Thought I Was Losing You

"Emmy, stop," Justin said to his girlfriend, who was excitedly playing with his hair. "You don't know where that's been; I'd rather you didn't touch it."

"But I'm so glad you're home," she protested. She kissed the curve of his neck and he shivered. "You were gone for like, ever!"

"Apparantly one day is equal to forever in Girlfriend Time," he mumbled. "I was only filming for twelve hours."

"Twelve hours is too long. I bet you're running your poor actors ragged."

"I am, but it's worth it for the film. Besides, they know what they're in for when they decide to work with me. I have more long hours tomorrow, so I'll be gone all day again."

"You work too hard, J."

"Don't call me J," he begged. Justin pulled his glasses onto the top of his head and rubbed his eyes. "I work too hard."

"That's what I said!"

"I know; I'm repeating what you said."

Emmy rolled her eyes and dropped her hand to Justin's stomach. He yawned loudly, placing his thick glasses on the bedside table. "Are you tired?" Emmy whispered, resting her head on Justin's shoulder.

"You see right through me sometimes," he breathed sarcastically. Still, Emmy moved to straddle his waist. He pushed her off. "Let me sleep. I promise I'll make it up to you."

"You almost shoved me all the way off the bed!" Emmy exclaimed, lifting a pillow and playfully beating Justin with it.

"Ahh damn! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I'd fight back but I'm so tired, babe. Please, let me sleep."

He usually had all the time in the world for her. He often brought her on tour with the band, or at least called regularly. When he started his new film project, it changed. Justin was a busy director, but he was right when he said it was worth it. This could possibly be the film that would make independent Justin into a mainstream success, even more than "Karen." Emmy traced the faded design on Justin's old Fugazi tee shirt. "Goodnight, Justin," she whispered.

"Night."

~

Emmy woke up around 10:00 AM without Justin. She sighed. He had already left, again. "Emmy!" she heard Justin call from just outside the bedroom door. "Are you up yet?" He entered the room and sat on the edge of the bed.

"What are you doing home?" Emmy asked, rubbing her eyes.

"I'm taking time off to stay home with you." Emmy's eyes widened. "What? It's not hard to believe. You may want to pack up some clothes and shit for a weekend."

"Why?" Emmy asked.

"Because we're going to spend the weekend someplace and it was very expensive for me."

~

"A cabin?" Emmy raised her eyebrows, staring at the crazy man she called her boyfriend. "We're staying in a cabin?"

"Yeah. Why not? I mean, it's been snowing lately so everything's all sparkly and nice-"

"It's cold."

"There's a fireplace inside. We can make hot chocolate and sit by the fire under a blanket. Of course, there's an outhouse instead of a bathroom, but that's okay." Emmy gave Justin another nervous look and followed him inside the cabin.

It was a single room with a couch at one end, near a fireplace, and a stove at the other. "We left a furnished apartment with multiple rooms, including a bathroom, for this?" Emmy asked.

"For a weekend. I thought it would be a nice vacation for us." Justin looked a little hurt, and definitly taken aback. "Let's go walk by the lake. We can watch the sunset over a frozen lake."

"Fine," Emmy sighed as she pulled her coat tightly around her body and followed Justin out to the lake.

The sight when they got there was spectacular. The orange and pink of the sunset through the thick blanket of winter clouds sent glitter like glowing embers across the snow and the frosty, frozen lake. The trees were mere sillhouettes, swaying with the cold wind. Justin wrapped his arms tightly around his shivering girlfriend. "I told you this would be nice," he whispered. He kissed her right temple. "It's getting really cold. Let's go inside and I'll build up a fire."

"But it's so pretty," Emmy protested.

"But you'll get hypothermia or pneumonia or something. Come on."

~

Justin rubbed his hands together near the crackling fireplace. The warm smell of burning wood was filling the cabin. "How are we going to sleep in here?" Emmy asked.

"There's a bed in the couch," Justin explained simply. "You don't want to go to bed yet." He pulled out a large red blanket. "Come sit with me." Emmy sat down on the floor of the cabin and Justin brought the blanket around their shoulders. "Is it still too cold for you?"

"No. You were right; this is nice." They kissed, then Emmy rested her head against Justin's shoulder. "It's crazy... but for a while, I thought I was losing you."