Chapter 7

We woke up together, in each other's arms with the glow of our lovemaking on our faces, listening to the sounds of the soft rain coming down outside.

Not.

As much as I was in love with her, I could not save myself from the inevitability of morning breath, and, never having slept or woken up next to someone in my adult life, I didn't realize a breathy sigh and drawn out 'hey' could result in such a negative reaction from my partner. My lover? Would it be too bold to say girlfriend? I had to ask her.

"Soooo, what now?" I posed.

"Well, first coffee and breakfast, I want pancakes, and then a shower. Then we can cuddle and talk about what this, us, thing."

"Okay, I'll have the chef bring coffee and a pancake breakfast to us, you can take a shower while we wait, and then we can cuddle and have breakfast in bed."

"You have a chef?"

"No. We have a chef. But yeah, only for breakfast and lunch though. Dan and Andy both work from home so they maximize their time by having a chef around, he also does the shopping so Gretchen the maid doesn't have to."

Miegan just sat in awed silence as I further explained the inner workings of the household. I had to calm her down by admitting that it was new for me too. We took our shower together and climbed back into bed with our feast waiting for us. After the food we held each other in syrupy love, waiting for the other to break the silence. I came to the conclusion that as the male in the relationship that I should take charge and bite the bullet.

"Miegan, I sort of fell in love with you last night. It wasn't the sex, which was great by the way, and it wasn't the day of retailing. It was watching you sleep when I realized that you are my world. In a singular moment I knew that my first priority is to keep you safe and make you happy. I thought of your past," wince, "and knew, just knew, that it does nothing to the way I feel about you. You, to me, are perfect in every way, and I want to be with you as long as you'll have me."

The flat, emotionless look on her face spoke volumes about how I had just said too much until it was betrayed by a single tear. Faster than I was ready for, she wrapped her arms around my and started bawling into my naked shoulder. I was glad for her happiness, but being the cause of her tears didn't sit well with me. I gradually calmed her down, stroking her hair and whispering reassurances. Finally she was able to make intelligible speech, free of tears.

"I've never heard anything that beautiful from anyone in my life. I feel the same, but different. I know I love you too, and it's crazy for me because you're the opposite of my type. That's a good thing though right? My type hasn't turned out for me. I'm kind of confused, but I know that I want to be with you and make you happy. I know that you make me feel so amazing and that I want to be with you for as long as I can."

I guess it was my turn to cry, because I felt it coming on stronger than I could have imagined the urge to cry could be. Thanks to my super control, I channeled the torrent of tears into a single drop and just smiled at her.

"Does that make me your boyfriend?"

Miegan shook her head in the affirmative, tightening her hug on me and we stayed in bed for a good while longer, experiencing our newfound love for each other. We watched a couple more movies from my bed, not wanting to leave in case what we had would leave us when we got off.

Soon we were both hungry again and decided to dine with Dan and Andy. Hand in hand we walked to the main house, by way of the garden by Miegan, and found the happy couple there sitting at a table set for four. Dan smiled the proud father smile at me and Andy stood hugged Miegan. After talking over the logistics of moving Miegan's new things to my place nothing more was said of our union. Dan and Andy treated it with a general sense of acceptance and congratulations. Our lunch was light and simple, and the chef had already adjusted to make special dishes to accommodate Miegan's vegetarian diet. At the end of lunch Andromeda suggested that we go on a double date that night. Miegan interjected saying that she was going to drag me along to go apply to the local university, a step up from the local community college, and she was going to drag me along as I hadn't yet given any thought to extending my education. I still didn't know yet how to tell Miegan about the genie much less that my body and mind were capable of gaining and retaining the knowledge a university could provide in only a short time, so I agreed to tag along with false enthusiasm. We agreed that we would meet Dan and Andy at a fancy new restaurant in downtown later that night.