Bulletproof

I woke up to a small sliver of light shining right in my eyes through the blinds of the adjacent window. Moaning, I flinched and rolled over, bumping into Ville who lay deeply asleep. It took me a moment to remember how we’d gotten here, the memories from last night flashing in my brain. I suppressed a smile as my heart pounded in my chest as I watched him for a moment. His breathing was slow and rhythmic, his face handsome as ever, even asleep.

After a few minutes though, my stomach started to growl and I knew as content as I was to lay here being cuddled by quite literally the man of my dreams, I needed to get up. Maybe he had snacks?
Slithering out of his arms with as much grace as I could muster, I stood there for a moment as he mumbled something before turning over to face the opposite direction, his bare back to me. I tried not to stare at his sinewy, lean, physique but I couldn’t help the urge to caress every muscle.

That night, I’d been shocked when he came back into the room in nothing but a pair of navy cotton sleep pants that clung to his hips dangerously, all the while I’d chosen a cami and some old volleyball style shorts. I had internally cursed Bam for not telling me that we would be going to fucking Helsinki in the winter and had not packed appropriately.

He’d been nice enough to let me borrow a tee shirt to slip on over my own clothes after he’d seen me. “Not that I am in any way minding what you’ve got on,” he’d commented, looking me up and down the entire time.

As I padded into the kitchen and turned on the light, my head ached at the sudden brightness. Fucking wine. Ville had warned me to take a few aspirin thankfully and had warned me that a wine hangover was twice as bad as a whiskey one. He was so protective, and for once I enjoyed it. My entire life, it had been me looking out for myself primarily. It was wonderful to have someone who had my back with no strings attached. Ville didn’t have ulterior motives and it made me feel safe.

I grumbled about the lights as I searched the cabinets for a glass. Once I found one, I walked over to the sink and turned on the faucet, filling it quickly. I gulped it down eagerly, not realizing just how thirsty I’d been. Once I was content, I set the glass down gently and continued my search for something edible. Ville had mentioned he was a vegetarian, I wondered what kinds of foods he’d be into.

Looking in the fridge was disappointing. It held a few types of liquor and a single half gallon of milk. He’d mentioned he wasn’t here very often, it would make sense for him not to have perishables I suppose, especially as a vegetarian. I checked the pantry next and came out victorious! There was a box of pancake mix stuffed in the back behind some cans of various items.
After searching, I found a stick of butter and syrup. Now we were cooking with gas! As I turned to the stove with my newfound prizes, I noticed an iPod connected to a small stereo. Eyes wide, I set down the ingredients and opened it, the stereo automatically turning on as I began scrolling through the playlist that was already up.

I made sure the volume wasn’t up very high as I turned on ‘Banana Pancakes’ with a grin. I had a secret obsession with Jack Johnson when I wasn’t listening to Rock n Roll and to find it on Ville’s personal music playlist made my heart jump.

I swung my hips to the beat as I fired up the stove and got to work. I found myself singing the song, trying to keep my noise level down to not wake up Ville.

“Ain't no need ain't no need,
Mmm, mmm, mmm,
Can't you see can't you see,
Rain all day and I don't mind,

But the telephone's singing ringing,
It's too early don't pick it up,
We don't need to, we got everything we need right here
And everything we need is enough.”

I was still singing and flipping the pancakes expertly when a voice behind me interrupted my little performance.

“Just so easy when the whole world fits inside of your arms,
Do we really need to pay attention to the alarm?
Wake up slow,
Mmm wake up slow,”

Ville’s baritone voice floated across the room, singing the lyrics expertly as I turned quickly, embarrassed I’d been caught. He kept singing as he sauntered into the kitchen, slipping his long arms around me and swaying with me as I blushed.

“But baby,
You hardly even notice,
When I try to show you this,

Song is meant to keep you
From doin' what you’re supposed to
Wakin' up too early,
Maybe we could sleep in?

Make you banana pancakes,
Pretend like it's the weekend now,
We could pretend it all the time,

Can't you see that it's just rainin'
There ain't no need to go outside,
Ain't no need, ain't no need,
Rain all day and I really really really don't mind,

Can't you see? Can't you see?
We gotta wake up slow…”

He finished with a smile as I did my best not to look up at him.

“This is something I could wake up to for the rest of my life,” he commented, lifting my chin so my eyes met his.
“Well you may want to get your hearing checked then,” I answered as he continued to smirk.
“I think you did just fine,” Ville looked past me before continuing, “Is there room for one more at the table?”
“Sure thing, I’ll clean up the mess too sorry… I woke up starving,” I looked up at him innocently before breaking out of his grasp to start on more pancakes.
“No need to apologize, mind if I pick a song?” he questioned, leaning around me to grab his iPod and begin scrolling, clicked on the song, and began rifling through the cabinets before pulling out glass plates and handing them to me.
“I suppose, I mean it’s not like this is your house or anything,” I rolled my eyes lightheartedly as I finished up making our breakfast, scooping the hotcakes onto the plates.
The sounds of cello music filled the air as we stood there eating and listening in silence.
“I didn’t know you were into Classical music,” I commented after swallowing a bite.
“I’m into most music. I’ve found it’s an amazing outlet, as cliché as that may sound,” he answered as he ate. He looked down at the food and smiled.
“My grandmother made the best pancakes for my brother and I when we were young. I still remember the sound of her slippers on the floor,” he reminisced with a far away look and a small smile.
“I’m sorry Ville,” I responded with a touch of sadness. He’d told me about her before.
“Don’t be. She lived a long fulfilling life and she was ready to go. She left me with many good memories that I’ll have the rest of my life, like her pancakes for instance,” he finished off his pancakes with a happy sigh and stood, collecting his dishes and motioned for me to hand him my empty plate as well.
“I’m going to clean up here, you go get dressed. I’ve got a few phone calls to make before we start off on our adventure,” he said, changing the subject as he lit a cigarette and started piling the dirty dishes into the sink.
“Alright. Mind if I take a shower?” I asked, eager to bathe.
“You’ll find towels in the cupboard underneath the sink, let me know if you need any help,” he smirked with a wink, grabbing me by the upper arm as I walked past and kissed me. I returned the affection eagerly and I felt him smile into the kiss and it made my heart flutter again. I was going to develop heart palpitations because of this man.

I was so relieved to be surrounded by the steaming water as it cascaded down around me, the hot water running over my body. I stood there for a good five minutes just letting it soak me to the bone. The shower was huge and completely see through and had amazing water pressure. It was like getting the warmest, wettest massage of a lifetime. It had been tricky to figure out at first, but I had eventually done it. I peeked out of the shower to grab my toiletry bag and realized I was bathing at someone else’s house.

“Oh, fuck me,” I said aloud, cursing myself. It was in my suitcase. “Hey Ville,” I whined loudly, not really knowing what else to do.