Come Wake Me Up

I stare up at the ceiling as my wife wraps her arms around me. It had only been five hours since the reception ended; it was almost three in the morning. I could not sleep. Heather shifts and snuggles closer to my body. I held her tightly and closed my eyes. It was then that I had the same memory I had been having ever since she left me.

She was beautiful. She was not the typical five foot eight, tan, and bleach blonde girl. She was a real woman. No, she was not older than me. She just had the right ingredients that make up the perfect woman any man could ask for. Rich dark brown hair that reached her elbows accentuated her almost pale complexion. She had a smile that went with everything that she was; joy radiated off of her and onto the people surrounding her. When we first kissed, I will never forget the details of her delicate face. The mole grazing the top of her thin, pink lips, the button nose she had, and her long eyelashes tickling me lightly as she flutters her eyes open to greet me.

I was sure that I loved her from the moment that I laid my eyes on her.

It was the summer after losing to Detroit in the playoffs and I was back at home in Thunder Bay. I was visiting my family and some childhood friends when my mother told me about the girl who moved in next door with her grandmother. I didn’t really care for anyone who moved in while I was away to Pittsburgh. It was not as if I was ever going to have the time to get to know my new neighbors anyway. Besides, there was only one person on my mind that I had been dying to see all summer long—my long-time girlfriend Heather.

She was sweet and my parents loved her. They were sure that she would the girl that I would marry. I was still young at the time and marriage was far from my mind. Heather walked in with a plate of her mother’s home cooked special, greeting us all with the smile that brightened up the room. I took a fork, getting ready to take the first taste of the dish she laid in front of me before Heather slapped the fork away from my hand, leaving it to fall on the tiled floor.

“That’s for Eli!” She puts the cling wrap back on the plate and secures it so that I would not be tempted to try and pick at it again. “I’m going over to her house right now to give it to her. Wanna come?”

“Eli? Who’s that?” I asked, clearly feeling out of the loop since it seemed like everyone knew who she was except for me.

“Eloise,” My younger brother, Jared, started, “She moved in a couple of days ago with her grandma.”

I shrugged and followed Heather out the door. I drove Heather to the directions that she told me while she talked about how she watched the playoffs and telling me how much she feels really sorry about the Penguins getting eliminated so far into the season. I smiled every once in a while, laughing occasionally when I hear her say something that I know she would want me to laugh at.

“It’s that one.” She pointed out. I drove slowly as we approached a medium sized blue paneled house with a front porch and a live garden to the right side of it. I see an elderly woman kneeling down, tending the flowers as if they were her own children. I parked on their driveway and got out of the car with Heather.

“Hello Mrs. Simon! I’ve brought you and Eli some lunch!” Heather exclaimed as the elderly woman waved a dirty glove at the both of us.

Mrs. Simon stood up slowly and walked over to us. She took off her dirty gloves and tucked it in the apron that she had on. She grabs the plate from Heather and gives her a quick hug. “This is Jordan,” Heather introduced, “He’s part of the Staal family.”

“Hello,” I greeted politely, extending a hand, “Nice to meet you.”

She shook my hand and told us, “Come on in. You two can join me and Eloise for lunch.”

I was about to decline her offer, feeling really uncomfortable being at a strangers’ house, when Heather dragged me by my hand inside the unfamiliar home. The first thing I noticed was the new furniture and the modern architecture that surrounded the whole house. It was not something I expected upon seeing the front of their house. The two just did not match.

”Not bad." I thought.

“Eloise, we have company!” Mrs. Simon announced, entering the beautiful, white tiled kitchen. The Staal residence almost did not compare to what I was seeing.

Completely mesmerized by the scene in front of me, I did not notice the girl that everyone had been talking about. Heather nudged me with her elbow which caused me to look up to see the most stunning lady I had ever laid my eyes on. Her eyes immediately locked with my blue ones. She looked away quickly before her grandmother introduced her to me.

“Jordan,” I extended a hand once again, “Nice to meet you.”

She stepped forward to shake my hand and jumped a little at the contact, “Eloise.”

“Eloise.” I repeated, trying to burn her name into my memory.

“Call me Eli. That’s what most of my friends call me.” I nodded, trying to hide my smile. We just met and she already considered me a friend.

As we ate the food that Heather’s mom prepared for the Simon’s. Within the two hours we were there, I had learned a whole lot about Eloise. It turns out that she had just graduated from Princeton University on a full scholarship but did not know where to go from there. I learned that she took in her grandparent’s last name since her deceased mother had never gotten married. I also learned that she moved to Thunder Bay because her grandfather had actually built the house the way that she wanted it to be designed before he passed away a couple of months ago.

“I’m all about interior designing,” Eloise said. “It’s something I’ve always been interested in ever since I was young.”

“Why don’t you just work on become an interior designer?” Heather curiously asked.

Eloise shrugged, “I still feel like it’s not my calling.”

“But this house is amazing. The inside is not what I expected it to be when I saw the country styled house from the outside.” I jumped into the conversation without even realizing it. She smiled anyway.

“Thanks.” She simply said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

After a few more stories shared, Heather decided that it was time for us to go home. We said our goodbye and I drove Heather home with a kiss goodnight since I was sure that I would not see her until the next day. Before she ran to her house, she remembered that she forgot her sweater at the Simon’s and asked me if I could grab it and return it to her tomorrow. I opened my mouth to argue but she was already up her front door before I could even say anything.

“Love you, Jord!” She called out before I drove away.

I drove back to the Simon’s and saw that Eloise was sitting on the steps of their front porch with Heather’s sweater in her hand. She looked up to where I was pulling over and stood up.

“I figured one of you guys would come back for it,” She extended the sweater to me and I took it. “Heather mentioned before that you gave her this sweater and that it was really special to her.”

“Yeah…” I said, looking down at the sweater, not really remembering what was so special about it. I wasn’t even sure if it really was me who gave it to her.

We stood in silence for a second before she said, “Well…I guess I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah…” I repeated as she nodded her head and walked back towards her house.

“Hey!” I blurted out. She stopped and turned around with a shy smile. “I uh…wanna hang out tomorrow?”

“With you and Heather?” She asked, nervously rubbing the hem of her sweater.

“Uhhh…no…just us…if that’s okay.” She smiled shyly again before nodding her head. My heart swelled and I smiled brighter than she did in return. “I’ll come by your house tomorrow at 12.”

We don’t say anything more as we went on our separate ways and waited for the next day to come.



For the rest of the summer, I spent most of my days with Eloise. I saw Heather less and less and more of Eloise. The night before heading back to Pittsburgh for training, I kissed Eloise. She stopped me and told me that what we were doing was wrong.

“I’m falling for you…” I quietly admitted because it was true. The moment I saw her, I knew that what I was feeling wasn’t just a crush. It was more than that. I had fallen in love with another girl.

She started to cry and I wiped her tears away, begging for her to tell me why she was crying.

“I love you, Jordan.” She cried, “I tried to fight the feeling because you have Heather but this summer…this summer changed everything.”

“Come with me. Come home to Pittsburgh with me.” I demanded. “Go with me and we can be together.”

“Jordan, it’s not that easy. You still have Heather and I…my grandmother needs me here.” She explained.

“Then wait for me,” I said. “Promise me that when I come back, you’ll still be mine.”

She cried more and softly nodded her head, “I promise.”

I hugged her tightly before she told me that it was time for her to go home.

“Let me stay with you one last night.” I tell her. “Let me spend the night with you before I leave for the rest of the year.”

She doesn’t argue.



We crept up to her room though it was easy since her grandmother was fast asleep in her own room on the first floor. When we reached the top of the stairs, I turned her around, her back towards me, and swept her hair to the side to kiss her neck tenderly. She whimpers quietly before she decided that she would not be able to keep quietly if they stayed out in the hall that long.

She pulled me into her bedroom and I quickly carried her bridal style to lay her down on her bed. She giggles quietly as I lean over her to place a soft kiss on her lips. I stop briefly to remove her shirt as she does the same for me. I move on to her sneakers and socks before pulling off her jeans. She leans up to kiss me and fumbles with the button on my shorts. She finally unbuttons them and pushed them down my legs. I removed them the rest of the way and pulled her further up the mattress. I kiss my way down from her lips…to her neck…down to her chest…and unclasped her bra. I placed a soft kiss on each of her nipples before taking one into my mouth one at a time. I sucked and she moaned. I grinned and said, “You might want to be a little quiet.” I continue before moving further down her body. I kissed her around her stomach then down towards her thighs. I placed several kisses on her inner thigh, already smelling her natural scent. She gasped when I unexpectedly kissed her through her damped pink panties.

“Jordan…” She whimpered.

I grinned against her and moved the fabric to the side. I admired her for a second, her womanhood ripe at my sight. I took my first swipe at her and she moaned out loud.

“Shhh…” I told her, noticing how her hands fisted the sheets beneath her.

I licked at her like a cat thirsty for milk. She takes one hand off the sheets and grabs my hair, encouraging me to keep going. I used a hand to massage her clit as I continue to lap at her hungrily.

“Jordan…” She repeated.

“Tell me what you want,” I demanded. “I can give it to you.”

“I want you.” And that was all I needed to hear.

I removed her panties all the way as well as my boxers. I quickly fumbled through my shorts to find a condom tucked away in my wallet. When I found it, I slipped it on and slid slowly inside of her.

“I love you.” I said for the first time out loud.

“I love you.” She echoed back, a tear falling from her eye.

I kissed it away, moving slowly back and forth. This was the first time I had ever made love to a woman. With Heather, or any other girl that came before her, it was never like this. It was always quick and needed for a quick stress relief. This was the first time I had ever admitted to anyone that I love them.

“Promise me you’ll still be mine even when I’m gone.” I choked out. “Please, promise me.”

I slid back out and slowly back in all the way before she replied, “I promise. I’m yours, Jordan.”



For three years, I’ve come back to Thunder Bay and into the arms of Eloise without anyone knowing about it. I was the happiest I had ever been.

But all that came crashing down on me when Eloise found out that I had not cut off any ties with Heather.

“You played me! You played me and Heather! You’ve been with me while you’re still with her!” She yelled, shoving me out of her room as I tried to explain to her that I tried breaking up with Heather.

“Bullshit, Jordan! Three fucking years and you couldn’t tell her that you don’t want to be with her anymore?” She shook her head angrily, still not being able to process what she had just learned from Jared a few minutes ago. “If…if you didn’t want to be with me…if all I ever was to you was a quick fuck…”

“No!” I interjected. “You were never just…that. I love you, Eloise.”

“…you could’ve just told me that you didn’t want to be with me anymore.” She continued, ignoring what I just said.

“I’ve been trying to figure out a way to tell Heather that we aren’t working out anymore but there just wasn’t the right time.”

“Fuck you!” She yelled out once more. I was somewhat glad that her grandmother was not home at the time of her rampage. “You had plenty of time to think about what you want.”

“Eli…I’m sorry.” I apologized, not knowing what else to do at this point.

“Don’t call me Eli.” She growled.

“Eloise, baby, please—“

“Don’t call me anything!” She finally had enough strength to push me out of her doorway to slam her bedroom door at my face.

“Eloise please…” I pleaded from behind the door.

“Go away!” I heard her say on the other side.

“Just open—“

The door flew open and she shoved past me. I trailed right behind her. I grabbed her by her arm before she could get away. “You have to listen to me!”

“No! I’m done listening! I waited all this time for you, Jordan. You made me promise you every summer that I would always be yours and I’ve kept that promise! When you told me that you were going to leave Heather, I trusted you that you would keep your promise.” She tried to get out of my grip but I would not budge. “Just stop this. It’s over. We’re over. We’re never gonna get anywhere. I’ll always be stuck in Thunder Bay while you prance around here every once in a while and then back to Pittsburgh.”

“Don’t say that—“

“I thought we would work out. I really did.” She stopped struggling and I tried my best not to break down in front of her.

“We can still try and make things work out…” I started but she only shook her head.

“I love you, Jordan. But maybe this is where we’ll always be. Stuck in our little world and never facing reality.”

“I love you too Eloise, so why do we have to end this?” I asked, loosening my grip on her, hoping that she wouldn’t run away the moment I let her go completely.

“Because there’s nothing left of us.” She said quietly before I finally let her go. As expected, she walked out of her house without looking back. By the time I decided that I should follow her, she was already gone.



I open my eyes to see that I was still in the same room with Heather tucked safely right beside me. The memory of Eloise and I kept repeating like a broken record. It had been two years since I last saw her. I invited her to the wedding but I later on found out from Eric that she no longer lives in the same house. Her grandmother stayed but she didn’t.

I closed my eyes again and tried to remember the good times we had together. I wanted to remember how she looked when she was still happy. All that kept flashing through my mind was her tear stained face walking out the door, never once looking back at me.

“Tonight your memory burns like a fire
With every one, it grows higher and higher.
And I can’t get over it, I just can’t put out this love.
I just sit in these flames and pray that you’ll come back.
Close my eyes tightly, hold on and hope that I’m dreaming.
Come wake me up.