Spin me a story
By: Celise Hartgrove
Tags: Romantic Fiction, Intimacy, Lovestory, Romance, Love Letters

Today is the Full Moon. Naturally, this means I am going to spin you a story, Dear Reader:

He awakens to the sounds of the vacuum. The humming and whirring that he hears in his memories. The day feels off to him. This day feels different. The day starts different, even though it all looks the same. There is a certain abruptness to it. It is as if the night ended with the snap of fingers attached to the hands of mythical things. He wasn’t a big believer in things that weren’t solid. He didn’t waste his time or his mind on things that he couldn’t touch. He lived in the present. He believed in what he could see and what he could prove, but today starts different. Today, he woke up and he thought about her.

She awakens to the sounds of motorcycles. The humming and whirring that she hears in her memories. The day feels bright to her. This day feels different. The day starts different, even though it looks the same. There is a certain certainty to it. It is as if the night ended with the snap of fingers attached to the hands of mythical things. She believed in the magic the universe may hold. She spent time exploring her mind and feeling what this energy might be telling her. She lived in her dreams. She manifests a day filled with possibilities, but today starts different. Today, she woke up and she thought about him.

He rolls out of bed and he looks at the time. It is 8:34am. He wonders if he even wants to bother going in to work today. It is Friday and today he just doesn’t feel like going through the motions. The days have been long and there are other things on his mind lately. He wants something different, and today looks a lot like all of the others. He decides he might as well get it over with. After all, it is just one more day until he can be free of this place until Monday. One more little box to check off on his calendar until something will change. The monotony of the work week bores him now, and he feels like he has more important work to do. Sometimes, this worries him. He was sure this was what he wanted, but lately, he isn’t as sure of it as he use to be. He sighs and he stands up and begins to go through the motions. He gets ready nonchalantly and without much effort. There is no one to impress. No one is going to notice if he doesn’t comb his hair today. It is Friday, and no one ever notices him on a Friday.

She hops out of her bed and looks at her candle. It is 8:34am. She wonders if she should skip work today. It is Friday and today she doesn’t feel like being there. The days have been long and there are other things on her mind lately. She wants something different, and today will most likely be like the others. She decides she might as well get it over with. After all, it is just one more day until she can be free of this place until Monday. One more little box to check off of her calendar until something different will happen. The second half of the week bores her now, and she feels like she has more important work to do. Sometimes, this bothers her. She was sure this was what she wanted, but lately, she isn’t as sure that it is what is best. She smiles and she glances at the candle wax that leaked through her candle’s glass in the night. She remembers the loud crack as it shattered right before she fell asleep. She decides she isn’t going to do her makeup today. No one is going to notice if she doesn’t. It is Friday, and no one ever notices her on a Friday.

He gets into his car and he drives in silence. He doesn’t want to hear the sounds of strumming guitar strings. He wants the day to continue with that same abruptness that it started with. Today, he doesn’t feel like being anyone’s light. He doesn’t want to be appreciative. He doesn’t want to be the kind of guy that makes people smile. Today, he just wants to be invisible. It is a different kind of feeling for him. He is usually a smooth talker that radiates the kind of energy that people take for granted. Yesterday, no one told him he did a good job. No one even noticed any of his effort. So, today, he isn’t putting in any effort at all. Today feels more empty than her candle was when she looked into it this morning. He wonders what candle he is even thinking about. He decides today is just an off kind of day, and he walks across the crosswalk and into the building.

She gets into her car and she turns on her music. She doesn’t want to hear the humming of car engines. She wants the day to continue with that same feeling of optimism that it started with. Today, she is going to be everyone’s light. She doesn’t want to be distant. She doesn’t want to be the kind of girl that scares people away. Today, she just wants to be happy. It is a different kind of feeling for her. She is usually very serious, yet radiates the kind of energy that people gravitate towards. Yesterday, no one noticed anything good she did. No one noticed that she felt kind of lost. So, today, she isn’t going to sit alone in her office. Today feels more powerful than her candle when she heard it shatter in the night. She wonders why it shattered or why that mattered. She decides today is just an off kind of day, and she walks across the crosswalk and into the building.

He is overloaded with work. Mostly, it is work he doesn’t even care about. He feels like he isn’t as great at this as he thought he would be. He feels isolated. He feels alone. He wonders why there is so much “I” in team. I have to make… I have to do… I need to build… There is a lot of solitude that he didn’t anticipate. He isn’t the kind of guy who thrives on being alone. He is a people person. He feeds off of the positive energy of human interaction. He needs this just as much as other people need him. He feels like other people need him. He feels like, if given the opportunity, he could change things for the better. He could change things for others, but he doesn’t know if he can change them for himself. He wonders if he has made a mistake. He knows he is sometimes rash in his decision making, and he doesn’t like to upset anyone. He also doesn’t care what anyone thinks. He thinks long and hard before making a change or making a choice, and he feels like he thought this one through. He pushes the thought to the side and decides today is just a weird day.

She finishes her work within an hour. Mostly, it is work she doesn’t even care about. She feels like she might be too good at this. She feels isolated. She feels alone. She wonders why she isn’t a part of the team. She has to make… She has to do… She needs to create… There is a lot of solitude that she didn’t anticipate. She isn’t the kind of girl who thrives on being alone. She is a people person. She feeds off of the positive energy of human interaction. She needs this just as much as other people need her. She feels like other people need her. She feels like, if given the opportunity, she could change things for the better. She could change things for others, but she doesn’t know if she can change things for herself. She wonders if all of this was a mistake. She knows she is sometimes rash in her decision making, and she doesn’t like to upset anyone. She also doesn’t care what anyone thinks. She thinks long and hard before making a change or making a choice, and she feels like she really thought this one through. She thinks about this for the entire day.

…they sigh.

He has eyes like the sunrise, and skin like the sunset. He is a man that matches her mind. A man that wants a lot for himself, but also likes to give a lot to someone else. He has a cool and calm exterior, but inside, his mind is whirring thoughts around faster than the cosmos. What a beautiful constellation those thoughts would make, she thinks to herself. His words feel like they were written in stone. Written somewhere in stone at the dawn of time for her to find. She finds them and she reads them out loud because she thinks they are her own. His words are careful. His words are cautious. He thinks about them for a second before he says them. He doesn’t want to get this wrong. He gets this wrong a lot. He is a spectacular bubble of warmth. His skin glows like stardust in the night sky. He taps his foot when he gets frustrated and she watches him tuck that frustration right behind a sideways glance of the eye. He is perfectly intriguing.

He moves closer to her and she doesn’t know whether to move away or to stand her ground. She wants him to be closer, but she isn’t sure if that was his intention. She catches herself looking at his face, his eyes, his hands, his hair… She catches herself and she holds her breath. He leans back and he looks her over with a quizzical look on his face. He looks at her as if he were trying to decipher glyphs on an ancient scroll he just discovered. He looks at her as if she is perfectly intriguing.

Something happens and he looks over at her again. She decides she will meet his glance. He smiles his lazy smile and she feels every neuron in her body firing off. She is in high alert. His eyes give her that same quizzical look and she wonders why the shade of them looks so much like the lights in her bedroom. She wonders why they twinkle like the stars on her bedroom ceiling. She wants, in that moment, to stand up and walk over to him and sit right on his lap. She thinks that sounds crazy, but she accidentally says it out loud. His eyes widen and his lips part just enough for her to see his surprise at her words. He adjusts himself in his chair just enough for her to see he wouldn’t exactly mind if she did. She smiles because she decided he is the most adorable thing she has ever seen. She had never seen him surprised before, and his reaction was extremely satisfying.

She wonders what it would be like to touch him. She wonders if his skin feels as warm against hers as it appears it would. She wonders what it would feel like to push her fingers into his hair; wild and unruly. She closes her eyes and she takes a deep breath. She wonders what it would feel like for his lips to touch hers for the first time, and the second, and the third. She wonders why she is even thinking about any of this, and she realizes that he is staring at nothing. He is staring blankly straight ahead. She asks him if he is okay and he he says he is.

She thinks: he is more than okay.