Page 128 of Between the Blue
For a few seconds, I don’t know where I am.
I sense movement and hear a low sound, but my eyelids feel a hundred pounds each.
I peel them open just enough to see the darkness around me, and then let them fall shut again.
And then something shifts behind me, and I become aware for the first time of something heavy draped over my waist. It’s not until fingers dig into my hip that I realize it’s an arm.
The moment I begin to process what that means, a deep gasp makes me shoot straight up in bed.
The arm flops off of me and the bed dips at my side.
“No.”
I rub the sleep from my eyes, the events of the prior evening coming back to me all at once.
“No!” The voice next to me cries out in a deep, guttural moan. “J–J–Ju–No.”
I turn my head, watching Ben roll over. I catch a glimpse of his eyes, seeing they’re still shut.
He must be dreaming.
I reach out a hand, placing it on his shoulder to gently shake him awake.
He rolls over again, taking a pillow with him, continuing to mutter the same unintelligible half word.
“Ju–J–Ju–Jewel–”
I tilt my head.
Jewel?
Is he dreaming that he’s robbing a bank?
I snort quietly to myself at how ridiculous that is. How ridiculous this whole situation is. I never dreamt I’d find myself in bed with Ben. Much less that I’d be trying to decipher his sleep-talking.
“Jewels. Please. I–No.” Ben’s face twists up as he continues to squirm around, his hands reaching out for something invisible.
I bite down on my lip, suddenly feeling like this dream might be a nightmare after all.
I know you’re not supposed to wake people when they’re in a state like this, especially when they’re not used to finding you in their bed, but as Ben continues to choke out the wordNorepeatedly in a way that makes my chest hurt, I have to intervene.
I grip his shoulder, forcing him to lay flat on his back. “Ben,” I whisper.
He continues to shake his head, and I can see his eyes moving back and forth rapidly under his eyelids as he continues to mutter to himself.
“Ben,” I repeat, giving him a slight shake.
“How could…you…”he continues.“No… I don’t… Jewels…no… No!”
I grab both of his shoulders, shaking hard. “Ben.”
It all happens in a blur.
Ben’s eyes snap open. He sharply inhales. And then he launches himself at me.
Ben’s arms wrap around me so tightly that it knocks the wind out of me when my back hits the mattress. He buries his face into my neck, continuing to mutter. I feel his chest shake against my own, and I don’t know what’s happening, but I reach a hand up, running it through the hair at the back of his head.
“Oh my God,” he pants. “Oh my God. Please.”
