. I walked down the hallway and tapped at the door to her office.
"Hmm?" Erin replied. I took that as permission to enter and opened the door.
"Hey, how's it going?" I asked, crouching on the floor next to her chair. She sat with her eyes closed and her head resting against the back of her office chair.
"Done," she mumbled.
"Yeah?" I asked gently. She only managed to nod.
"So what now?" I questioned.
"Bed," she muttered, forcing her bloodshot eyes open to look at me.
"Oh, my sweet little Eeby. Let's get you to bed," I comforted.
I consulted my internal clock, and it
was
late. It was just after midnight, and she had been working for the last two weeks with very little rest and even fewer breaks. I slowly rolled the chair away from the desk and noted that the computer was powered off, indicating she was finally finished with her work.
I carefully lifted the little human from the chair, cradling her in my arms, and carrying her to her bedroom. She was already dozing off, so I laid her on one side of the bed before pulling the covers back. I scooped her up again and placed her under them. After tucking her in, I turned to walk away and go to bed.
She mumbled something loud enough for me to hear, stopping me in my tracks. "What was that, Eeby?"
"Stay with me. I missed you," she called a little louder. My heart melted.
"Sure," I replied and turned back to the bed.
She shuffled around in bed, tugging her shirt over her head and slipping her bra off before dropping them all on the floor. I slipped out of my shirt and shorts, put them in the corner hamper and crawled onto the bed until I lay next to her. I squirmed under the covers, and she wiggled back into me. Her panty-clad butt pressed into me as I slipped my arms around her and gave her a gentle squeeze. She made a happy noise, muttered a quiet "goodnight," and drifted off to sleep. I followed her moments later.
Erin
I don't know how long I'd been asleep. The last thing I remember was watching the compiler finish, sending my team the congratulations email, pushing the code to quality assurance, and powering off my workstation. I opened my eyes and saw daylight spilling around my blackout curtains. I guessed I had made it to the bedroom before passing out. I shifted slightly in bed and found my Griffy's arms wrapped around me.
"Morning, Eeby," he rumbled. His voice was deep and husky with sleep.
"Morning Wonder Boy," I wiggled back into him, gently teasing the morning wood and nudging into the top of my butt.
"Finally done?" He asked sweetly.
"Yeah, all done," I answered.
"So now what?" he asked.
"I'm off for a week or so. I usually go camping. I have a secret spot on public land in Idaho," I paused briefly to stretch and roll onto my back. "Wanna come with me?"
"Yeah. From what you've said, I'll like camping," he answered.
"Alright, let me up. We need to pack and go to the store to get you a few things," I said as he opened his arms to let me sit up.
We slowly rose and went our separate ways. I heard him in the kitchen, starting the coffee pot as I entered the shower.
Griffin
A short time later, we sat on the couch, enjoying our coffee. Erin had a notepad on her knees, making a list of the camping equipment that we needed to pack.
"I think you only need a sleeping bag and pad. And a good pair of boots," she explained.
I nodded in reply, "I trust your advice. We also need groceries for the trip."
"Correct. I normally do something simple, like a steak with a vegetable
," she answered.
We spent the next few minutes talking before heading into town. We stopped at the local REI, and I picked out a new pair of Keen boots. Erin chose a sleeping bag and pad for me that matched hers. The next stop was the grocery store. We picked up a four-pack of steaks, a couple of bottles of wine, and some sweet snacks before we got in the car and hurried back to the house.
Erin
