Reassurance

Amy padded up to the lamp at her bedside, savoring the cozy embrace of her pajamas as her feet whispered across the carpet. She stepped into the pool of golden light, eyes relaxing in the warm glow that illuminated the covers and headboard, while the rest of the world faded into muted tones and soft shadows. This was the moment she had fought through the week to experience - the moment she could reach inside the shade, turn the little knob until it went "click", and shut it all off. Darkness would embrace her, a void whose comforts were known only to those who had already slain every monster that might be lurking out of sight. Then, she would tuck beneath the sheets, and let the bed envelop her as it stole her consciousness away. After a crisis at work had kept her out of this sanctuary for far too many nights in a row, there was little else she wanted.

A muffled exclamation came through the wall, followed by a soft peal of laughter, reminding her of the one thing she was still missing. David was in the other room, putting in an appearance for both of them at their regular online game night with friends. She had planned to join after taking some time to decompress, but couldn't manage to do anything but stare blankly at her phone until her boyfriend popped out to suggest she go ahead and get some sleep. She missed his touch, especially after such a long week; beneath her fatigue, there was an aching need to reconnect. That would wait until morning, though. Now was the time to rest. She reached out for the lamp, thinking back on all the efforts she'd made to earn this moment. She had been determined to leave nothing for the weekend, staying late at the office even after her boss insisted she head home. Everything was taken care of; there was nothing left to worry about, except--

Amy's arm froze in mid-reach, as her mind grappled with what she'd just remembered. "Heat lamps," she whispered to herself, before groaning in dismay. Amy was an event planner, and she'd spent the past week doing her regular office work at night, while implementing a last-minute venue change for a corporate gathering during the day. The client wanted an outdoor section with a dazzling display of holiday lights, and while they could deliver on the lighting, sourcing enough heat lamps to make the scene enjoyable during December weather had been a challenge. She ended up borrowing some from a friend in the industry, who wouldn't need them until Saturday afternoon. The timing was just right for the friend to pick them up from Amy's apartment in the morning - or would have been, if she'd remembered to retrieve them from the venue after yet another mishap pulled her back to the office.

45 minutes on the road to reach the venue, then eight lamps to wrestle back to her vehicle in the cold, before finally making the trip home. Under normal circumstances, it would be a simple task, but now, it felt like torment. Amy tried to negotiate with herself. She could get up early, and retrieve them before her friend showed up. But that would mean yet another night of abbreviated sleep, and she wasn't even sure they would still be there - the vendors they had hired would also be cleaning up in the early morning, and they might mistake her friend's lamps for their own. She closed her eyes and sighed, savoring the brief taste of darkness behind her eyelids. There was no way around it; she had to make the trip.

She shuffled over to the door, intending to let David know what was going on before she changed and ventured out. As she walked into the living room, she saw him on the couch, laptop in front of him on the coffee table. "Hey," he said, before making a few final clicks and folding down the screen. Turning his eyes to his girlfriend, he smiled briefly at the sight of her looking snug in her pajamas, before concern took over his face upon noticing her expression.

"Is game night over?" she asked, still struggling to keep her eyes open.

"Yeah," he responded, "I was just about to join you. What's wrong?"

She sighed again, head drooping slightly as she announced the final trial of her week-long ordeal:

"Heat lamps."

David blinked, then recalled, "The ones you borrowed from Marissa? Did you forget to bring them back here?"

"Yup," she forced her head back up, and set a resolute course for the closet, pushing her lamentations aside and resuming the week's long march. "Just need to get my coat, then I'm headed out."

"Sweetie?" she heard from behind her as she approached the closet.

"Hmm?" she replied, not certain why her boyfriend had presented her with such a vague inquiry. True, she was tired, but the task had to be completed. Opening the closet door, she furrowed her brow in confusion. Where was her winter coat? Or for that matter, all of their coats?

"You're still in your pajamas, Amy. Also, that's the broom closet."

She blinked twice, then laughed, feeling slightly delirious. "Well, that was silly," she thought, as she closed the closet door and turned around. "Time to actually get my coat, and then --" her planning came to a halt as she nearly collided with the boyfriend-shaped obstruction that had suddenly appeared in her path. She felt him place steadying hands on her shoulders, and looked up at his face. His expression was one she'd seen before, a touch of amusement, mixed in with clear concern, and a subtle determination.

"I don't think you should be going anywhere, Amy," he stated, "except back to bed." His voice was gentle, but betrayed no uncertainty about his conclusion.

Seeing that she had found herself in a battle of wills, Amy tried to rally her forces, only to realize that half of them were already searching for a white flag. Still, she couldn't just give in.

"I wish I could, but that's not an option. If I leave them until morning, the vendors might pick them up," she protested in rueful tones.

David nodded.

"Sounds like a sensible concern. And you shouldn't be cutting your sleep short, either. I'll get them." He gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze. "Eight lamps, right? The ones with red stickers on them?"

Amy struggled to hold on to her resolve. She'd thought this might be coming, and she couldn't deny that part of her had hoped for it. "For the love of God, just go to bed," said the voice of her inner mutiny, "you can make it up to him later!" She tried to shake the voice out of her head, then reached for her shoulders, intending to free herself from David's grasp. Instead, she found herself squeezing his hands.

"I can't ask you to do that," she finally managed to reply.

David smiled in his subtle way at her conscientiousness.

"You're not asking; I'm just telling you what I'm going to do."

"But it's my responisi--"

Amy was cut short by David pulling her into a hug. She found herself closing her eyes and leaning against him.

"...bility," she trailed off into a wistful hum as he stroked her hair.

"You've had more than your share of responsibility this week. And based on your ability to navigate our floor plan, I have to say I'm not confident you'd be safe on the road."

Recalling her embarrassing incident with the broom closet, and realizing how smoothly her boyfriend's plan to pacify her was going, Amy's defiant side received a small injection of vigor.

"I'm awake!" she objected, voice slightly muffled by David's shirt as she adjusted to rest more comfortably on his chest, "I can pass any test you want." The words tumbled out in a desultory fashion, as if she'd composed her sentence, then forgotten what she was trying to say as she voiced it.

"Hmm...," David intoned. Amy barely stopped herself from objecting when she sensed him pulling out of the hug. Swaying slightly as she tried to recover her action plan, Amy felt his hands on her shoulders again. He was behind her now.

"This way, please," he said, and walked her over to the sofa. He sat down, then placed his hands around her hips, and gently pulled her into his lap. Once again, Amy found herself wrapped up in his arms, one around her shoulders and the other around her waist.

"I've barely seen you this week," David's voice nearly made her shiver as it entered her ear, "Did you miss me?"

A surge of yearning flowed through her. She let out a guttural hum of frustration as her arms found his, and squeezed.

"Of course I missed you! That's why I want to get this done, so we can -" A sudden gasp cut her words short. David's hands were in motion, and following a dangerous path.

"How much?" he inquired innocently.

A pitiful whimper escaped from Amy's tight throat. This wasn't fair. But her body had already answered the question. "A lot. I missed you so, so much."

"David, we can't do this," she whined, "you know how sleepy I get when I --" Her eyes popped open and her legs snapped closed as she realized the ploy.

"You devious man."

Amy felt it as much as she heard it, the silenced laughter that David emitted whenever one of his tricks had been exposed, as he tried to maintain his persona.

"Any test I wanted, right?" David's hands had resumed their entreaties towards her sensitive areas. "If you can stay awake after this, I'll be convinced."

An aching need was taking over Amy's body, pulsing out from its focal points on her breasts and down below, as her boyfriend squeezed, rubbed, and caressed as only he could do. She had a strong suspicion of how the battle would end if she agreed to his "test," but she was desperate to convince herself to go along. Her voice came out faint and breathy as she assented:

"Just one."

David stopped his ministrations for a moment to pull her closer, then resumed with a kiss on the top of her head. Amy nuzzled against his chest, and relaxed her legs, inviting him in. There were no words between them at this point, only breathing - in and out, synchronizing as they reconnected, faster and deeper as each stoked the other's need. They changed positions, lying down on their sides with David spooning her on the sofa. She felt his affection swelling through his pants as his hands brought her closer to ecstasy. "Guess you missed me too, huh?" she thought, though she could only vocalize soft gasps and hums while experiencing the evidence herself.

A low sound brought her out of her inner monologue, quiet, but unmistakably lustful and possessive. The breathing in her ear had turned into a growl. Amy's heart sped up. She recognized the signs of her boyfriend's aggression, an instinct he kept hidden beneath his habitual reserve. When he had her like this, he wouldn't be content with eliciting soft sounds of pleasure. He wanted to make her moan. She gasped as the hand on her breast began to grasp harder and pinch at her nipple, while the hand below homed in relentlessly on her clit. Now that she was warmed up, he knew she would be weak against rougher attention. But that wasn't her only weakness, and David was in no mood to let her hold anything back. It wasn't long before she felt it - his mouth on the side of her neck, kissing, sucking, biting.

Unable to restrain herself, she released the moan he had demanded, which only made him more intent on compelling her complete surrender. She pressed back against his body, whimpering with need, legs beginning to shake as his attack intensified. Part of her knew that her defiance would be doomed the moment she went where he was taking her, but the rest of her didn't care. Her gates had fallen open, and there was no fighting the sensations that poured in, growing stronger and stronger until they finally overwhelmed her. The pleasure exploded inside her core, sending blissful tingles to the tips of toes, electrifying the hairs on her scalp. She could only cry out and convulse helplessly in her boyfriend's arms as it carried on without mercy, wringing out every remnant of the stress she had accumulated in their time apart.

Finally, the pulses subsided, and she found herself lying limp on the sofa, unable to do anything more than breathe. Her exhaustion had closed in, like a heavy curtain blocking out the light. She could hear David behind her, as his breathing also slowed, but retained a bit of its rough edge - still hungry, but restrained. Feeling loopy, she let out a quiet giggle at the thought of how busy he'd be keeping her throughout the weekend. Then, a trace of a memory appeared, like a sliver of light still peeking through the curtain: Heat lamps. Too worn out to groan, she made a faint whining noise just above her breath.

Meanwhile, David had climbed out from behind her, and was now leaning over to brush back the hair that had fallen across her forehead.

"Ready for bed, sweetie?" he asked.

Amy struggled to construct a sentence from the vague, free-floating mass of her thoughts. Even the odious phrase that popped into her head a moment ago had lost its coherence, no longer referring to propane-fueled devices that people used to stay warm outdoors, but to some kind of amorphous curse on the land. She only knew that something unpleasant was out there, and she was supposed to deal with it.

"Up. I'm getting...up," she managed to articulate, eyes still closed as she spoke.

"Hmm," David considered, "Put your arms around my neck."

She slowly lifted her eyelids, then complied with his request in a languid motion. As she started to pull herself up to a seated position, she learned that he had other plans.

"Waah!" she cried out, finding herself suspended in the air, one of David's arms beneath her shoulders, and the other beneath her knees. He started moving, and it was apparent that she would be going with him. Turning her head, she realized where they were headed.

"Nooooo..." she voiced a pitiful objection, starting as a soft whine and slowly fading into nothing as the bedroom door came closer and closer. She felt her boyfriend laughing silently again.

"Here we are," he announced their arrival at the side of the bed. He leaned over slightly, before depositing her on the covers.

"Aaa -" foomph Amy started to exclaim as she felt herself falling, only to be cut short by her feathery collision with the bedding and the soft mattress underneath.

"You alright, sweetie?" she heard from above.

"Yeah..."

She could tell from the little catch as he spoke that he was almost laughing out loud that time. She wanted to complain, but her painless yet abrupt deceleration had left her feeling loopy again, and the bed was just so soft...

"Let's get these out from under you."

She couldn't help but giggle at the sense of weightlessness as she felt her upper half being lifted, then her lower half, to free the covers from beneath her. Lying fully on the bed once more, Amy closed her eyes, and felt the irresistible drowsiness creeping in.

"Maybe I'll just lie here for a minute," she rationalized.

She felt the covers being pulled up to her chest, and let out a peaceful "mmm" as they dropped snugly on top of her.

"A minute, then a few more, and so on until morning," David clarified, before leaning over to wrap her up in the warmest hug she could remember.

She freed her arms from the covers to hug him back, clinging as close as she could, breathing deeply as he willed her into perfect tranquility. His embrace was telling her what words alone could not convey - that her rest meant so much more to him than the inconvenience of easing her burdens. He was there to look after her; he would take care of everything. Amy felt her stubbornness melting, transforming into love and gratitude for what they had together. She wanted to hold on to him forever, but the sooner she let him go, the sooner he could come back.

"Thank you," she breathed as he lowered her head back to the pillow.

David tucked her arms beneath the sheets, before pulling the covers to her shoulders and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Goodnight, Amy. Be back soon."

The light by her bed went out, and she drifted off, still feeling the warmth.