The Pillow 2: Dawn

 He was watching her from the side mirror of the cab as he sat up front. Her window was rolled down. She was asleep. Her face read like it did earlier in the day; peaceful, carefree and pleasantly tired. He knew that look before as he'd seen it from all the women he had been with years before—the afterglow!

It felt as if his life was passing him by. It was neither balmy nor cool that day. There was that foreboding feeling knowing that she was going back to see her beau; a mental image he always tried to downplay, a bitter pill to swallow!

The events of the previous morning were slowly playing out in his head as piece by piece, the puzzle was being solved...

There was a party. They all got drunk. She had little tolerance for alcohol but she did her best to keep up. After 7-beers, he was usually just slightly inebriated. She was usually wasted after the first bottle but she already had four!

They were out really late and there was no point trying to get her home as she lived about an hour away from the city. Neither he nor his friend were in any condition to drive. They had a total of 21-beers when he picked up the tab.

His friend suggested that they all crash at his place. Although his friend was all alone with a few rooms to spare, he suggested they all bunk together. She had the privilege of taking the bed.

She took off the jacket she was wearing and asked him if he had an extra shirt. They had not planned on staying out all night but like the boy scout that he used to be, he was always ready. He practically rips his backpack open, takes out the camera and the laptop he always seemed to have and produced a clean t-shirt. She slips into the bathroom and comes back in shorts and wearing HIS shirt. He was just a little wasted to appreciate how irresistible she looked. His friend was sprawled on a sleeping mat and he collapsed on the floor with him.

He was barely conscious when he heard her say: “Come sleep on the bed with me...”

It sounded like a plea to him so he got up as fast as he could. In the process, all the alcohol started to kick in and instead of joining her, he rushed to the toilet to expel all that booze!

Drunk but still partially lucid, he takes a shower to wash off the stench. He had known her quite a few years and they've shared quite a lot. He knew she could tolerate his not taking a shower but he made the effort to at least get cleaned up before joining her. She was after all, quite special to him.

He felt a slight chill as the air-conditioning was on. It was something he never got used to. He was the type who could survive living in a tropical jungle but he had much difficulty living luxuriously. He almost jumped in the bed. She had already been asleep when he joined her.

Suddenly, she awakes and had a very strange request...

She had an allergic reaction to alcohol which showed up in rashes especially along parts of her body which were constrained by elastic. She sought his assistance in taking off her bra as she was starting to itch.

“Holy Shit!”, he almost blurted out. He knew he was drunk but he was also sure he heard correctly. “You want me to do what?”

--”Take off my bra, please! It's getting itchy!”

Like a schoolboy who's never seen a girl in his life, he obliged. He had done this so many times, he could do it with one hand and both eyes closed but this time, he fumbled underneath his own t-shirt. He felt her smooth skin on the palm of his hands—impeccable!

Gingerly, he slid the straps off her shoulder and out from the sleeves. They were off!

He covered up her exposed back and tried to doze off when suddenly...

“Scratch me!”, she pleaded.

--”WHAT?”

“Scratch my back, please!”

Again, his hand slipped under the shirt. Again, his hands felt her. “Oh...shit!”

“Nail!”, she exclaimed.

--”WHAT?”

“Use your nails!”

She was like a cat purring as he gently scratched her back. He had never been this close to her. It had been years since he was ever this close to a woman. She was enjoying it. He was in pain!

He could not recall how long they were at it but he remembered she had dozed off during the scratching. He should have been ecstatic. It may have seemed like forever but it only took a few minutes. In that short span of time, he sobered up. He felt his eyes well. His pillow was wet with tears. He passed out just a little after...