Brilliance Begs to Be Called Your Name
"This Is Called A Hangover"
My eyes slowly open and try to adjust to the darkness of the room. I blink once and then a few mores times before I can tell that I’m still laying in bed. I slowly turn so I’m lying on my back. I struggle against gravity to try and lift my head up. I hear my neck pop and the room spins a little bit. I groan softly as I turn to see if Rue is next to me but I’m disappointed to see that I’m all alone. I let my head fall back down to the pillow and I pull the cover tightly around my body.
“This is called a hangover, Amber.” I tell myself aloud, my own voice making my head throb.
“And this is called a hangover cure.” It’s Rue sweet voice whispering to me from the slightly open door. The light shines in from behind him and I throw my hands to cover my eyes. “Oh, sorry, babe.” He shuts the door quickly and walks over to the bed. He sits down on the edge nearest to me. He holds out his hands towards me.
“What’s this?” I ask looking up at him.
“This is coffee. Black as the darkest night coffee. And what I’ve got in my other hand is a surprise.” He puts the coffee cup down on the nightstand and helps me up. I lean against the headboard.
“What is it?”
“There’s only one way to find out.” He pushes his closed hand closer to me. I grab his wrist and flip his hand over and slowly pry his fingers apart. In the palm of his hand lies three little white aspirin tablets. I take them and pop them in my mouth. Rue hands me my coffee mug and I swallow them with one drink.
“How’d you know I needed that?” I asked taking another slow drink of coffee.
“Let’s just say that you don’t hold your liquor well and I’m aware of this.” His smile seems to light up the whole room. “Do you remember anything special from last night, Amber?”
“I remember that one move when I was laying on my right side and you entered me from behind.” I say through a playful smile. I stick out my tongue a little bit at him. “That’s a new move. Where did that one come from cause that was great?”
“Aw, well thanks. But I was thinking more along the lines of before the sex.” I know what he’s getting at but I want to tease him just a little bit.
“What? The pot?”
“After that.”
“The piggyback ride?” I ask, leaning towards him.
“Nope, still after that.” Rue also leans in.
“When you asked me to marry you?”
“Nope, after that still.” Rue jokes. We kiss softly and he runs his fingers through my hair and pulls me closer to him. We part. “So even with a more sober head and a groggy hangover, you still want to marry me?” He asks pushing my hair behind my ear.
“I want to do it even more now.” I put my hand on his thigh just stare into his eyes. “But at this exact second, I want to sleep this off. Get undressed and come lay with me again, babe.” I tug on the bottom of his shirt softly.
“I wish I could but do you even know what time it is?” I shake my head ‘no’. “It’s almost noon.”
“Oh, fuck. The school’s going to know something’s up when Kyler and I both don’t show up today. They’ll call my dad and then he’ll be mad. Shit.” I run my hands through my hair thinking about all the consequences of last night.
“Don’t worry. Kyler went to school today. Armed with sunglasses and coffee, he left hours ago. He text me to tell me he made it to second hour on time. No calls from the school today.” Rue’s voice is so calming to me. I could fall asleep listening to him talk about anything.
“You’re so good to me. Do you know that?” I pull him closer to me and again we kiss softly.
“So I was wondering if you wanted to sleep it off or if you wanted to come up with to visit my grandma. I know she’d love to see the girl I’m going to marry again.”
“I want to go. I love your Grandma Suzette.” I smile at Rue. “Plus, she’s always got something cooking in that house of hers.” We both laugh. “Does she really like me all that much? I mean, she never really seemed like she likes me enough to want me to be part of your family, you know?”
“Amber, just wait until we get there. I’ll let her explain herself to you.” Rue smiles down at me and I know that he’s got a sweet story. I can only imagine just what Suzette will say to me.
Actually, I can only imagine what everyone will say. Will people be happy for us? Will they tell us that we’re throwing our lives away? What will my dad think? Did Rue tell Kyler? Do Rue’s parents know? How am I going to tell my mother? What last name should I write on my school papers? Will people think I’m pregnant because we’re so suddenly getting hitched? What does it even mean to be married? Will we last? I never had a real example of a loving marriage to look up to, so how will I measure up to Rue’s standards? My mind starts racing a mile a minute and the hangover feels like nothing compared to the feeling of instant overwhelming thoughts.
But just as movie stars make it seem like in all the romantic movies that I never really enjoyed watching, his arm reaches and softly caresses my cheek with the back of his hand and my mind clears and all I can see if him. Like a sudden epiphany of ‘You don’t need to worry; I’ve got you’. And I know that I’ve told myself this a million times over in my head, but when Rue touches my skin, my mind falls at ease with his overwhelming comfort. The stability of his presence can completely alter my mood with only a look. That’s what love is. That’s what Rue is to me.
“So do you want to sleep a while longer and then go?” Rue gives me a quick peck on the lips. “Or do you want to get up right now, and I’ll undress you slowly, take you into the bathroom for a shower, where not only will I get your hair squeaky clean, but I’ll make sure you’re rubbed down really well.” We kiss slowly and I can taste the cigarette on his tongue as well as the desire.
“I think you know what I want, baby.” I smile at him as I pull the covers off of me. Rue scoops me up into his arms and carries me out into the hallway, where I shield my eyes from the sun, and shuts the bathroom door with his foot behind us.
That’s one of the biggest differences between Rue and I: showers. Rue just turns the water on and jumps in. I like to wait for the water to get warm before I get in. Today though, Rue won out and we undressed and both got in even before the water was turned on. Rue was closest to the shower head so most of the freezing cold water fell on him. I pulled his body close to mine to try and take his body heat away from him. His arms wrapped around my lower back, pulling me into him and holding me there. We waited for the water to get warm.
“Do you even realize that this is our first shower as an engaged couple?” Rue asked me, staring into my eyes.
“Hopefully the first of many.” Rue laughs and I can feel his ribcage expand and contract as he does. “It’s literally one of my favorite things to do with you.” I tell him as I softly drag my nails up and down his back.
“Nothing makes you happier than getting clean while getting oh, so dirty.”
“Nothing makes me happier than all of my skin touching on the man that I love’s skin. It’s so much more than just being able to touch when you’re fully dressed. It’s…it’s…” I can’t find the right word.
“It’s a deep connection.” Rue fills in the blank for me.
“Exactly.” I look up at him and the water falls from his hair and lands on my chest. He moves back closer to the showerhead and the water falls more on me. The sensation of the rushing water started to match the sensation of Rue’s hands trailing their way back up to my neck.
“You know what my favorite part about taking a shower with you is?” He asks before he kisses me softly. He doesn’t wait for my response. “When you’re as exposed as we both are, there isn’t anything to hide. We are both just humans. We are just two naked people in a shower. There’s nothing between us but water and air. The only thing holding us back is ourselves,” Rue pauses and looks down at me quickly before finishing. “and I don’t want to hold back, Amber.” Even with his body heat mixing with mine, and the hot water flowing down my back, I get shivers when he says this. We kiss again and again as we run up Trace’s water bill. Without a care in the world, we share our first engaged couple experience.
“This is called a hangover, Amber.” I tell myself aloud, my own voice making my head throb.
“And this is called a hangover cure.” It’s Rue sweet voice whispering to me from the slightly open door. The light shines in from behind him and I throw my hands to cover my eyes. “Oh, sorry, babe.” He shuts the door quickly and walks over to the bed. He sits down on the edge nearest to me. He holds out his hands towards me.
“What’s this?” I ask looking up at him.
“This is coffee. Black as the darkest night coffee. And what I’ve got in my other hand is a surprise.” He puts the coffee cup down on the nightstand and helps me up. I lean against the headboard.
“What is it?”
“There’s only one way to find out.” He pushes his closed hand closer to me. I grab his wrist and flip his hand over and slowly pry his fingers apart. In the palm of his hand lies three little white aspirin tablets. I take them and pop them in my mouth. Rue hands me my coffee mug and I swallow them with one drink.
“How’d you know I needed that?” I asked taking another slow drink of coffee.
“Let’s just say that you don’t hold your liquor well and I’m aware of this.” His smile seems to light up the whole room. “Do you remember anything special from last night, Amber?”
“I remember that one move when I was laying on my right side and you entered me from behind.” I say through a playful smile. I stick out my tongue a little bit at him. “That’s a new move. Where did that one come from cause that was great?”
“Aw, well thanks. But I was thinking more along the lines of before the sex.” I know what he’s getting at but I want to tease him just a little bit.
“What? The pot?”
“After that.”
“The piggyback ride?” I ask, leaning towards him.
“Nope, still after that.” Rue also leans in.
“When you asked me to marry you?”
“Nope, after that still.” Rue jokes. We kiss softly and he runs his fingers through my hair and pulls me closer to him. We part. “So even with a more sober head and a groggy hangover, you still want to marry me?” He asks pushing my hair behind my ear.
“I want to do it even more now.” I put my hand on his thigh just stare into his eyes. “But at this exact second, I want to sleep this off. Get undressed and come lay with me again, babe.” I tug on the bottom of his shirt softly.
“I wish I could but do you even know what time it is?” I shake my head ‘no’. “It’s almost noon.”
“Oh, fuck. The school’s going to know something’s up when Kyler and I both don’t show up today. They’ll call my dad and then he’ll be mad. Shit.” I run my hands through my hair thinking about all the consequences of last night.
“Don’t worry. Kyler went to school today. Armed with sunglasses and coffee, he left hours ago. He text me to tell me he made it to second hour on time. No calls from the school today.” Rue’s voice is so calming to me. I could fall asleep listening to him talk about anything.
“You’re so good to me. Do you know that?” I pull him closer to me and again we kiss softly.
“So I was wondering if you wanted to sleep it off or if you wanted to come up with to visit my grandma. I know she’d love to see the girl I’m going to marry again.”
“I want to go. I love your Grandma Suzette.” I smile at Rue. “Plus, she’s always got something cooking in that house of hers.” We both laugh. “Does she really like me all that much? I mean, she never really seemed like she likes me enough to want me to be part of your family, you know?”
“Amber, just wait until we get there. I’ll let her explain herself to you.” Rue smiles down at me and I know that he’s got a sweet story. I can only imagine just what Suzette will say to me.
Actually, I can only imagine what everyone will say. Will people be happy for us? Will they tell us that we’re throwing our lives away? What will my dad think? Did Rue tell Kyler? Do Rue’s parents know? How am I going to tell my mother? What last name should I write on my school papers? Will people think I’m pregnant because we’re so suddenly getting hitched? What does it even mean to be married? Will we last? I never had a real example of a loving marriage to look up to, so how will I measure up to Rue’s standards? My mind starts racing a mile a minute and the hangover feels like nothing compared to the feeling of instant overwhelming thoughts.
But just as movie stars make it seem like in all the romantic movies that I never really enjoyed watching, his arm reaches and softly caresses my cheek with the back of his hand and my mind clears and all I can see if him. Like a sudden epiphany of ‘You don’t need to worry; I’ve got you’. And I know that I’ve told myself this a million times over in my head, but when Rue touches my skin, my mind falls at ease with his overwhelming comfort. The stability of his presence can completely alter my mood with only a look. That’s what love is. That’s what Rue is to me.
“So do you want to sleep a while longer and then go?” Rue gives me a quick peck on the lips. “Or do you want to get up right now, and I’ll undress you slowly, take you into the bathroom for a shower, where not only will I get your hair squeaky clean, but I’ll make sure you’re rubbed down really well.” We kiss slowly and I can taste the cigarette on his tongue as well as the desire.
“I think you know what I want, baby.” I smile at him as I pull the covers off of me. Rue scoops me up into his arms and carries me out into the hallway, where I shield my eyes from the sun, and shuts the bathroom door with his foot behind us.
That’s one of the biggest differences between Rue and I: showers. Rue just turns the water on and jumps in. I like to wait for the water to get warm before I get in. Today though, Rue won out and we undressed and both got in even before the water was turned on. Rue was closest to the shower head so most of the freezing cold water fell on him. I pulled his body close to mine to try and take his body heat away from him. His arms wrapped around my lower back, pulling me into him and holding me there. We waited for the water to get warm.
“Do you even realize that this is our first shower as an engaged couple?” Rue asked me, staring into my eyes.
“Hopefully the first of many.” Rue laughs and I can feel his ribcage expand and contract as he does. “It’s literally one of my favorite things to do with you.” I tell him as I softly drag my nails up and down his back.
“Nothing makes you happier than getting clean while getting oh, so dirty.”
“Nothing makes me happier than all of my skin touching on the man that I love’s skin. It’s so much more than just being able to touch when you’re fully dressed. It’s…it’s…” I can’t find the right word.
“It’s a deep connection.” Rue fills in the blank for me.
“Exactly.” I look up at him and the water falls from his hair and lands on my chest. He moves back closer to the showerhead and the water falls more on me. The sensation of the rushing water started to match the sensation of Rue’s hands trailing their way back up to my neck.
“You know what my favorite part about taking a shower with you is?” He asks before he kisses me softly. He doesn’t wait for my response. “When you’re as exposed as we both are, there isn’t anything to hide. We are both just humans. We are just two naked people in a shower. There’s nothing between us but water and air. The only thing holding us back is ourselves,” Rue pauses and looks down at me quickly before finishing. “and I don’t want to hold back, Amber.” Even with his body heat mixing with mine, and the hot water flowing down my back, I get shivers when he says this. We kiss again and again as we run up Trace’s water bill. Without a care in the world, we share our first engaged couple experience.