Upon opening my eyes the next morning, I was confused for a few seconds, wondering where the hell I was, until I felt a warmth next to me. John. I shifted a little to look at him, and check if he was awake, but saw only his hair and the back of his head. A yellow shaft of sunlight blazed through the shutters and pooled on his pillow, making his hair look almost ginger. I played idly with a strand of it between my fingers.

Then I had an idea.

Usually, it was John winding an arm around me, or holding me close to him, and I’d never once thought to return the favour. Being careful not to wake him, I pressed in close and draped an arm over his back, so it rested on his chest. Beneath it I could feel him breathing.

He didn’t stir, so we stayed that way for at least half an hour. Watching the beam of sunlight move gradually across the bed, I reflected on our time together already, still not quite believing what was happening to me. Last night, especially, what with eating dinner on the beach and coming back to our private villa to spend all night together. Although, I felt bad about leaving my family. And with good reason. I’d left so suddenly, and with such a short explanation. By now, I’d have been gone at least a day, and they were bound to be worried about me, having run off with no notice whatsoever. It made me doubt ever coming in the first place. How could I do such a thing to them?

But then John began to stir next to me, momentarily pulling me out of those thoughts, and replacing them with very different ones. When he awoke, still facing the other way, the first thing he did was stretch, which was when he noticed me holding him tight.

–“Good morning, Irene,”– he sighed happily, in his half-asleep way, –“well, this makes a nice change”–.

After that, he turned only his head to meet me, and kissed me gently on the lips, much like we had in the airport. I loved when he was soft and nice like that to me.

–“I thought you’d be glad, and I was right,”– I giggled back. He just smiled and lay his head back down.

After that, we soon fell into a comfortable silence together, enjoying the peace and quiet of the bedroom. I never wanted to get up, but I didn’t want to miss the sights and sounds of the new country I was in. I couldn’t wait to see it.