Love Is What You Make of It

Love Is What You Make Of It


He lays facedown on her bed wearing boxer shorts and flipping through the latest edition of Cosmo. The sounds she makes from the shower echo off the barren walls of the hallway. He looks up and watches the steam rolling out of the open bathroom door. She showers with the door open. She always has and probably always will. It’s only one of the things he loves about her.

She leaves the bathroom and pads naked into the bedroom. Her clothes, long ago discarded lay heaped in a pile near the foot of the bed. She is comfortable in her skin and comfortable in her surroundings. So much so that she prefers to be naked the majority of the time she is at home. It’s another thing he loves about her.

She leaves the bedroom her hand twitching to turn off the light before she remembers he is still in there and wouldn’t like being left in the dark. She doesn’t understand people who need lights on in every room of the house. Doesn’t understand their need for constant reassurance that the boogey man isn’t hiding somewhere. If it wasn’t for the clutter on the floor he’s certain she wouldn’t use the lights at all. But they are the only things keeping her safe from her own clumsiness. And he loves that about her as well.

He listens as she opens and closes every door in the kitchen searching for something to eat. There is plenty of food in there. He knows this as he helped her buy, bag, carry and unload her groceries. She likes to buy in bulk. Preferring to make her own portions at home rather than relying on someone else’s ideal of what is enough food. She is more restless than hungry, this he can tell by the sound of her rummaging around then returning to the bedroom empty handed. It’s one more thing he loves about her.

She lies on the bed next to him watching as he tries to ignore her. She knows that he can’t resist her for very long and smiles widely when he tosses the magazine on the floor and reaches for her. She wraps herself around him holding him deep inside her body long after they are both satisfied. He rolls them so they are laying on their sides careful not to pull away from her as she settles into sleep. Settling down next to her he realizes the light is still on and he refuses to wake her by reaching to turn it off. She’ll be mad at him in the morning but will forgive him easily enough when he kisses her mouth and whispers that he loves her. It’s one of the things she loves about him.