Basking in the Afterglow

As the morning sun shone through the bedroom window, Mark and Andrea lay silently, catching their breath and floating high on a sustained rush of dopamine and oxytocin. Their heartbeats and hushed gasps reverberated off the walls, as Mark turned and looked over to Andrea with a heady mix of adoration and lust. As her eyes were closed, she did not see the stolen glances. Turning away again, he looked up to the ceiling and tasted a droplet of sweat that had made its way slowly down from his forehead.

Looking over at Andrea again, he couldn't help but roll onto his side and caress her flushed cheeks. Gently and tenderly, he stroked the tip of his thumb across her cheek and around her lips as she exhaled happily as another aftershock of pleasure coursed through her body. She tilted her head towards his hand as he leaned over to kiss her forehead, tasting her own sweat on his lips as he stroked across her slightly parted, wet lips. Kissing at his thumb, she murmured gently.

As Mark laid back down on his back, Andrea rolled towards him, finding the perfect position for her head, against the curve of his arm. A strong sense of peace and calm came across her, as the aftershocks continued, though lessening with every passing second and minute.

Though they both knew they would eventually need to start the day and have some breakfast, neither wanted to make the first move. Stuck in that perfect, beautiful moment, where they were just Mark and Andrea. Not parents, a librarian or English teacher, just a couple.

The laboured breathing and thundering heartbeats that had provided the ambient soundtrack for their morning rest, were replaced with more relaxed and steady breaths and heartbeats. As Andrea tilted her head slightly to look up at Mark, she caught him gazing down at her. She could feel the love, lust and care. She returned a weak, but happy smile and he replied in kind, while pressing his thumb to her lips again.

*

As their eyes closed in unison, their minds raced, recounting the events of the last 24 hours. It had been a make or break moment in their relationship. Although both were committed to making it work, it felt as if there were so many hurdles, or an invisible force, stopping them from getting past their issues.

A meal in their favourite Italian restaurant and a bottle of crisp Chianti did not help as much as Mark had hoped. It all came down to how much they loved each other and how much they were willing to fight for the relationship.

Truths were told, mistakes were forgiven and as the night went on, all the obstacles disintegrated into thin air, as if they were never there in the first place. What was left was two people who had put so much work into a life shared together, looking into each other's eyes and asking for the bill.

In that moment, Mark remembered everything he adored about Andrea. As she sat there, with her shoulder length auburn-tinged hair draped over her round shoulders adorned in that stunning red cotton blouse that always seemed to highlight the perfect pale beauty of her skin.

He loved her tenacity, her capacity for empathy, for care and those stunning pools of the deepest, darkest brown he had ever fallen into.

As they shared glances, Andrea remembered why she loved Mark so much. He was principled, respectful and driven. She never had to worry with him, and that was part of what scared her in the first place. Previous burns had left her hyperaware of just how quickly things can go south.

But as his own brown eyes gazed into hers, she could not help feel an ache for him, for that well-manicured beard of his to be against her skin. For more than just the rush of intimacy. For the safety that his arms always provided her.

*

Lying in bed, recounting the evening, the restaurant, the drive home, the moonlight dance on the front lawn and then the hurried discarding of clothes as they made their way to the bedroom and the hazy heat as their bodies intertwined, they sighed contentedly. Mark gently caressed Andrea's tressles as his other hand met hers and they cotinued to enjoy the serene silence, basking in the afterglow.

*

Thanks for reading!

Author's Notes: This is for the Unspoken Challenge. You can find more information about it below:

You can also take a look at some of my other recently published works, if you have the time and inclination, like:

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