I don’t know whose mouth finds whose... but our lips, our tongues are mingling. I stroke her velvet cheek and tangle with her tongue and clutch her head and pull her closer. I can smell her breath, it smells like peppermint. Her tiny fingers play at my nape. I deepen the kiss. I’m damp with sweat, my eyes are wet... I can’t stop. Can’t stop kissing her. She can’t stop kissing me. I’m dizzy.
My mouth closes over hers. I breathe her breath. Warm breath until my head stops spinning.
Still spinning.
I let my breath out.
“Baby...” Tender fingers find my cheeks. Her eyes. I love her eyes. Her brows pull down, as if she’s sad. Her thumb traces under my eyes. “You had a bad dream?”
“Yeah.” I lean my cheek against her hand.
I feel her hand behind my shoulder, rubbing my back.
It makes me think of Lyon. I like the pain.
Being here... I want to feel it.
I try to remember what she just asked, and what I said. The Dilaudid is making me fuzzy.
I lean away from her. Her face is blurry. I can only see her silhouette, a dark blot on the blue-tinged room. The blue is coming from the window. Curtain drawn. The city lights. I remember those cold lights.
I look down at my chest. Only one IV working right now.
“Is there anything I can do?” she whispers.
“I’ve gotta get up.”
She nods. “I brought you a bunch of longue clothes but they’re in the dryer right now. Our nurse is going to bring them. Until then, I got you this.”
Our nurse...
She slides down off the bed and gets back up with something. I can’t see it.
I blink. It’s a robe.
I push toward the bed’s edge with sore arms.
“Here—” She’s standing by the bed. “Slide down and you can hold onto me.”
I get down, and my legs and hips ache so much I feel tears burn my eyes. I can’t believe I’m back here. My throat is so full, I can barely breathe. Cleo’s arm comes around me.
She kisses me. She wraps her hand around the IV pole. She walks me to the bathroom, pointing out a giant, blow-up palm tree.
“There’s more of that type stuff coming to decorate your room. Hope you don’t mind.” Her voice is static.
She pushes the bathroom door open. Light spills out. I look down at myself. These scrubs. They came untied... are sagging. Fuck.
She leaves me and I stare at the sink. The toilet.
Memories...
I piss, then try to squeeze one out. I think of Cleo, and I get a halfie, even though I’m numb as hell. Okay.
I look in the mirror. That’s a big mistake. My face is bruised. My lips are dry. My eyes look desperate and strung out.
I put on the robe. I don’t know how it got in here. Did Cleo hand it to me? I’m shaking. The longer I stand up... the more things hurt.
I open the door, fast because I’m scared that she’ll be gone. She’s right there. We go to the bed. I lie down across it, on my side. My legs hang off. The robe is soft. It covers me. Good.