Someone to Remember

She threw herself on her bed and laid there for two hours, just staring at the ceiling while thoughts swirled like a hurricane in her head. The longer she stayed there, the worse she felt about what had happened. With a deep sigh, she got out of her bed and silently shuffled over to Tom’s room. She opened the door slowly and found the man curled up on his side near the edge of the bed. A subconscious smile spread on her lips at the sight and she quietly walked over to his side, kneeling on the floor next to his head. Maya idly ran her fingers through his short, messy, golden-brown locks and started whispering to him.

“I know you’re asleep, but I’m really sorry about how I’ve been acting today. This is all so new to me and..” She sighed softly and shook her head. “No other person has made me feel like you do, Tom. There’s something different about you, but different in a good way.” The smile on her face spread further as she leaned her head against his shoulder. “I like you, even if I don’t show it all the time. You’re just.. Amazing.” She pressed a light kiss to his shoulder and rubbed his head gently.
Maya stood again, but instead of walking out like before, she quietly made her way to the other side of his bed and crawled under the covers. She scooted close to him and carefully draped an arm across his waist, also nuzzling her face into the back of his neck. A soft grumbling sound came from Tom’s throat and Maya quickly closed her eyes.

His arm moved back slightly, as if feeling for something, and found Maya’s arm, limply laid across his middle. He took her hand in his and brought it up to his chest where he held it gently. Maya bit on her lip to suppress her grin as she felt Tom scoot back a bit, pressing into her tiny frame. Being so close to him relaxed her a bit and she felt herself grow sleepy again. She whispered another ‘good night’ to him, this time more at peace, and quickly fell asleep to the warmth radiating from Tom and to the sound of his steady heartbeat.

A light squeeze on her arm woke Maya up the next morning. She opened her eyes to see Tom lying next to her with a subtle smile on his face. From the night before, he had turned around and pulled Maya into his arms, hugging her to his chest.

“Morning, sleepy head,” he murmured softly, rubbing her arm gently. “How’d you sleep?” She groaned as she stretched out, bringing an arm above her head.

“I slept well,” she said quietly. “And you?”

“More soundly than I can ever recall.” The smile on his face grew a bit and he ran one of his hands through his hair. “When’d you sneak back in here?” Maya bit her lip, but she couldn’t stop the smile that was also spreading on her lips. She sat up slightly and pushed his chest playfully before replying.

“After I realized how dumb I was acting towards you.” Tom raised a brow at her. “About eleven forty-five last night.” He nodded and sat up with her, stroking her hair lightly.

“I heard what you were saying.” He looked over at the smaller woman as she stretched more and paused at his words. “Did you really mean all that?”

“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.” She turned around and faced him. The way the sunlight danced across his skin made him seem more glorious than normal. As a result, she smiled wider and looked away again. “I thought you were asleep, though.”

“I could hear you pacing,” the man said. “And then when you came back in, I heard you walking in the hallway.” He shifted across the bed so he was next to her and looked at her. “And I’m also sorry about my behavior yesterday.” Maya looked up at him, her smile faltering a bit. “I should have been more considerate to how you were feeling and I probably shouldn’t have tickled you when you told me to stop.”

Maya snorted softly and shrugged her shoulders. “It’s whatever. I needed to ease up and laugh, and you helped me to do that.” She bumped his shoulder gently with her own. “You’re not the bad guy here.”

“But neither are you.” The look in his eyes was full of sincerity and he tried to smile softly at her. “Anyways, what would you,” he poked her stomach lightly. “Like for breakfast?” She giggled quietly and held onto his hand gingerly, intertwining their fingers.

“Anything you cook, I will eat. Or I can make something for you,” she suggested. He shook his head immediately in protest and squeezed her hand.

“You are my guest,” he explained. “Therefore, I will be the only one to cook.” Maya rolled her eyes and stood up, tugging Tom along with her.

“Okay, little chef. I’ll let you get away with that for now, but once I have you over at my apartment, you have to sit and watch, and you can’t help at all.” She stuck her tongue out playfully.

“Deal,” he said, leaning over to place a soft kiss to her temple. Maya grinned brightly and led him down the stairs and spent the morning watching the silly man play around while he cooked them omelets. She felt completely at peace now, and it was nice to fool around with Tom, especially after yesterday. The two left after eating and, for once, had a conversation for the entire duration of the car ride to the set of the movie.

The whole day, Maya felt more confident, not only in her acting, but also as a person in general. When she was with Tom, she had more of a pep in her step than usual, but it made her exuberant. She was more open to meeting the other cast members when she had the push from Tom to do so. She felt like Tom was the spark she had been missing in her life all along.