Falling Asleep

She put her head right under my chin, near, but not on, my chest, as the few hairs there tickle her nose. It’s a perfect place, a place we both can fit comfortably.

For the past few nights the rain and wind have picked up and when we’re lying still like that, you can hear the birch trees outside our window flutter and hiss. I can feel her breath on my skin and I’m guessing she can feel mine on her hair. I want to pull her to me as tight as I can. So tight that you can’t tell where my skin ends and hers begins. So tight that if I pulled any tighter it would hurt.

Everything slows down in those moments right before drifting off. Her breathing, her kisses and the way she touches my arm; they all slow down until movement seems impossible.

As if by moving, we would break.

Out past the open windows the rain is forming puddles in the street and old leaves are turning into deep red mud. The wind makes one last push through the upper branches and we fall asleep.