Full Strength

Thirty Nine-Logan 🏒

        "You know, we don't have to sleep in my room. We could move to your room," Lillian said as she brushed out her hair.

        "That's okay. Your room is nice." Truthfully, I had become so accustomed to her room over the past few weeks, I thought of it as my room too. 

         The rest of dinner had been so relaxing. We'd talked for a long time, leaving the topic of our unfortunate circumstances behind. We talked about our families and our lives. I now knew that Lillian had always secretly wanted to be a goalie. She had learned that my favorite color was amber. She'd lived in Miami for one summer with her college roommate. I'd taken violin lessons as a young child. She'd had a pet turtle that she'd let swim away down the river when she was five. Nick had taught me how to drive when I was thirteen. I felt like I was meeting her for the first time. We'd spent months together, stuck in my house with nothing to do, and these things had never come up.

        Crawling under the blankets next to her, I said, "Thank you for making tonight so amazing."

        "Me? Logan, you literally spent thousands on our first date," she laughed.

         "And? That doesn't guarantee that it will be amazing," I argued.

         Lillian still squeezed my hand. "Thank you. That was the best date I've ever been on."

         "Of course," I said, my smile masking how depressing it all was. We wouldn't be able to go on normal dates without someone taking pictures. At most, we could go out for a simple meal or go to Dragons games.  Anything else would be glaringly obvious that we were more than coworkers.

         "And thank you for the outfit," she said, looking at where the dress was draped over the edge of her laundry hamper. 

         "You're welcome." She'd looked so amazing in that dress, it'd been hard not to outright stare at her all day. I secretly hoped there was an opportunity for her to wear it again sometime soon. 

         Leaning over, Lillian wrapped her arms tight around my waist. Returning the hug, I whispered, "Goodnight, Lilli. Sleep well."

         She smiled, lightly brushing her lips against mine in a tender kiss. "Goodnight, Logan."

         Tonight I had no qualms about holding her close in my arms, her head bowed against my chest. Sometimes we cuddled, other times it was simply being loosely tangled together. Now I was sure that every night I would curl up with her wrapped in my embrace. 

         The next morning, I woke up to Lillian running her fingers through my hair. I smiled up at her, her soft brown eyes staring back. I loved her eyes, the color of hot chocolate in the winter after a long day of being outside. 

          "Hi, girlfriend," I whispered.

          She twisted a strand of hair around her finger, letting go as she said, "Hi, boyfriend."

         "Did you sleep okay?" I murmured. She nodded.

         I couldn't help but smile. "Do you like my hair?"

         "I love your hair so much," she said in a dazed voice. "It's so pretty."

         "I'm glad you like it," I whispered, brushing my thumb against her cheek.

         "Never cut it," she said in a sweet, dreamy voice. "It's mine. Forever."

         "Somehow, I don't think I'd rock hair that reaches my waist," I laughed.