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The weight of Cheryl’s head in her lap is grounding, tethering her to the most precious thing in her life. Red curls sprawled across her thighs, tickling the palm of her hand. When she looks down, she finds the peaceful face of her beloved, taken by sleep.
They’ve been together five months, Toni knows this because Cheryl texts her for every “monthaversary.” They don’t do anything too extravagant (per Toni’s request), but they do go on a date to celebrate the occasion. Usually Pop’s, where they had their very first date. They’re both fond of tradition, so it just makes sense.
It didn’t take long for things to escalate from 0 to 100. Toni was hesitant at first, not wanting to get involved with someone who was still figuring out their sexuality. But she felt so drawn to Cheryl, a cosmic connection she can’t quite explain. As silly as it sounds, from the moment they met she knew Cheryl was going to be important to her. Fate, destiny, whatever you want to call it, it was impossible to ignore. One accidental date led to a formal date, which led to them going steady. Normally Toni likes to take her time with these things, but Cheryl was dead set on dragging her in headfirst. Months later, Toni can’t complain. They have their fights, like every other couple they know, but those spats only bring them closer together. Unlike the couples around them, there’s no cheating and no doubts about who they want to be with. They want each other, plain and simple. The issue comes with making their contrasting personalities fit together.
It hasn’t been that long, but Toni can’t imagine her life without Cheryl. She feels as though they’ve known each other forever. She’s not sure what she’d do if she had to go a day without walking Cheryl to class or helping her stretch during cheer practice. Her life would be empty without their sleepovers and museum dates. Every shirt she owns ends up in Cheryl’s closet, and vice versa. There’s a spare toothbrush in her bathroom for when Cheryl sleeps over. The redhead has wormed her way into every corner of Toni’s life.
Their comfortability has grown so much that it’s common for Cheryl to spend evenings at her house. This isn’t something she would have done with any of her past (male) partners, as she wouldn’t have been caught dead slumming around a “townie” house. That was before she met Toni, before she learned that townies are much nicer than the crowd she usually rolls with. Nowadays, Cheryl has no qualms about sleeping on Toni’s faded beige couch, or eating food that wasn’t prepared by a Swedish chef.
She’s wearing one of Toni’s old band t-shirts. The logo is for some emo group she hasn’t touched since middle school. It looks out of place underneath Cheryl’s golden necklaces. Cheryl herself couldn’t look more at home. Her mouth hangs open slightly, dribbling a trail of drool onto Toni’s knee. Five months ago, she would have been disgusted by that. Now she only smiles, wiping the wetness from the corner of Cheryl’s wet mouth.
She’s so peaceful…
Cheryl’s drool calls awareness to the lack of moisture in Toni’s own mouth. She hadn’t noticed it before, too enamored with Cheryl, but the back of her throat feels like sandpaper.
She swallows thickly, but it does nothing to soothe the dryness. The texture is like rubbing two scabs together. Even her lips feel chapped. She must have gotten so caught up in Cheryl, that she forgot to eat earlier. Come to think of it, she hasn’t had anything since breakfast.
Fortunately, she had the foresight to prepare a glass of ice water. Cheryl has one too, but she downed it before passing out. Toni’s sits untouched, condensation collecting on the outside. It’s right next to her, on the brown wooden stand beside her couch.
She extends her arm, planning to grab it in one swipe, but-
Oh no.
It’s too far, way too far for her to reach over and take it. The glass sits a full couch cushion away. She’s not sure how she thought she’d be able to get it in the first place. Maybe she thought she could subtly scooch over? But no, it’s too far for that. She’d have to get up and move in order to obtain it. As in, move Cheryl’s head off her lap.
Glancing down, she can see that Cheryl is already frowning in her sleep over the movement. Toni didn’t wake her, thank God, but she came close. Cheryl is an extremely light sleeper.
She looks back at the glass, then back at Cheryl. Then back at the glass, then back at Cheryl. Hydration, or her girlfriend? She already knows which is more important to her.
Reluctantly, she pulls her hand back, letting it fall back onto Cheryl’s head. The rich girl smiles in her sleep, blissfully unaware of her girlfriend’s dilemma. Toni gives her scalp a few extra scratches, a reminder to herself of why she’s making this sacrifice. It’s no big deal, anyways. The glass will still be there when Cheryl wakes up…whenever that will be.
Toni puts that thought out of her mind and tries to focus on more important things, like dinner. She may have missed lunch, but there’s still time to stuff her face. When Cheryl wakes up, she’ll probably be too drowsy to go out anywhere. That means Toni will have an excuse to order take out. Chinese food sounds really good right now. Sesame chicken with noodles, egg drop soup, and crab rangoons. Paired with a large iced tea.
Great, now she’s hungry too.
Below, Cheryl is still fast asleep. Her breathing is even, and her mouth has fallen open again. She looks so deep under, Toni wouldn’t be surprised if she slept for several more hours.
She always knew Cheryl would be the death of her, but this wasn’t how she expected to go.
~
By the time Cheryl starts to stir, Toni feels like a corpse.
Her throat is a dessert, her lips are chapped, her bladder is full, and she’s pretty sure flies have already begun to pick at her decaying skin. Or maybe she’s hallucinating. She’s surprised she hasn’t seen an oasis yet, a mirage in the far off distance of her living room. So far, she couldn’t reach it without waking Cheryl.
Her girlfriend lets out the tiniest, cutest yawn. Toni’s heart responds just enough to give a weak little squeeze.
“Hmm?” She blinks, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “Toni?”
“Hey, baby,” she cringes at the sound of her own voice. She sounds like she’s been smoking three packs a day for the past seventeen years. “How’d you sleep?”
Beside her, she can see that all the ice in the glass has melted. She must have zoned out or dozed off at some point, because she didn’t realize Cheryl was out for that long. Maybe she succumbed to dehydration and entered a vegetative state. Ah well, it was all worth it to catch Cheryl’s sleepy, non-grumpy expression. Her girlfriend works so hard, she deserved a few extra hours of rest.
Though Cheryl herself doesn’t seem to agree with that sentiment. She frowns up at Toni, like she just caught her doing something very bad. It’s the same look she gives her whenever she finds out she neglected sleep for video games, or spent so much time tutoring other kids that she forgot to do her own homework. The look that says, You need to take care of yourself, and if you don’t do it then I will.
Toni sighs. “I know, I know.”
The accountability won’t save her from the lecture she’s about to get. To keep patient, she’ll consider the admission fee for Chinese food. Chinese food and lots, lots of water.
Cheryl reaches up to poke her, a reprimanding finger jabbing against her cheek. It doesn’t hurt, but it does make her jerk away in discomfort.
“You need to drink more water.”