Page 74 of Here's to Yesterday

Until it wasn’tanymore.

After avoiding my brother the rest of his leave because he was so wrapped up in the girl I wanted, I went back to my regularly scheduled life. Music, work, friends. But with Rae came Perry, a cool dude who quickly became a good friend, and Maura. So naturally, our circle of friends grew. Which means with my brother gone and back at base, Maura wasalone.

Let me just say that, as a musician, I have a way of reading people. I can see things other people can’t. It was no different withMaura.

At first she was happy. And then she was sad. Finally, she was gone. She stopped showing up to our group gatherings and, according to Rae, hardly ever left the house on her days off. I watched her slowly descend into this shell of herself, while everyone else was so wrapped up in life they let ithappen.

I got tired of allowing it tohappen.

This weird slow dance we’ve been doing with one another began a few months ago when I found her in tears over my brother. I called Tanner and went off on him for twenty minutes about how he needed to treat her with more respect. None of the yelling made me feel any better, so I started—as Maura likes to affectionately call it—stalking her. For weeks she repeatedly said no to me taking her to the dinner. I finally managed to wear her down after wiggling into her life, starting with a performance at Mic’s (because chicks digmusic).

I like to believe the part that hooked her was that I bared it all from the start. I think Maura needed to know that someone else out there saw her for who she is, and that’s what I did. I let her know I could see through her façade. I got her to crack, to openup.

The real kicker, though? Somewhere along the way, I gave her my heart. That chunk that I had been holding on to somehow got handed off to her in my attempt to help her beherself.

I lost myself to her. How fucking ironic isthat.

As much as I wanted to act on all the feelings I was having for her, I didn’t, because I couldn’t do that while she was still with my brother. And my God did I want to. There were so many moments when I wanted to kiss her—and almost did! There were moments when I wanted to hold her or whisper things to her that only a man who’s calling her his should be allowed towhisper.

But as of last night, she’s not hisanymore.

Because Maura handed her heart off to metoo.

Long story short, I got punched, we got drunk, and clothes cameoff.

So that’s where we are. Me being a creeper and watching this beautiful woman sleep, and her finally baring it all tome.

As I crawl back into bed behind her, she immediately presses back into me and continues snoring. Smiling at her action, I follow her intoslumber.

* * *

Iwakeup to my dick pressing against my bedmate.

“Why do guys wake up with boners all the time?” I hear a soft, feminine voicesay.

Smothering a laugh, I give her the same answer I got when I asked about morning wood many, many years ago. “Because sleep is so good our dicks say, ‘I wanna fuck this bed.’ That’swhy.”

She laughs and wiggles back onme.

“Woman,” I warn, my voice and groan muffled by the pillow I have my face buried in. “Stop it. You’re making this a lot more embarrassing than it alreadyis.”

I slip an arm around her tiny waist and pull hercloser.

“What time is it?” Sheyawns.

“Tooearly.”

I feel her stretch and reach out toward my nightstand. I’m not sure what she’s reaching for, because the only thing that’s on there is the water and Advil I set out for her last night. I assumed she’d have a headache after her first time gettingdrunk.

“Come on,” she begs. “Let me up. I gotta see what time itis.”

“Nope. You’re gonna have to pry me offyou.”

She grabs hold of my arm, trying with all her might to push me off her. It doesn’t work. I start feeling bad about how much she’s straining, so I relent and let her lift myarm.

That’s when she almost pushes me out of the small twinbed.

“What the fuck, Maura!” I shout, because she scares the shit out of me. I straighten myself, almost looming over her, and watch as the wheels start turning. She’s remembering lastnight.

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