Linger

First Night

"Would you take a shower, too, Kal?" gavin asked shortly after coming out of the bathroom.

Kalea who was initially unpacking the suitcase and put her clothes in the closet also stopped her activities. As she raised her head, Kalea found Gavin standing a few steps ahead of her with half wet hair. A few drops of water flowed down the curve of his neck until it touched the bare chest of his field. Kalea gulped her hard-earned saliva as Gavin's checkered stomach plastered markedly before her eyes. Really, Kalea never imagined she would see the checkered stomachs that were usually hidden behind those jerseys in this fast time.

Okay, okay. Kalea knows they're married. Their relationship is legitimate in the eyes of law and religion. Merely, couldn't Gavin give her a little more time to get used to it?

"Kal?"

"Yes." Yeah." Sahut Kalea shifted her gaze quickly. Now her cheeks were hot and her heartbeat began to go back out of control.

"Yes what?"

"Yes, take a shower." When turning over with the intention to return an empty suitcase to the corner of the room, the, Kalea almost found her heart pounding on the floor when she knew Gavin was standing in front of her so that the checkered stomach was now plastered more clearly in front of her eyes.

Kalea cleared her throat slowly, trying to relieve her throat that suddenly felt dry while throwing a glance in any direction. But his efforts were in vain as Gavin moved forward so that Kalea was forced to retreat until her back touched the closet whose door was still open. Supposedly, he could have escaped because Gavin was not holding him with his big arm. But all Kalea can do is just surrender even though it must be damned in the heart when the aroma of shampoo out so strongly piercing the sense of smell. Kalea recognizes this scent well, because at home, Papa also uses shampoo with the same brand and aroma.

"Swipe a little bit can? I'm gonna grab a shirt, it's cold if you don't wear it for too long."

Without saying anything, Kalea shifted her body slightly to the left side. It just shifted a little bit until Gavin could pick up a dark blue shirt from the closet and then the man walked back.

While waiting for Gavin to put on his shirt, Kalea could only fall silent. He secretly steals a glance at the six boxes that are clearly imprinted in Gavin's stomach before they disappear from view when Gavin manages to put on his t-shirt.

"I want to go out, yeah. Find the wind." Gavin.

Kalea can only nod her head. His tongue was too faint and quite frankly his brain was starting to not work properly since his eyes were fed Gavin's checkered stomach.

"Later if you have finished bathing, just let me go straight back." Gavin landed his big hand on Kalea's head, gently stroking the woman's soft hair then passed after grabbing her phone that was on the nightstand.

The kalea sculpted for a while even after Gavin's body had completely disappeared from view. During those minutes, he was busy controlling his increasingly wild heartbeat.

Relax, Kal. Calm...

...****************...

On the back porch, accompanied by a drizzle that began to descend thinly, Gavin lit his second cigarette. He brought a cigarette between his fingers in front of his mouth and then began to suck it slowly. First, he let the cigarette smoke swirl in his chest cavity for a long time before exhaling the smoke into the air. The smell of smoke mixed with the scent of wet soil that was wafting in the air was a fitting blend to accompany his agitated feelings.

Then after a few suction, Gavin put his cigarette on the ashtray. Not intending to turn it off, just leave it there for a while while he reached into the phone from his pants pocket because the phone vibrates indicating a message coming in.

When the phone was taken out of her pants pocket, Kalea's name appeared on the screen.

I finished the shower

That was the message Kalea wrote. Gavin smiled faintly as he typed in a reply.

Okay, I'm in now.

Shortly after his reply was sent to Kalea, Gavin switched off the cigarette perched on the ashtray and hurriedly walked into the house. After all, the night was late and the cold wind was getting harder on his body which was only wrapped in a T-shirt and shorts slightly above the knee.

Arriving inside the house, Gavin did not directly go up to their room on the second floor. He covered first to the kitchen, downed orange juice from the refrigerator with the intention to remove the smell of cigarette smoke from his lips. Then after making sure there was no more cigarette smell that might be sniffed by Kalea, then Gavin stepped up his legs up the stairs. 

As he moved closer to the door, Gavin's heart slowly beat a little faster than usual. It got worse when his palm touched the doorknob and was about to open it. Gavin paused for a moment, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before continuing to open the door. 

When the door in front of him opened, Gavin was treated to a view that actually did not surprise him too much. Recalling how nervous Kalea reacted after seeing her naked upper body earlier after taking a bath, Gavin was not surprised that now what he met in front of his eyes was the narrow back of Kalea who peeked slightly from under a blanket that was not worn properly. 

One step he swung, followed by another step until his body arrived at the side of the bed. Gavin was silent for a long time, looking at Kalea's tiny body in a blanket that occasionally moved uneasily. In Gavin's eyes, it looked funny. Although the other day they had slept in the same bed, Gavin clearly understood that Kalea was now worried about many things. Because after all, they are now tied to a legitimate marriage. 

"Kal?" call Gavin slowly. Just to test whether Kalea would respond to her call or pretend to sleep like she did the other day when they were staying in this house for the first time. 

And it turns out that the woman is following her call. Although still reluctant to turn around. 

"Can I go to bed? Go to sleep, it's night." asked Gavin again in a seductive tone. Intentionally want to see Kalea's reaction that looks funny while being misbehaved.

There was no response from Kalea for a long time. The woman seemed to be moving restlessly. Occasionally scratching his head which Gavin sure did not itch at all and cleared his throat slowly several times. Ah, it felt like Gavin wanted to jump on the bed and hug the body tightly. Hide it in a warm embrace so that no one can hurt the adorable creature.

"Hello? I'm talking to you, Kal." Rework Gavin.

"Good aja. But..."

"But what?" sela Gavin fast.

"But keep your distance." 

Gavin escaped laughter when the sentence was spoken from Kalea's lips in a very slow voice and after that the woman immediately pulled the blanket to cover her entire body and head. Now, in Gavin's eyes, Kalea looks like a cocoon that sleeps soundly while waiting for the right time to hatch into a beautiful butterfly.

After desperately silencing his own laughter, Gavin finally moved slowly up the bed. He lay down, on his back with one hand as a pillow and another resting peacefully on his stomach. His gaze fell on the clean white ceiling of the room, filled with only one yellow colored light that will light up when it is time to sleep. From the beginning, Gavin did not like to use a sleeping lamp placed on the nightstand because he thought it was troublesome. So he prefers to use a sleeping lamp that is installed in conjunction with the main light so as not to bother when turning it on. Because when the main light is turned off, the sleep light will automatically turn on. 

For a few moments, there was silence. All that could be heard in Gavin's ears was the sound of his own breathing roar. There is no combination with the sound of clockwork because he also does not like to wear a wall clock. The sound of a clockwork beating at this late night only always brought him to an end in endless unrest, ushering him to the gates of the nightmare to come just a moment after he closed his eyes. So since nightmares came back to haunt him years ago, Gavin no longer wanted to put a wall clock in his room. The only way he knows the time is from his cell phone. 

Satisfied with his own thoughts, Gavin again devoted his attention to Kalea. The small body wrapped in blankets no longer seemed to move, making Gavin had thought that Kalea might have fallen asleep. The series of weddings they went through today were really exhausting and draining, so Gavin will not be surprised if Kalea can actually fall asleep as fast as it was even though a while before the woman was still moving restless about her presence. 

But the thought disappeared as the muffled voice of Kalea flowed beautifully in her ears, followed by the woman's head that slowly poked out from inside the blanket. Kalea did not completely turn around, only looking a little over the shoulder, making Gavin worried that the woman's neck would hurt. 

"What?" gavin asked as Kalea was silent for a long time and was still in the position of her head turning.

"You.we.that's.." said Kalea hesitantly. From the look on his face, it appears that the woman is trying to find the right diction to convey his sentence so that it can be well received by Gavin. "We won't.you know, ughhh the first night procession..."

"Nope." Sela Gavin fast. Unlike Kalea who was full of hesitation, Gavin said it confidently and firmly. Gavin moved slowly, tilting his body so that he could look at Kalea more clearly even though she still insisted on turning only her head. "I won't touch you until you let me." Gavin is serious.

Kalea said nothing, but the woman moved slowly to turn her sleeping position to face Gavin. For quite a long time the two were silent, diving into each other's beads with various mixed feelings in the chest. 

"Need to sign the contract, right?" gavin asked suddenly in the midst of silence, making Kalea frown in confusion.

"What is the contract for?"

"To guarantee that I won't touch you carelessly, maybe?"

"That's ridiculous."

"Not ridiculous at all. If the contract letter can make you more calm, why not?" gavin said with a faint smile.

"No need to do that." Kalea. Then the woman turned around, turned her back on Gavin. "I believe in you." Continue before closing your eyes even with a crazy heartbeat.

Behind him, the smile that Gavin was smiling slowly faded away. She should have been happy that Kalea had put her trust in him, but given how bad the secret she had hidden from her was, Gavin was beset with a tormenting sense of guilt.

If later, when the time came and the Lord was not on his side until all the secrets he kept from Kalea were revealed, would this woman still accept him? Not only about Irina, but also about her true identity. Will she be able to stay by his side forever? Can it? Can Gavin hope for much?